For some educators, Halloween is a favorite time of the year, a chance to be creative and share in fun traditions with students, a time to go big or gourd home. For others, the holiday kicks off a frightening slump as (energy) zombies come to feast on students鈥� (and teachers鈥�) motivation.
Wherever you fit on that spooktrum, there鈥檚 something for you in the Education Week archives. Over the years, our reporters and opinion contributors have covered all aspects of the of the howliday, including student engagement, cultural sensitivity, and learning opportunities.
So grab your pointy hat, gourd your candy with your life, and dig into the cauldron of good ideas.
(Before we get this party startled, here鈥檚 a Halloween list of deaducation鈥擨 mean education鈥攑uns that didn鈥檛 fit into this post: the science of treating, No Candy Left Behind, the Every Student Succeeds Cat, and the Common Gore State Standards.)
Oh my, that was groanworthy, but at least you鈥檒l have pumpkin to talk about! Read on!
Stop students from ghosting
One of the scariest things about Halloween? At a time when schools are spooked by high rates of chronic absenteeism, many report some of their lowest levels of attendance the next day, this 2021 story reports.
鈥淜ids are out later, they鈥檙e eating a heck of a lot of candy, and there is a likelihood that if a kid is struggling or griping about going to school, that maybe the family says, 鈥楬ey, stay home today,鈥欌�� Michael Romero, a regional superintendent for the Los Angeles Unified School District said at the time. 鈥淎nd if it is a kid who struggles with attendance, with chronic absenteeism, it鈥檚 just more likely that they don鈥檛 come back.鈥�
Some tips from educators on ensuring the spooky season doesn鈥檛 trigger an attendance slump:
- Don鈥檛 fight it. Schedule parent-teacher conferences or teacher work days on Nov. 1 to give students a built-in day off.
- Communicate with parents in advance. Use the week before Halloween as a time to check in with families, paying particular mind to students who already have concerning attendance patterns.
- Avoid stacking too many non-academic events in one day. If every class plans a party or a movie, students might get the message that they don鈥檛 need to show up, educators said.
- Boo-tilize鈥擨 mean utilize鈥攃ompetition. Award a prize for classrooms with high attendance on Nov. 1. Carrots鈥攁nd candy corn鈥攁re typically more motivational than sticks.
- Try throwing a pumpkin off of the roof. Seriously. Hedy Chang, a national advocate for improving school attendance, said such a Nov. 1 stunt can motivate students to fight the candy coma and come to class.
Lessons lurk in students鈥� candy hauls
A fun holiday doesn鈥檛 mean schools have to take a break from rigor mortis鈥擨 mean rigorous鈥攍earning opportunities.
At one school, teachers used the chocolate students collected trick-or-treating as a jumping off point for a long-term, multi-disciplinary learning project that incorporated concepts ranging from world politics, economics, and geography to literature, data collection, and botany, as this opinion piece describes.
鈥淛ust after Halloween, they dug into their Trick-or-Treat bags to collect baseline data on the most common types of chocolate candy bars鈥攖he makers and the ingredients,鈥� wrote former teacher Jessica Wood. 鈥淪ixth graders were surprised to notice the same manufacturers over and over (Mars, Nestle, Kraft) and that the common ingredient (along with sugar) was cacao. Who were these manufacturers? Where were they getting their ingredients? 69传媒鈥� questions were many, and we had fully ignited their interest.鈥�
The teachers used stories and artifacts they鈥檇 collected on a grant-funded trip to West Africa, where much of the world鈥檚 chocolate originates, to teach about cacao farming, candy manufacturing, and West African culture. 69传媒 learned about real-world child labor concerns associated with some popular products and ethical concerns involved in production, and they made their own chocolate concoctions.
鈥淎ny rich real-world topic that allows students to be scientists and historians can inspire students with opportunities to connect to their own lives and create work they are proud of,鈥� Wood wrote.
Be mindful of offensive costumes
If your school allows students to wear costumes in class, it鈥檚 important to set clear expectations for what is and is not appropriate, educators and advocates said in this 2014 story.
Researchers have found that students鈥� learning and engagement in school is closely linked to their sense of belonging. And that emotional safety can quickly be upended if a classmate dresses in a costume that mocks their culture, like cartoonish Native American garb, blackface, or items that draw on cultural stereotypes.
鈥淣ative peoples are a contemporary, LIVING group of people, not a costume ... Stop putting us in the same category as wizards and clowns,鈥� Adrienne Keene, an assistant professor at Brown University, wrote in a post rounding up offensive costumes.
It鈥檚 best to have conversations about appropriate costumes in advance to prevent harm, to communicate clearly with families about what鈥檚 acceptable, and to use discussions with students as learning opportunities about why stereotypes are offensive, educators said.
Some families also decline to celebrate Halloween for religious or personal reasons. 69传媒 can be sensitive to scary images and ideas. And some participate in more general 鈥淗arvest鈥� celebrations that emphasize fun and tone down the fright factor. It鈥檚 important that those students don鈥檛 feel excluded or othered by school events that are intended to be happy and uplifting.
Some schools have addressed these issues鈥攁nd added an educational element鈥攂y setting a theme for student dress. 69传媒 may dress like their favorite book characters or historical figures and explain their costumes to classmates, or participate in an optional costume parade after school or during the weekend.
Sneak in some social-emotional learning
Self-control is key for students鈥� success, both in the classroom and in their careers, says this 2022 opinion essay from psychologist Angela Duckworth, who popularized the concept of 鈥済rit鈥� among educators.
And there鈥檚 no better illustration of the value of self-control than a big plastic pumpkin filled with candy. Eat it all now and you鈥檒l have a tummy ache. Space it out gradually and the sweet treats will last longer.
But rather than avoiding a candy binge through sheer willpower, students could hide the bucket out of sight, as Duckworth did with the king-sized candy bars she planned to hand out to trick or treaters.
Such 鈥渟ituation modification鈥� can be a helpful skill to transfer into other environments, Duckworth wrote. 69传媒 don鈥檛 have to accept the circumstances as they find them. They could store their cell phones outside of their bedrooms at night to avoid long TikTok sessions or find a quieter place to study to promote focus.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not born knowing this self-control strategy,鈥� Duckworth wrote. 鈥淲e learn it.鈥�
