Halloween is almost here. Will Oct. 31 be a regular day at your school or are there plans for celebrations? Will students and teachers dress up in costume? Will any of your classes have Halloween-themed lesson plans or “Monster Mash” playing while you work? What about the cafeteria menu — will there be items like spooky spaghetti or black and orange cookies?
What do you think of these kinds of festivities at school? Are they fun and maybe a little distracting, or a nice break from the usual school day? If you don’t celebrate Halloween, or don’t get into the holiday to the degree that the people around you do, what is that like? At school, do you feel left out or judged? If you opt out because of religious beliefs or your family’s wishes, does the atmosphere in school on this day ever make you uncomfortable?
In “New Jersey Governor Joins School Halloween Fray: ‘Give Me a Break,’” Sopan Deb writes about a school district that decided to do away with Halloween celebrations in an effort to be more inclusive:
If you happen to attend one of the 10 schools in New Jersey’s South Orange and Maplewood school district, put away that Spiderman costume on Halloween. Or wait until after school.
Earlier this month, Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, the superintendent of the district, sent a letter to parents saying that Halloween would not be celebrated during school hours. The decision was, the letter said, an effort to promote “diversity, equity, and inclusion meaningfully.”
School districts like the one in South Orange and Maplewood have chosen to not hold Halloween celebrations in an effort to be more inclusive to students either who do not celebrate the holiday for religious reasons, or whose families cannot afford elaborate costumes.
The announcement from Dr. Taylor divided families in the district. Some fully supported the decision, pointing out that some of the elementary schools had already stopped celebrating the holiday, whereas other parents saw this as liberal good intentions going off the rails.
And then, the news found its way to the governor’s desk. On Tuesday afternoon, Philip D. Murphy stepped right into the fray, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Seriously? We can’t let kids celebrate Halloween? Give me a break.”
The post sparked a media firestorm and set local parents groups on Facebook buzzing, reigniting the same tense discussion that began weeks prior with Dr. Taylor’s letter. It is unclear why Mr. Murphy decided to weigh in on the discussion now. Both towns had voted overwhelmingly for him in 2021, when Mr. Murphy became the first Democrat to be re-elected to the governor’s office in 44 years.
The debate over Halloween comes amid fraught discussions in recent years on efforts to tackle racial inequity and improve diversity in the South Orange and Maplewood schools, which have about 7,200 students. The district is in the midst of an integration plan that has changed how students are assigned to elementary schools in an attempt to reduce education segregation and improve outcomes for Black students.
Dr. Taylor wrote in a follow-up news release that the Halloween decision came after school principals were surveyed and said they “were overwhelming in favor of discontinuing Halloween celebrations in school.”
The letter acknowledged that the move might invite a backlash, but it was important, he wrote, “to building equity, fostering inclusion, and building a sense of belonging throughout our schools.”
That’s not to say there will be nothing happening on Halloween. Dr. Taylor said he expected that some elementary schools in the district would have a “Fall/Harvest Festival” on Oct. 31.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
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What do you think about the South Orange and Maplewood school district’s decision to stop allowing Halloween activities?
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What about the reasoning behind the decision? Do you think it will help with the district’s intention of wanting all students to feel included in the culture of their school? Explain.
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Is it fair to celebrate Halloween in school if there are students who do not or cannot participate? Is it fair to eliminate Halloween for all students because of those who do not take part? If the decision were yours to make, what would you do and why?
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How does your school handle Halloween? Do you think it should do something different? Why or why not?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
