Happy Halloween
It’s kind of sad that celebrating
Halloween is taboo in school these days, at least in St. Marys. I know that
sometimes kids get to dress up as their favorite book character or what they
want to be when they grow up but that isn't nearly as much fun as it used to be
when you could be a ghost, vampire, pirate, or princess. Today you can have a
fall festival and harvest type decorations but Halloween decorations per se are
strictly taboo. Not so though when I was teaching 2nd grade in October
of 1986. We all looked forward to dressing up and going from room to room all
over the school in the Halloween Parade. I had decorated my classroom in a
Halloween/October theme with numbered jack-o-lanterns and ghosts on my calendar
and a bulletin board type picture on my door of a green faced witch sitting at
her dressing table putting on her ugly powder as her black cat looked on. As I
greeted my second graders at our door, I jokingly told them that it was a
picture of me getting ready every morning before coming to school. I pointed to
the long hair on the witch and then my own long hair in a ponytail as proof. I didn't think much more about it as we entered the classroom and got busy with
our lessons (We were going Batty for Books!). I did, however, notice one
student, Reuben, give the picture careful consideration every time he entered
or exited the room. (Back and forth from P.E., lunch, restroom breaks etc.) At
the end of the day Reuben was the last child to go out the classroom door and
he stopped by the picture once again. He looked at the witch and then back at
me and said conspiratorially, “Ms. Mount, I know that’s not you.”
I raised my eyebrows and
leaned toward him giving him permission to let me in on this and said, “Oh
really, Reuben? How can you tell?”
He paused for a minute
giving me one last careful look before he said, “It can’t be you, Ms. Mount,
cuz you ain't got a cat!” Then he gave me a quick hug and took off with the
rest of the bikers and walkers.
Happy Halloween
!
!
I remember those fun days, too! I remember Reuben and I'm still batty for books! Have a boootiful day! Here's a joke for Arnie: "What kind of pancakes does a ghost eat? BOOOberry ones!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you call a hot dog with nothing in it? A Hollow Wiener. It is sad that parents are so "spooked" that their kids don't have a "ghost" of a chance just to have a good time. Without differentiating good times and bad times, kids don't know "witch" is "witch". It's not the Halloween motif as much as it is to let kids have some fun. Parents should "bury" their "grave" concerns and get with the "spirit" of the occasion. Give your kids a "boo-st".
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