Anonymous
10/31/2024 11:00
Subject: Halloween SICK OUT
That's sad. My kid went to one of the schools on this list and they had a huge parade each year back in 2017ish!
I teach college students and co-taught a large course a few years back with a colleague who is very religious and views Halloween as "devil stuff." I respect that, but just told them and students that if they didn't want to participate in our Halloween-themed class, they could opt out with no penalty. It's important to do fun stuff, even in college, to keep morale up and be human. But I get that's it's also important to honor personal beliefs. I think cancelling it all for everyone is not the way to do it, though.
I teach college students and co-taught a large course a few years back with a colleague who is very religious and views Halloween as "devil stuff." I respect that, but just told them and students that if they didn't want to participate in our Halloween-themed class, they could opt out with no penalty. It's important to do fun stuff, even in college, to keep morale up and be human. But I get that's it's also important to honor personal beliefs. I think cancelling it all for everyone is not the way to do it, though.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:56
Subject: Re:Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I do find the aversion and censoring of Halloween in MCPS elementary schools to be very odd. Getting to dress up for the day and having Halloween classroom parties was a fantastic experience for me as a kid.
It’s extremely weird.
Halloween is a big part of American culture and it’s a fun part of childhood. It’s sad that MCPS is taking that away from kids.
I challenge the premise that it is. The MCPS I'm aware of are having full-on HALLOWEEN parties.
There are alternative activities for the freaks and losers that don't observe it. But those kids don't get to ruin things for the majority.
I know of no place where fall festivals or whatever are substituting for Halloween parties. That sounds like a trope along the lines of "everyone gets a trophy," which is not really a thing, either, despite the fist-shaking, get-off-my-lawn curmudgeons who have weird hallucinations about things that aren't happening.
Yea well when enough of the school population states they would opt out principals think differently about holding an event that has no academic merit.
Except that isn't happening except in some weird fantasy you're having.
So multiple folks that teach or have kids at these schools have CONFIRMED it is happening...so it's NOT a fantasy pp. To pretend it is, gaslights the rest of experiencing it.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:55
Subject: Re:Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I do find the aversion and censoring of Halloween in MCPS elementary schools to be very odd. Getting to dress up for the day and having Halloween classroom parties was a fantastic experience for me as a kid.
It’s extremely weird.
Halloween is a big part of American culture and it’s a fun part of childhood. It’s sad that MCPS is taking that away from kids.
MCPS is preventing kids from dressing up to go trick or treating? That's terrible!
Wait, what?
Stop being purposefully obtuse.
Class Halloween parties and parades are fun and are a big part of childhood for a lot of kids.
MCPS deciding to do away with that is unfortunate.
Do you also believe that MCPS is participating in the War On Christmas by no longer having in-school Christmas parties?
For as long as I have been on this forum on DCUM, which is way too long, there have been annual complaints about how MCPS is ruining childhood by not having Halloween parties, followed by annual complaints about children ruining other children's childhood by telling them Santa isn't real.
If you want your children to celebrate Halloween in the great American tradition, you should go out with them to tip over outhouses. That's your responsibility as a parent; it's not MCPS's.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:46
Subject: Re:Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I do find the aversion and censoring of Halloween in MCPS elementary schools to be very odd. Getting to dress up for the day and having Halloween classroom parties was a fantastic experience for me as a kid.
It’s extremely weird.
Halloween is a big part of American culture and it’s a fun part of childhood. It’s sad that MCPS is taking that away from kids.
MCPS is preventing kids from dressing up to go trick or treating? That's terrible!
Wait, what?
Stop being purposefully obtuse.
Class Halloween parties and parades are fun and are a big part of childhood for a lot of kids.
MCPS deciding to do away with that is unfortunate.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:42
Subject: Re:Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I do find the aversion and censoring of Halloween in MCPS elementary schools to be very odd. Getting to dress up for the day and having Halloween classroom parties was a fantastic experience for me as a kid.
It’s extremely weird.
Halloween is a big part of American culture and it’s a fun part of childhood. It’s sad that MCPS is taking that away from kids.
I challenge the premise that it is. The MCPS I'm aware of are having full-on HALLOWEEN parties.
There are alternative activities for the freaks and losers that don't observe it. But those kids don't get to ruin things for the majority.
I know of no place where fall festivals or whatever are substituting for Halloween parties. That sounds like a trope along the lines of "everyone gets a trophy," which is not really a thing, either, despite the fist-shaking, get-off-my-lawn curmudgeons who have weird hallucinations about things that aren't happening.
Yea well when enough of the school population states they would opt out principals think differently about holding an event that has no academic merit.
Except that isn't happening except in some weird fantasy you're having.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:41
Subject: Halloween SICK OUT
Ironically, I saw a woman in a moms facebook group say she was keeping her kid home from school to avoid any Halloween displays. She doesn't want her kid to be exposed to other kids celebrating so she's keeping them home.
