- Will your costume cost you your job?
- Halloween will be celebrated on Monday, October 31, 2022.
- Jethro’s Best Halloween Costume
- Prediction: By mid-November, at least one teacher will have been fired for an inappropriate costume
- Great article on the history of Halloween at History.com
- Celebration dates back roughly 2,000 years, when the Celts lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off ghosts. They called the celebration Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”)
- “To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.”
- “In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft.”
- “Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything “frightening” or “grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century.”
- “Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats.”
- “Thus, a new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday after Christmas.”
- “One quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. is purchased for Halloween.”
- Halloween Is Increasingly Popular Among Adults – Fascinating article in The Conversation
- Between 2005 and 2018, the number of adults celebrating Halloween rose from 50% to more than 70%
- Halloween is particularly popular among younger adults (18–34), who spend 2x older adults on costumes
- “Halloween celebrations have changed, too: less trick-or-treating and more parties and bar hopping. Today, alcohol is as important as candy to the Halloween economy.”
- But why? “If Halloween has become more popular among adults, it’s because traditional markers of adulthood have become less clear and less attainable.”
- “Halloween, with its emphasis on identity, horror and transgression, can tell us about who we want to be and what we fear becoming.”
- “For example, urban legends about razor blades in apples in the 1970s reflected cultural anxieties about loss of community and fear of strangers.”
- Fred – “Operation Goblin”
- “More recently, debates about skimpy costumes tap into broader concerns about young girls growing up too quickly.”
- “Traditional markers of adult responsibility and independence – family, career, home ownership – have either been delayed or abandoned altogether, by choice or necessity. Transitions to adulthood have become uncertain, drawn out and complicated.”
- “So why might an emerging adult be drawn to Halloween? Most obviously, Halloween costumes let them experiment and explore self and identity. The possibilities are endless. Witch? Robot couple? Sexy Robot? Emoji? Banksy’s shredded art? Young adults I’ve spoken with often identify this as their favorite part of the holiday – the chance to be, at least for a night, whatever they wish to be.”
- “And young adults don’t do it alone. Some have told me that they’ll test out different costumes on social media to see which gets the best response. Others will look to others online for inspiration.”
- “In this way, Halloween meshes with modern networked culture, in which young adults are using social media to navigate the world and make choices. Sociologists have found that many young adults build “collaborative selves” by continuously looking to others online to reinforce and evaluate their identities.”
- “Halloween has always promised the chance to be creative and to become something else. But in embracing the holiday, emerging adults are doing more than reject traditional adulthood. They’re playing with identity in a way that puts their skills and cultural competence to work. They’re defining new ways to be – and become – an adult. And in the process, they’ve changed the way Halloween is celebrated.”
- The Tensions of Halloween
- An Opportunity to Play with Identity vs. Cultural/Racial Appropriation
- Role Model vs. Individual Choice
- Role Model vs. Halloween’s Themes of Gore, Violence, Horror, etc.
- Freedom of “Speech” vs. Empathy and Respect
- Model Code of Ethics for Educators
“https://www.nasdtec.net/page/MCEE_Doc”
- The professional educator demonstrates responsibility to oneself and the profession by: Refraining from professional or personal activity that may lead to reducing one’s effectiveness within the school community
- The professional educator respects the rights and dignity of all students by: Taking into account how appearance and dress can affect one’s interactions and relationships with students
- The professional educator demonstrates an ethic of care through:
- 1. Seeking to understand students’ educational, academic, personal and social needs as well as students’ values, beliefs and cultural background;
- 2. Respecting the dignity, worth and uniqueness of each individual student including, but not limited to, actual and perceived gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual orientation, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic context, status, and culture
- The professional educator promotes appropriate and effective effective and appropriate relationships with parents/guardians by: Demonstrating a commitment to equality, equity, diversity and inclusion with parents/guardians
- The professional educator promotes appropriate and effective and appropriate relationships with employers by: Exhibiting personal and professional conduct that is in the best interest of the organization, learning community, school community and profession;
- Costumes to Avoid – from Good Housekeeping
- Holocaust victim/Nazi
- Anything involving blackface
- Transphobic costumes
- The COVID–19 pandemic
- Body-shaming and objectifying costumes
- Cultural stereotypes
- Terrorist-related
- Zombie versions of dead celebrities
- Eating disorders / body dysmorphia
- Animal cruelty
- The mentally ill
- Sexual harassment or abuse
- A homeless person
- National tragedies
- Social movements (pro/con)
- Additional Themes that Can Be Landmines
- Politics
- Overly sexualized – no “Sexy Teacher” costumes, at least around kids
- Overly Gory or Gruesome
- Thanks to Social Media, Your Costume Choice Can Be Judged Globally
- Avoiding the Costume Cybertrap
- Think! Will Your Attempt at Humor Be Offensive or Hurtful?
