Yesterday the classroom was filled with Halloween excitement. Only a few could focus as many had side conversations about costumes, parties, and trick-or-treating.
I thought about this in advance and planned activities that were both entertaining and educational, but their questions, the cluttered room, competitive holiday talk, sociability, and excitement led the the lesson astray. I used a strong voice to bring order, and then of course, I felt bad. I don't like to use a strong voice unless it's a "D&D" (dangerous and destructive) when the strong voice is used to bring about fast order and awareness.
That's when it dawned on me that this is just the start of a season of many holidays that represent many religions and family traditions. It was time for the holiday talk.
I started the talk with the fact that we all celebrate a variety of holidays, and this doesn't mean one holiday or tradition is better than another. In America, we have the right to celebrate what we want and how we want, and it's our responsibility to respect each others' traditions. Then I talked about the excitement that comes with the holiday season. I relayed a story from my childhood.
When I was little, I lived in a little green cape in a suburban-like city neighborhood. Our family celebrated Christmas, and we had a tradition of going to my Uncle's party every Christmas Eve. One Christmas Eve, my mom asked all the children in our family, six of us ages two-twelve, to wait in the den for our dad to come home. She was probably finishing up the baking, wrapping presents, and getting ready for the party. As you might expect my four brothers, sister, and I were wild with excitement and there was lots of jumping, playing, and teasing going on in that small family room.
I remember sitting by the window with the excitement all around me watching the lights of the cars shining up the busy, nearby street waiting for my Uncle's car to stop and let my dad out so the celebration could begin. For some reason, it seemed like my dad always had to work a bit later on Christmas Eve, so I waited and waited a bit nervous about the delay. The excitement grew in the room as we waited. The boys started jumping and tumbling on the couch. Then someone's foot went through the window, CRASH!
The excitement changed to wild confusion, and my mom was not too happy. Soon after, my dad arrived home and he wasn't very happy either. There were tears and hurt feelings and a sense that the holiday was ruined, but later, on the ride to my Uncle's, my father gave the holiday speech acknowledging that sometimes great excitement can turn a happy event to a disaster, and it was time to make-up, learn from our mistake, and enjoy the celebrations. We all felt better and started looking for Santa in the sky while we sang Christmas carols.
After I told the story to the students, I said that it was similar in our class. There were some hurt feelings and bad choices today and it was probably due to the holiday excitement. I then noted that we will have simpler, more direct lessons in the weeks ahead to complement the busy, holiday festivities happening in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities. School will be the quieter place at this time of the year. They understood the message. We cleaned up the classroom, and we're ready for the more structured start on Monday. Building community, supporting one another, and the learning/teaching year continues.
