Should Halloween Celebrations be Banned at Schools?

melodious

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- A New Britain school has banned what was once a traditional October event.

School officials have told students they can’t bring candy in anymore, nor will they be permitted to dress up for Halloween or other parties at the school.

In the past, residents said, students were encouraged to wear costumes. They even had a parade, they said.

But that tradition at The Gaffney School is over.

Instead of banning the holiday, one parent said, the school should talk about the differences between religions and come to a common understanding.

The school said all holidays are out because the community is so diverse. Instead, administrators said they want parents to tell them what holidays they celebrate, then they will try to relate those holidays to the curriculum.

The school said it sent a letter to parents explaining the change, but some parents said they don’t recall getting such a letter.

However, other parents are on board, saying Halloween only encourages kids to act up and play pranks.

As for banning candy and sweets, the school said that decision was made for health reasons.

mammasan

I saw we ban every holiday from our schools. Ban Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day, etc… Completely sterilize our schools and make them devoid of any fun and excitement. I mean god forbid our children celebrate Halloween and offended the Evangilical child in the class or celebrate Christmas and offend the athiest child. Since we are going to be so ridiculously overboard PC we should just ban everything.

Jeremy1012

Why is the world intent on leaving a shit world behind for future generations?

Strangest Tribe

Some of the stupidist and unimmaginative uncreative people in the nation are always qualified to work in our school systems.
Ignoring a holiday or festivity in our schools is wrong.
This could be an opportunity to create a cross cultural appeal that would not only allow Halloween to be celebrated but to inspire those disassociated with Halloween to participate in a multicultural/historical expeience where everyone can participate in their own way.

orig_long red

of course it should be banned you heathen bastards! it celebrates the devil and all his evils!

melodious

*The article does come out of a more conservative part of our country.

Many cultures celebrate this period for many reasons beyond witches and goblins...

Like adults need vacation time, kids need respite too....

They could change the day to dress up day or something like that...

meistereder

I am a little bit of a cynic, but I find this kind of over-reaction to be funny.

melodious

P.s. I love ya, HUmanity....

and visualize abundance and prosperity...for everyONE

know1

I say leave it up to the schools.

Heineken Helen

melodious wrote:

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- A New Britain school has banned what was once a traditional October event.

School officials have told students they can’t bring candy in anymore, nor will they be permitted to dress up for Halloween or other parties at the school.

In the past, residents said, students were encouraged to wear costumes. They even had a parade, they said.

But that tradition at The Gaffney School is over.

Instead of banning the holiday, one parent said, the school should talk about the differences between religions and come to a common understanding.

The school said all holidays are out because the community is so diverse. Instead, administrators said they want parents to tell them what holidays they celebrate, then they will try to relate those holidays to the curriculum.

The school said it sent a letter to parents explaining the change, but some parents said they don’t recall getting such a letter.

However, other parents are on board, saying Halloween only encourages kids to act up and play pranks.

As for banning candy and sweets, the school said that decision was made for health reasons.

:rolleyes: oh my god! Not in the slightest surprised though! What's wrong with celebrating traditional things? If I move my family to a country, I will immerse me and them in the local traditions cos that's what people do. Ya don't say 'we don't celebrate this one so nobody should' DUHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Soon there will be no national traditions and there'll be no fun. Sterilisation's the right word mammasan.

Heineken Helen

meistereder wrote:

I am a little bit of a cynic, but I find this kind of over-reaction to be funny.

It WOULD be funny if they weren't taken seriously! But this kinda disease only spreads :(

melodious

I say public school is the only "corporate" arena where the public has power to begin to make changes.

Elections are nearing...Please take time to look at your school district candidates...

This is the point I am trying to make...

iamica

That sucks. Halloween was always fun in school when I was a kid. We'd have a costume parade and everything.
If you're going to ban it because of a few complaints, or for whatever reason, why celebrate any holiday at all in schools? It doesn't seem fair to ban certain holidays and not others.
Here's a thought...maybe they should use the opportunity to educate kids on the origins of each holiday, instead of trying to pretend these holidays don't exist.

