When is 20% > 80%?

annielou said:

This Halloween controversy has actually caused more divisiveness than inclusiveness. It is absolutely ridiculous on every level.

Yes. Since 1/5th of the students did not go to school/participate when there were Halloween celebrations at SB, it was ridiculous to have even started to examine alternate options. Thank you for your input.

if we were discussing adults who didn't want to see Halloween images in their workplace, then I'd agree it would be hypersensitive.  I think people are forgetting that we're talking about kids here.  Elementary school kids, who are age 5-11.  It's not their fault their parents are excluding them from costumes and candies.

School administrators and teachers don't want to exclude these kids and make them feel left out.  How come grown adults among us can't summon up the same empathy for those kids?

bub said:

When someone can seriously characterize and object to Halloween today as having a shred of religious significance to the children who "celebrate" it,  I call that demanding and hypersensitive.

annielou said:

This Halloween controversy has actually caused more divisiveness than inclusiveness. It is absolutely ridiculous on every level.

If anyone thinks we can be truly inclusive without those In the majority occasionally bending, giving something up, or being open to the reality that some things mean different things to different people, then I would suggest that they are using a limited definition of “inclusive” (one that allows them to call other people nuts or ridiculous for disagreeing with them).

One level of “inclusiveness” is simply non exclusion.  Everyone can go to our schools, and if something is culturally uncomfortable or makes school difficult for them, so sorry, but this is how things are supposed to be.

Another level of inclusiveness realizes that we want minorities (of all sorts) to feel embraced and supported, and that we are ready to consider sometimes uncomfortable changes to make a system that works for everyone, even if we occasionally need to give up something that seems natural to us.  

susan1014 said:

Just because the religious history of Halloween is irrelevant to you doesn’t mean that you get to decree it irrelevant to everyone.  

ml1 said:

99% of the complaints I've seen from people who feel constrained by "PC" are mostly just people feeling upset that they can't be offensive without other people being offended.

Thank you to both of you for reminding me of the importance of standing up to the tyranny of the majority. 

Kibbeboy attends an all boy, private Catholic HS and today is a bonanza day for them as they enjoy Halloween, dressing up and getting into the silliness of it all. To them, it's a nice breather from the monotony and stresses of class. Not all the boys' come in costume or change at school. They simply choose not to participate and it's all good. We're in our 6th year here and never have I heard of parents keeping students home, protesting, etc. Dress up or don't -- you'll still be expected to attend school. 

I don't think that's a message I want to see from a school principal -- "we don't care what your religion says, dress up or don't, but you're expected to attend school that day."

susan1014 said:

If anyone thinks we can be truly inclusive without those In the majority occasionally bending, giving something up, or being open to the reality that some things mean different things to different people, then I would suggest that they are using a limited definition of “inclusive” (one that allows them to call other people nuts or ridiculous for disagreeing with them).

I've thought more about this comment, and it's spot on.

These are the events in which our kids really learn what our commitment to inclusiveness, diversity and acceptance really is.  It's easy for us to say we believe in diversity.  It only costs words.  It's when there's a cost attached, even a small one, that our kids learn what we are really committed to.  In the instance of Halloween, the cost is very small -- the kids are being asked to wait until school ends to start their celebrations.  This is when we can show our kids that a little bit of disappointment is a small price to pay to make other people feel respected and included.

My children are adults now but even when they were at SB (and earlier at Tuscan) they were NOT allowed to wear costumes to school.  When there was a parade, they BROUGHT their costumes to school and changed into them at the end of the day.  Now that there is no parade, no reason to suddenly start having kids wear costumes to school.  We were never allowed to wear costumes to school on Halloween when I was a kid either.  I don't know why this is such an issue.  There is lots of time to enjoy Halloween after school - at the parade in the village and trick or treat in the evening.