Pondering Hallowe'en

When my kids were little and I was a keener young teacher, I used to go a little Hallowe'en crazy - costumes for all of us, pumpkin carving, seed roasting, baking, special treats, creepy music, black and orange everything. Compared to today's standards, my efforts then would be considered very modest. It seems the whole world has gone wildly overboard about Hallowe'en. There are entire stores now that pop up for October and specialize in a huge assortment of everything you could imagine - and much that you couldn't!
Many schools also have allowed the celebrations to grow, and we often see an extravagance of costume parades, haunted rooms, smorgasbords of sweet treats, and so much more. And all of this happens even though so many of our students, particularly children from our new immigrant families, do not celebrate, or maybe haven't even heard of, this very 'westernized' tradition.
One common solution to the fact that some students don't celebrate is to designate a room in the school, often the library, as a location where these students can go for an 'alternate' program. Even at my first school 35 years ago, I was uncomfortable with this solution. It separated my students into the 'included' and the 'excluded'. My excluded students felt very left out, not only on that day, but it tended to set them up to be excluded from other things as well. Of course, some parents would choose to keep their children home, but this never seemed appropriate to me either. It's a public school - shouldn't all children be welcome to participate in all events?
There is another solution: to create an inclusive space with inclusive activities in which all children can participate. It may mean examining and perhaps unlearning traditions from the past in which some children cannot participate, then designing a day or week which is intentionally inclusive.
What might this look like? Well, to start with, costumes are a very real challenge for families in poverty, new Canadians who may just be getting settled, refugee families who may have experienced violence, families in crisis and others. Parading costumed children around a school and choosing costume winners are a blatant display of privilege in every case I've ever seen. If we truly believe in creating inclusive schools, then costumes have no place, unless they are created at school in an activity that everyone can do. Some schools have changed their practice recently and ask children not to wear costumes. Sadly, there is a lot of backlash to this. It's not uncommon to hear from some angry parents that schools who have opted for no costumes are 'spoiling children's fun'. These parents really need our help to understand that in a classroom or school that is inclusive, we create events and activities where all of our students can enjoy the fun. All families are welcome to celebrate at home in whatever manner is preferred, but one person's wishes for school 'fun' cannot dictate what happens or doesn't happen in an intentionally inclusive place. There is much unlearning and learning to happen in this area, among parents, children .... and teachers.
Our classrooms, like our communities and our country, look different than they used to. To create a peaceful world, we need to examine our traditions, maintain some, let go of others, and do some reinventing. When we celebrate our rich diversity and include everyone in our plans, the results are truly rewarding.
Thank you to my friend Deepa for sharing this quote:
"Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space, a better space for everyone.: ~ George Dei