proofread my speech!
Halloween: an Elementary Tradition
With Halloween approaching, parents this fall received an unwelcome note home with their students. From Cottage Elementary: “I have been asked to let you know that no costumes of any kind will be allowed at school,” and a proposal for a “harvest party” rather than the traditional Halloween celebration (CCNews, 2005). From my little brother’s school, Del Paso Manor Elementary, a simple: “NO HALLOWEEN PARADE OR COSTUMES,” (Westrup, 2005) in all capitals, the same grim sentence. Explanations range from religious conflicts to time constraints. Banning Halloween from elementary schools is becoming increasingly popular nationwide, and this concerns me.
One prolific reason for the ban is based on religious confusion. Proponents claim that the celebration of Halloween in schools is a practice of Paganism and encourages demonic ritual in our children, which yes, if it were true, would be justified reason to worry. However, Halloween is not a Pagan holiday, but it was born directly from the Pagan harvest holiday called Samhain which today is still observed on the same day as Halloween. The two are so different, in fact, that the “harvest parties” intended to remove the religious aspect are actually more Pagan than Halloween itself. Some Pagans support the ban on Halloween too; last year the school district in Puyallup, Washington instated a removal of Halloween celebrations in defense of the many local Wiccan groups offended by the iconic symbol of a witch associated with Halloween (ABC News, 2004). But neither Samhain nor Halloween advocate Satanism. Today Samhain is a celebration of good harvest with feasts, and symbolizes the end of the year’s cycle, death and rebirth, with prayer for those who have departed (Pagan Holidays, 2005). Halloween began with the Celtic practice of dressing in costume on Samhain to ward away evil spirits, not to celebrate them (History Channel, 2005).
For children today, Halloween is none of these things. It has become an American tradition, an evening full of fun, where children play dress up and tour their neighborhoods for candy. Especially in the classroom, this is harmless and simple fun that forms gratifying memories that last your whole life. Do we want “our own hypersensitivity about politics or religion” (Drutman, 2000) to inhibit our children’s positive emotional development?
I find some hypocrisy in the explanation that Halloween is a waste of time. Yes, schoolwide costume parades do take time away from classroom academia, and especially in a budget defecit as critical as out district is in now, time is an asset we can not afford to waste. However, Halloween is a national holiday, unlike President’s Week, which is an imaginary administrative holiday that steals an entire week’s worth of valuable education from our children. If they aren’t allowed a day off school for Halloween, or even an hour for parades and candy, they at least deserve to choose to spend their school day dressed for the masquerade allowed uniquely by All Hallow’s Eve. More importantly, “fall festivals” and “harvest celebrations” are a great idea for wholesome curricular enrichment, but won’t they take up as much as if not more time than the costume parades they intend to replace?
It seems our “American” way of life is to blame for the controversy. The dilemma lies here: should we teach our children that that time is money, and how to be politically correct, or should we slow down one day to appreciate a tradition in American pop culture which surpasses the exclusion of religion and politics. I encourage you to open your minds and help remove the taboo from this important time of year. In Los Altos, California, their ban on Halloween celebrations was removed from six elementary schools in response to complaints from hundreds of people at a school board hearing (New York Times, 1995). If we attend PTA meetings, board hearings, and consult our district officials, our elementary schools too can go back to experiencing the joy of Halloween festivities so widely practiced outside school already. There is nowhere to hide, when “Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country's second largest commercial holiday” (History Channel, 2005). Halloween has become such a huge part of American pop culture, that for better or for worse, the fact is you can take Halloween out of schools, but it will forever haunt our streets.
tell me this:
INTRO
Does it grab your attention?:
Does it explain necassary background information?:
Does the speaker make you care about the topic by relating it to your life somehow?:
BODY
Are opposing viewpoints addressed in a respectful way?:
Are there clear transitions that help the speech move from point to point smoothly?:
Are the arguments logical?:
Do the arguments contain any fallacies or emotional appeal?:
Are the arguments convincing?