JaneNY

This is a tricky question. On face, I'd agree with having Halloween, but there are some belief systems that prohibit participation in a holiday like this. Then parents are faced with the difficult situation of either keeping their child home that day (which may well be a legal school day), or sending them to school, not allowed to participate in the fun that their schoolmates are having. I know people who have been through this and its not easy for the parents OR the children.

Additionally we have people getting silly when yoga is being taught for relaxation (to help children focus) in the schools, saying that it 'promotes the religion of hinduism'. This is from a specific school district that I am aware of.

The problem is if you have some holidays, and don't have some, who decides which ones to exclude. I think some school districts may just be throwing up their hands and saying fine we won't have any at all.

Heineken Helen

JaneNY wrote:

The problem is if you have some holidays, and don't have some, who decides which ones to exclude. I think some school districts may just be throwing up their hands and saying fine we won't have any at all.

so have them all if you want? If parents want to be like that, they can send their kids to their own school... not a mixed school. These are things you HAVE to consider when you move... schools and whether you're willing to allow your kid settle into local traditions. If you're not ok with that, you can't send them to that school or move to that bloody area. You can't expect things to change cos you're different? If you want things to stay the same, stay where you are! It's gone too far and it's ridiculous.

Collin

Not only that, I think they should ban colour from schools as well. Just black, white and grey.

Nevermind

Halloween should be banned al together.

JaneNY

Heineken Helen wrote:

so have them all if you want? If parents want to be like that, they can send their kids to their own school... not a mixed school. These are things you HAVE to consider when you move... schools and whether you're willing to allow your kid settle into local traditions. If you're not ok with that, you can't send them to that school or move to that bloody area. You can't expect things to change cos you're different? If you want things to stay the same, stay where you are! It's gone too far and it's ridiculous.

Helen, some locations only have one school, and people might not have thought that far ahead when they moved somewhere. Maybe people have lived in a location for quite some, but did not have children. The thing is, Halloween is a grey area; in fact there are Christian sects that do not believe in celebrating Halloween either. Again, it is a tricky question.

ccRyderzz

melodious wrote:

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- A New Britain school has banned what was once a traditional October event.

School officials have told students they can’t bring candy in anymore, nor will they be permitted to dress up for Halloween or other parties at the school.

In the past, residents said, students were encouraged to wear costumes. They even had a parade, they said.

But that tradition at The Gaffney School is over.

Instead of banning the holiday, one parent said, the school should talk about the differences between religions and come to a common understanding.

The school said all holidays are out because the community is so diverse. Instead, administrators said they want parents to tell them what holidays they celebrate, then they will try to relate those holidays to the curriculum.

The school said it sent a letter to parents explaining the change, but some parents said they don’t recall getting such a letter.

However, other parents are on board, saying Halloween only encourages kids to act up and play pranks.

As for banning candy and sweets, the school said that decision was made for health reasons.

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BetterThanYou

melodious wrote:

...As for banning candy and sweets, the school said that decision was made for health reasons.

that reminds me of my job. a few months ago they made an announcement that as of january 1st the entire property will be smoke-free. no more smoking out behind the building, no more smoking at the picnic tables scattered around the grounds, no more smoking out back by the ponds, and even no more smoking if you're sitting in your car in the parking lot. the company said they made this decision because they cared about their employees health. a co-worker went to HR to discuss this. she said if the company was so concerned with our health they should eliminate all soda, chips, and candy from the vending machines, and make sure the cafeteria stops selling fatty foods. the company responded with "well, that's just rediculous. we can't do that."

Cosmo

I think Halloween should be banned altoghther... not based upon any moral or religious, but because we don't really know how much cheap cany is tainted with lethal levels on Melamine.
Remember the stories of that crazy guy that would pit pins or razor blades in candy and apples? His name is 'China'.