- Get a Second (or Third) Opinion
- Administrators Should Share Advice (and This Podcast) Now
- You Don’t Have to Be Around Kids to Get in Trouble
- - Resources
- #2022–09–27 Most Offensive Halloween Costumes This Year
“https://www.workandmoney.com/s/most-offensive-halloween-costumes–866dfb26e5884879”
- #2022–06–06 15 Offensive Halloween Costumes That Shouldn’t Exist
“https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/a40778/most-offensive-halloween-costumes/”
- #2021–11–18 The Parkdale Teacher Who Wore Blackface As A Halloween Costume Got Fired By The Toronto District School Board
“https://6ix.buzz/the-parkdale-teacher-who-wore-blackface-as-a-halloween-costume-got-fired-by-the-toronto-district-school-board/”
- #2021–11–03 A White teacher is under investigation after showing up to school in blackface, the principal says
“https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/03/us/blackface-white-teacher-canada-trnd/index.html”
- #2021–11–01 Teacher Who Came to School in Blackface Forced to Wash to ‘Not Cause Further Harm’
“https://www.newsweek.com/teacher-who-came-school-blackface-forced-wash-not-cause-further-harm–1644621”
- #2022–10–03 Halloween 2022
“https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#:~:text=In%20the%20late%201800s%2C%20there,way%20to%20celebrate%20the%20day.”
- #2021–10–29 It’s 2020. Offensive costumes have NO place in Halloween.
“https://www.pride.com/identities/8-problematic-halloween-costume-ideas-you-should-never-attempt
” - #2021–10–25 The Cybertraps Podcast, Episode 88: “Will Your Costume Cost You Your Career?”
“https://www.cybertraps.com/2021/10/25/will-your-costume-cost-you-your-career-cybertraps–88-halloween-edition/”
- #2020–08–19 Please Avoid These 15 Inappropriate Halloween Costumes
“https://finance.yahoo.com/photos/15-totally-inappropriate-halloween-costumes–154207858/”
- #2019–03–20 Teacher wore an Obama mask, Trump hat to school and it didn’t go over well
“https://www.nj.com/essex/2019/03/teachers-obama-mask-trump-hat-costume-fuels-racial-tensions-at-high-school.html”
- #2018–10–31 At this high school, staff and students take Halloween very seriously
“https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/holy-spirit-school-costumes–1.4885711”
- #2018–10–29 ‘My culture is not a costume’: Seattle school talks appropriate Halloween costumes
“https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/take–5/my-costume-is-not-a-culture-seattle-school-talks-appropriate-halloween-costumes/281–609343212”
- #2018–10–26 Why has Halloween become so popular among adults?
“https://theconversation.com/why-has-halloween-become-so-popular-among-adults–104896”
- #2018–10–25 Iowa Elementary School Teacher Allegedly Wears Blackface to Halloween Party
“https://www.newsweek.com/teacher-iowa-allegedly-blackface-halloween-party–1188281”
- #2016–11–04 Seattle high school teacher suspended for controversial Halloween costume
“https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/seattle-high-school-teacher-suspended-for-controversial-halloween-costume/463887455/”
Check out this episode!
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