Love that the fundos on both sides of this issue will be sitting it out.
My kids don't care about celebrating Halloween in school - they're just looking forward to trick or treating in the evening.
Love that the fundos on both sides of this issue will be sitting it out.
My kids don't care about celebrating Halloween in school - they're just looking forward to trick or treating in the evening.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:41
Subject: Re:Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I do find the aversion and censoring of Halloween in MCPS elementary schools to be very odd. Getting to dress up for the day and having Halloween classroom parties was a fantastic experience for me as a kid.
It’s extremely weird.
Halloween is a big part of American culture and it’s a fun part of childhood. It’s sad that MCPS is taking that away from kids.
MCPS is preventing kids from dressing up to go trick or treating? That's terrible!
Wait, what?
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:37
Subject: Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s not just Halloween. Elementary school used to be about fun and making sure kids had the building blocks. When I went to University, we were told that the most important thing that we could do as a teacher was to teach kids to love learning. When I first started my career, at least 75% of kids wanted to be elementary school teachers because of all the fun extras. Now it is just worksheets and work. Kids are dragging their heels. I can’t remember the last student who wanted to become a teacher. So it’s not just Halloween, but today does contribute to the overall feeling that there are no special events and no just fun days. It’s sad.
That’s what I’m noticing too.
My daughter is in a MoCo private school. They have great academics, but also have Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and winter holiday parties. They celebrate birthdays.
Parents volunteer to help with the parties. I’ve worked at them. Are they a little chaotic? Yeah, of course. But it’s 1 hour at the end of the day and the kids love it. So we do it.
Today, my daughter’s 2nd grade class will have a Halloween party. They’ll watch the kindergarten put on their annual Halloween show.
None of it takes away from the academics. It simply injects some joy into the day.
And how many kids are at your daughter’s school? And what level are all the kids on? And are they required to adhere to all the rules and regulations of the state BOE? And do politicians and parents get to complain about every little things? And what are the demographics?
Explain to me how public schools were able to pull off parties for decades. Explain how many public schools still have parties and fun things.
You act like all the things you cited are brand new.
DP. Everyone gets to be upset about whatever they want to be upset about. However, it seems to me that someone who's upset that no in-school Halloween parties = AN ATTACK ON AMERICAN CULTURE!!!!!!!!!111111111111 is someone who is fortunate to not have much else on their to-be-upset-about list.
That’s great. It’s still stupid to pretend like public schools can’t POSSIBLY handle class parties.
It’s an excuse because the schools don’t want to deal with them.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:35
Subject: Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s not just Halloween. Elementary school used to be about fun and making sure kids had the building blocks. When I went to University, we were told that the most important thing that we could do as a teacher was to teach kids to love learning. When I first started my career, at least 75% of kids wanted to be elementary school teachers because of all the fun extras. Now it is just worksheets and work. Kids are dragging their heels. I can’t remember the last student who wanted to become a teacher. So it’s not just Halloween, but today does contribute to the overall feeling that there are no special events and no just fun days. It’s sad.
That’s what I’m noticing too.
My daughter is in a MoCo private school. They have great academics, but also have Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and winter holiday parties. They celebrate birthdays.
Parents volunteer to help with the parties. I’ve worked at them. Are they a little chaotic? Yeah, of course. But it’s 1 hour at the end of the day and the kids love it. So we do it.
Today, my daughter’s 2nd grade class will have a Halloween party. They’ll watch the kindergarten put on their annual Halloween show.
None of it takes away from the academics. It simply injects some joy into the day.
And how many kids are at your daughter’s school? And what level are all the kids on? And are they required to adhere to all the rules and regulations of the state BOE? And do politicians and parents get to complain about every little things? And what are the demographics?
Explain to me how public schools were able to pull off parties for decades. Explain how many public schools still have parties and fun things.
You act like all the things you cited are brand new.
DP. Everyone gets to be upset about whatever they want to be upset about. However, it seems to me that someone who's upset that no in-school Halloween parties = AN ATTACK ON AMERICAN CULTURE!!!!!!!!!111111111111 is someone who is fortunate to not have much else on their to-be-upset-about list.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:34
Subject: Halloween SICK OUT
My kids' school changed it to Book Character Day and they wear costumes for "book characters" which is essentially anything. On Friday the week on Halloween, they have a Fall Fun Day where each grade does different activities. So basically, instead of traditional Halloween with some kids left out, they all get a party a few days later, and on Oct 31, they get to wear the costume all day.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:29
Subject: Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s not just Halloween. Elementary school used to be about fun and making sure kids had the building blocks. When I went to University, we were told that the most important thing that we could do as a teacher was to teach kids to love learning. When I first started my career, at least 75% of kids wanted to be elementary school teachers because of all the fun extras. Now it is just worksheets and work. Kids are dragging their heels. I can’t remember the last student who wanted to become a teacher. So it’s not just Halloween, but today does contribute to the overall feeling that there are no special events and no just fun days. It’s sad.
