Halloween was yesterday. The kids had fun...I think. We didn't talk about it. No one asked the kids what they dressed up like or what they got. All they did was write in their journals about it. I went to the staff room for lunch as always, and all I heard there was how the day after Halloween should be a PD day, because the kids are crazy. Yes, I agree. The kids were crazy, but it is one day in a whole year where they are a little wonky. Also in the staff room I heard about a teacher (who is also a mom) talking about how she would prefer that her kids not get candy and that they only get half of what they gathered. The other half goes to the Halloween fairy and she takes it home and uses it for something, and in return she leaves a toy. So Halloween is now Christoween. Another teacher says one of her kids gets money for half his stash, but then he has to donate that money. Some of the teachers were going to go through their student's lunch bags to see if they brought candy to school...since they aren't supposed to apparently. They can't have it at nutrition break, they have to have good food. Now, I am not a parent, but if someone told me that they were going to go throught my kids stuff, I would tell them where to go and it wouldn't be a good place. Also, if someone tried to tell me what my kid could and could not eat, I would probably tell them to go to that same place. AND if I was a parent, I WOULD NOT take away my kids candy. When I was a kid, my candy went into a big bowl on the kitchen counter and my mom monitored it. We were allowed two pieces a day. My brother and I would have competitions to see who could make their's last the longest. And if you don't want your kids eating candy, why are you sending them out? Is it harder to keep them at home than to take away their candy? Or by taking it away are you hoping for the path of least resistance in that eventual they won't go anymore, because their loot is confiscated? At what point did school become such a police state? Is it the place of the school to tell the parents what they can feed their kids? What are the legal implications of rifling through backpacks? And why are these parent's ok with this? Or do I just like to rock the boat? I don't know why this bothers me, but maybe it is because I see this as another way of controlling everything that walks in that door. They are kids.. fun is what they do. Or have we all forgotten what it is like to be a kid? I hope I never get to that point....
On another note, I was with the kids in the hall today, getting them ready to go outside and the principal walked by. She did not say one word to me, or to the kids. She even stood in the hallway and watched us get ready, and did not even say anything. It was like we were invisible. I remember my principal in elementary talking to us all and knowing us by name. I felt uncomfortable when she was around like I was being scrutinized. I felt like there is HER and then the rest of us. It's not very community like.
Tomorrow I get to teach a social studies lesson all by myself. Wish me luck.
PS: If any parents read my blog and want to comment on the Halloween issue, feel free. Like I said, I am not parent, so maybe I don't understand.
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