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Broomfield school scares me
Contributed by: Louise Benson on 10/4/2007

Kohl Elementary will no longer have an annual Halloween party, an icon of American childhood. Instead, a "Fall Celebration" will be this Friday, to be more "inclusive."

Halloween developed from "All Hallow's Eve," a Christian religious event that has morphed into a truly non-sectarian American cultural holiday for children. Most cultures world-wide have similar events that revere ancestors from the grave, and help us face our fears of death. It is an over-reaction of some Christians and Muslims to relate this harmless holiday to evil forces.

Reasonable concerns such as too-scary costumes can be, and have been, addressed in schools run by real adults. This is overkill.

What we are heading for is absolutely no recognition of any holiday in our public schools, including Thanksgiving and Valentines Day. Christmas is long gone. I do believe winter holiday programs should recognize major faith traditions, but extending this thinking to minority viewpoints on non-sectarian holidays is ridiculous.

This is the Boulder Valley School District in action. Is this what we really want for Broomfield? Think about it. A Broomfield Unified School District has many benefits, one of which is building a sensible district based on community values.


Update: This is clearly a controversial issue, based on media coverage regarding the reasons for the decision, and the comment below. My son went to Kohl K-5 over a decade ago when it was our neighborhood school, and this never would have happened with Bob Rea, the principal then. I really do believe this is political correctness that is fostered by BVSD, and also a leadership issue, and that a Broomfield district would not go in this direction on non-sectarian holidays. As for the costume expense "issue", there are many times small expenses are covered by a school fund, for example field trips. And imaginative costumes can be very cheap, from used clothing, old sheets, etc.


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Submitted By: Pam Gentry
posted on 10/5/2007 @ 7:56:48 PM
Rated Story
The decision of the staff and principal of Kohl Elementary to not have costumes at school has much less to do with political correctness and more to do with that fact that it's a SCHOOL, a place to learn, and costumes are very distracting. However, it was your "point" that this was a BVSD action that prompted me to comment. The school's decision had absolutely nothing to do with a BVSD. Check this out with Cindy Kaier if you don't believe me. But you cannont make this into a campaign issue for you. And, because of this irresponsible comment, you've lost my vote. I'll be returning your lawn sign tomorrow.
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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Louise Benson

Broomfield , CO

Louise Benson has posted 64 stories and 38 comments since joining on 3/11/2007. Louise Benson 's average story rating is 4.51.
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