Would you change your view based on the speaker's arguments?:
Are all claims backed up with reasonable facts, details, and reasons?:
Is there any part of the speech that is confusing or could use more elaboration?:
STYLE
Does the language reflect how the reader would speek to an academic audience?:
Does the vocabulary and sentence structure add interest to the speech?:
CONCLUSION
Does the author sum up her main points?:
Does the speech end with a call to action, final thought, or something else that ends the speech in a logical way?:
thanks a million
With Halloween approaching, parents this fall received an unwelcome note home with their students. From Cottage Elementary: “I have been asked to let you know that no costumes of any kind will be allowed at school,” and a proposal for a “harvest party” rather than the traditional Halloween celebration (CCNews, 2005). From my little brother’s school, Del Paso Manor Elementary, a simple: “NO HALLOWEEN PARADE OR COSTUMES,” (Westrup, 2005) in all capitals, the same grim sentence. Explanations range from religious conflicts to time constraints. Banning Halloween from elementary schools is becoming increasingly popular nationwide, and this concerns me.
One prolific reason for the ban is based on religious confusion. Proponents claim that the celebration of Halloween in schools is a practice of Paganism and encourages demonic ritual in our children, which yes, if it were true, would be justified reason to worry. However, Halloween is not a Pagan holiday, but it was born directly from the Pagan harvest holiday called Samhain which today is still observed on the same day as Halloween. The two are so different, in fact, that the “harvest parties” intended to remove the religious aspect are actually more Pagan than Halloween itself. Some Pagans support the ban on Halloween too; last year the school district in Puyallup, Washington instated a removal of Halloween celebrations in defense of the many local Wiccan groups offended by the iconic symbol of a witch associated with Halloween (ABC News, 2004). But neither Samhain nor Halloween advocate Satanism. Today Samhain is a celebration of good harvest with feasts, and symbolizes the end of the year’s cycle, death and rebirth, with prayer for those who have departed (Pagan Holidays, 2005). Halloween began with the Celtic practice of dressing in costume on Samhain to ward away evil spirits, not to celebrate them (History Channel, 2005).
For children today, Halloween is none of these things. It has become an American tradition, an evening full of fun, where children play dress up and tour their neighborhoods for candy. Especially in the classroom, this is harmless and simple fun that forms gratifying memories that last your whole life. Do we want “our own hypersensitivity about politics or religion” (Drutman, 2000) to inhibit our children’s positive emotional development?
I find some hypocrisy in the explanation that Halloween is a waste of time. Yes, schoolwide costume parades do take time away from classroom academia, and especially in a budget defecit as critical as out district is in now, time is an asset we can not afford to waste. However, Halloween is a national holiday, unlike President’s Week, which is an imaginary administrative holiday that steals an entire week’s worth of valuable education from our children. If they aren’t allowed a day off school for Halloween, or even an hour for parades and candy, they at least deserve to choose to spend their school day dressed for the masquerade allowed uniquely by All Hallow’s Eve. More importantly, “fall festivals” and “harvest celebrations” are a great idea for wholesome curricular enrichment, but won’t they take up as much as if not more time than the costume parades they intend to replace?
It seems our “American” way of life is to blame for the controversy. The dilemma lies here: should we teach our children that that time is money, and how to be politically correct, or should we slow down one day to appreciate a tradition in American pop culture which surpasses the exclusion of religion and politics. I encourage you to open your minds and help remove the taboo from this important time of year. In Los Altos, California, their ban on Halloween celebrations was removed from six elementary schools in response to complaints from hundreds of people at a school board hearing (New York Times, 1995). If we attend PTA meetings, board hearings, and consult our district officials, our elementary schools too can go back to experiencing the joy of Halloween festivities so widely practiced outside school already. There is nowhere to hide, when “Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country's second largest commercial holiday” (History Channel, 2005). Halloween has become such a huge part of American pop culture, that for better or for worse, the fact is you can take Halloween out of schools, but it will forever haunt our streets.
tell me this:
INTRO
Does it grab your attention?:
Does it explain necassary background information?:
Does the speaker make you care about the topic by relating it to your life somehow?:
BODY
Are opposing viewpoints addressed in a respectful way?:
Are there clear transitions that help the speech move from point to point smoothly?:
Are the arguments logical?:
Do the arguments contain any fallacies or emotional appeal?:
Are the arguments convincing?
Would you change your view based on the speaker's arguments?:
Are all claims backed up with reasonable facts, details, and reasons?:
Is there any part of the speech that is confusing or could use more elaboration?:
STYLE
Does the language reflect how the reader would speek to an academic audience?:
Does the vocabulary and sentence structure add interest to the speech?:
CONCLUSION
Does the author sum up her main points?:
Does the speech end with a call to action, final thought, or something else that ends the speech in a logical way?:
thanks a million