That’s what I’m noticing too.
My daughter is in a MoCo private school. They have great academics, but also have Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and winter holiday parties. They celebrate birthdays.
Parents volunteer to help with the parties. I’ve worked at them. Are they a little chaotic? Yeah, of course. But it’s 1 hour at the end of the day and the kids love it. So we do it.
Today, my daughter’s 2nd grade class will have a Halloween party. They’ll watch the kindergarten put on their annual Halloween show.
None of it takes away from the academics. It simply injects some joy into the day.
And how many kids are at your daughter’s school? And what level are all the kids on? And are they required to adhere to all the rules and regulations of the state BOE? And do politicians and parents get to complain about every little things? And what are the demographics?
Explain to me how public schools were able to pull off parties for decades. Explain how many public schools still have parties and fun things.
You act like all the things you cited are brand new.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:27
Subject: Re:Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I do find the aversion and censoring of Halloween in MCPS elementary schools to be very odd. Getting to dress up for the day and having Halloween classroom parties was a fantastic experience for me as a kid.
It’s extremely weird.
Halloween is a big part of American culture and it’s a fun part of childhood. It’s sad that MCPS is taking that away from kids.
I challenge the premise that it is. The MCPS I'm aware of are having full-on HALLOWEEN parties.
There are alternative activities for the freaks and losers that don't observe it. But those kids don't get to ruin things for the majority.
I know of no place where fall festivals or whatever are substituting for Halloween parties. That sounds like a trope along the lines of "everyone gets a trophy," which is not really a thing, either, despite the fist-shaking, get-off-my-lawn curmudgeons who have weird hallucinations about things that aren't happening.
Yea well when enough of the school population states they would opt out principals think differently about holding an event that has no academic merit.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:23
Subject: Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s not just Halloween. Elementary school used to be about fun and making sure kids had the building blocks. When I went to University, we were told that the most important thing that we could do as a teacher was to teach kids to love learning. When I first started my career, at least 75% of kids wanted to be elementary school teachers because of all the fun extras. Now it is just worksheets and work. Kids are dragging their heels. I can’t remember the last student who wanted to become a teacher. So it’s not just Halloween, but today does contribute to the overall feeling that there are no special events and no just fun days. It’s sad.
That’s what I’m noticing too.
My daughter is in a MoCo private school. They have great academics, but also have Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and winter holiday parties. They celebrate birthdays.
Parents volunteer to help with the parties. I’ve worked at them. Are they a little chaotic? Yeah, of course. But it’s 1 hour at the end of the day and the kids love it. So we do it.
Today, my daughter’s 2nd grade class will have a Halloween party. They’ll watch the kindergarten put on their annual Halloween show.
None of it takes away from the academics. It simply injects some joy into the day.
And how many kids are at your daughter’s school? And what level are all the kids on? And are they required to adhere to all the rules and regulations of the state BOE? And do politicians and parents get to complain about every little things? And what are the demographics?
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:16
Subject: Re:Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I do find the aversion and censoring of Halloween in MCPS elementary schools to be very odd. Getting to dress up for the day and having Halloween classroom parties was a fantastic experience for me as a kid.
It’s extremely weird.
Halloween is a big part of American culture and it’s a fun part of childhood. It’s sad that MCPS is taking that away from kids.
I challenge the premise that it is. The MCPS I'm aware of are having full-on HALLOWEEN parties.
There are alternative activities for the freaks and losers that don't observe it. But those kids don't get to ruin things for the majority.
I know of no place where fall festivals or whatever are substituting for Halloween parties. That sounds like a trope along the lines of "everyone gets a trophy," which is not really a thing, either, despite the fist-shaking, get-off-my-lawn curmudgeons who have weird hallucinations about things that aren't happening.
Anonymous
10/31/2024 10:14
Subject: Halloween SICK OUT
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Name the schools! I don't believe you.
Rock Creek forest, Rock view, Oakland terrace, highland, rosemary hills, woodlin, takoma, ESS, highland view, sligo creek, glen haven...
I teach at one of these schools. 2019 was our last year celebrating Halloween at school. It is sad. Ironically, my kids in a different cluster always had parties and parades in elementary. They’re in HS now and absolutely allowed to dress up at school tomorrow.
I teach at one of these schools as well. I remember the days of Halloween parties, costumes and a parade outside around the field. We now have a “Fall Celebration.” Students are encouraged to wear their favorite “fall” shirt. I know there are several schools that still celebrate Halloween with themed activities, costumes, parades, etc. I think all MCPS schools should have the same policy and expectations for their schools and communities.
Our Upcounty ES stop doing Halloween three or four years ago. They do a Fall Festival and let kids dress up in Spring for Read Across America. PTA sponsors and evening event.