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Elementary School Shuts Down Halloween Traditions in the Name of Equality

October 04, 2017
Staff

WRITER

An elementary school in Massachusetts has ended its annual tradition of letting kids wear costumes and have class parties for Halloween because it was too “awkward” to plan something not every kid was going to attend.

“It’s fun! I can’t see why people want to preclude kids from having fun, and enjoy something that’s more cultural,” one parent said.

Teachers reportedly told the principal that they didn’t want to plan parties that not all the students could attend. Some families kept their kids home to avoid any Halloween-related festivities.

Doc and Kal talked about parents’ choices raising their kids and why parents, not the school, are responsible for what they decide.

“[Ending Halloween parties] isn’t about the students; this is about the principal and the teachers who feel bad that some of the children might not be going,” Doc said. “Well, I don’t want you to hurt, but get over it.”

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

Doc: It sounds like you know a little bit. You know there is four people that get that joke. Mitchell elementary school in mead ham, Massachusetts like most schools have had a traditional Halloween party and classrooms get together, kids dress up, and share treats and sometimes trick-or-treat here and have a costume parade here. But this year Mitchell elementary school in mead HP ham, Massachusetts is ending the Halloween party. They will no longer have Halloween festivities at the school.

Kris: It is the devil?

Doc: I would respect that more. But no, no, there is another reason.

Kris: Two girls wearing something inappropriate?

Doc: Everybody becomes the slutty-whatever costume. No, we will take a break. I want you to think about it and we will get back to you after the break.

Glenn Beck. This is TheBlaze Radio Network. Truth lives here.

Doc: Mitchell Elementary school, Needham, Maine, the school said not all families celebrate Halloween so they decided to stop holding the festival in order to not exclude children. Not all families celebrate Halloween so therefore they would exclude some children.

Kris: I thought it was about cultural appropriation. People dressing like Indians.

Doc: We always had that. Trust me. In Massachusetts, the last ten years, nobody has

dressed as cowboys and Indians or anything like that. They are not dressing with sombreros or anything. This takes it to a new level. Yes, there is a lot of Christians who don't celebrate Halloween thinking it anti-Christian. It is a silly, funny, stupid holiday to dress up for kids to get candy. It is up to you. Raise your kids how you want and I support that.

But why are you shutting it down for everybody because some don't celebrate it?

Kris: Isn't the whole thing I will punish everybody because of one person?

Doc: In the past you would shut things down like Christmas parties, which was wrong, because not everybody is a Christian or Hanukkah because not everybody is Jewish. But those were based on religion. As wrong as it was to shut them down it was exclusionary based on religion. If you take part of it, you say we are forcing kids to take part in religious exercise. This is simply an event some kids chose not to be a part of. It is not actually religious. You could say your religion is excluding your children or you don't want them there because of your religion but it is not a religious holiday.

Kris: No, it's not.

Doc: This is like saying I don't want my kids to learn sex-ed so therefore we are not teaching it to anybody.

Kris: We have seen one kid allergic to peanuts and the teacher says sorry, nobody brings any peanut-related item.

Doc: It is like saying your child doesn't wear red so nobody can wear red anymore. See what I'm saying? It is nutty. Don't wear red. Don't go to the Halloween show. Don't take part. Stay home. But no, we can't do that because it is exclusionary again. Maybe I just don't want my kid to go to any party? I will keep them hope. But you have to say no, we are stopping everybody. The principal wrote a letter and wrote something the awkwardness of planning knowing not all students would be able to participate was troubling.

Do you see the awkwardness planning this class celebration knowing not all of the students would be able to participate? This isn't about the student. This is about the principal and the teachers who feel bad that some of the children may not be going and they were hurting the whole time they planned this. I don't want you to hurt but get over it. Are you upset not every kid celebrates Christmas? Kal, did you celebrate Christmas growing up?

>> Kal: Nope.

Doc: You happen to not be Christian?

Kris: That is correct.

Doc: But you went to catholic high school?

>> Kal: And college as well?

Doc: Did everybody have to stop being Christian?

>> Kal: No, it wasn't force. You had to go to theology classes and experience that but during mass you just hung out on the side.

Doc: You didn't celebrate Christmas?

>> Kal: No, not really. I did not cry about it.

Doc: Were your parents and everybody devastated? No. I get over it. It is what it is.

>> Kal: My parents sent me to private school for the education. They didn't care what we did.

Doc: On November 9th, the school will celebrate something else. William Mitchell day.

Kris: What is that?

Doc: The namesake of the elementary school. It is probably somebody of historic significance.

Kris: Do you get candy? If I were a parent I would send my kid dressed up on that day.

Doc: Something culturally inappropriate. Trick-or-treat. Wait, what do we do on William Mitchell day?

I remember when I was in second, third, fourth grade --

Kris: Long time ago. Back in the 1800s.

Doc: There was a girl we will call Kelly. She was in my class. I remember she wasn't at the Christmas party. She wasn't at the Halloween party or the Easter party or any of those. She was part of something called Jehovah Witness. Her parents didn't send her to school those days.

Kris: She was sad about it, though?

Doc: I don't know. She wasn't there.

Kris: You felt like she needed to be there?

Doc: I didn't care. I was there. No, I thought that sucks but something I don't understand. I was glad it wasn't me. But it was funny. She went to the valentine's day party.

Kris: Really? So Valentine's day was okay?

Doc: Apparently with their group.

Kris: Is there different things for different groups?

Doc: I don't know. I was in second and third and fourth grade. Don't send your kid to school or if you have problem with this send them somewhere else. Public cool is supposed to be for the masses. That is when it is. People in the community say this is absolutely fine and they don't want to take part in this fine. But if I am in the community, I would think most people are okay with a Halloween party. I am pretty ticked if they make this decision without asking the parents. I think most people say, yeah, have a Halloween party.

>> Yeah, especially because for me Halloween is a day to give candy.

Doc: Does your son love it?

Kris: He does.

Doc: Would he be upset if they cancel it?

Kris: He would be really upset.

Doc: This is one of those if you are they still do it because of the majority of others don't want it, move schools.

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE