I have seen so many wonderful themes created by talented teachers in the last few weeks that are based on Halloween. At my school I would never be allowed to use this kind of content in my classroom. Our district is expecting us to be rigorous and to reflect the state standards in our classrooms. I work at a fundamental school where holidays are not celebrated in any way. We have students who would not come to school if we had holiday parties or had images in our room that had a negative connotation to them. We see no value in teaching about scarecrows, witches, elves, etc. or spending a great deal of time on topics that are not academic. Candy has become a huge issue in our district as well with strict restrictions from our administrators. Many of our students have severe dental decay and are overweight. Proper nutrition is being stressed with our children and and we are encouraged to teach about healthy food choices. So I am curious about what your district mandates. The California Kindergarten Association several years back focused on the diversity in our classrooms and being respectful of the wide range of cultures we often have. I would love to hear from you on this topic.
