I want to respond to some of your comments. First of all, Halloween is just one holiday that can pose a problem, so some of my comments can be generalized to include other holidays.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Find out about your students' religious and cultural beliefs.
2. Research them.
3. Speak to parents if feasible.
4. Explain the holiday. In the case of Halloween, explain the history of the holiday and the current practice. What do the symbols of Halloween (pumpkins, witches, devils, scarecrows, etc.) represent? What does "trick or treat" mean? Why do people wear costumes? Ask the students if these symbols mean anything in their cultures? Are there any analogous holidays in their culture?
5. If you are decorating your room for Halloween, use pumpkins, harvest horns of plenty, benign-looking scarcrows, which most students will recognize as familiar from farms, autumn leaves, apples, and cornstalks. These will likely not have a negative meaning in anyone's culture.
6. Avoid using devils, witches, skeletons, and other evil creatures. These represent evil and are offensive to many Christians, not just immigrant ones.
7. Think of positive activities, for example, bobbing for apples and dipping apples in caramel.
No comments:
Post a Comment