Should Argentinian schools celebrate Halloween?

[Admin]

Some people think it's good that schools in Argentina celebrate Halloween, others believe it's quite negative, and a few just don't think it makes a difference...

Now, what do you think? Should schools in non-English speaking countries celebrate Halloween, or do such practices go against our national identity?

Gladys
multimedia@liceobritanico.com

[Fran]

I consider that, even when it is important to know that there are different cultures with different traditions and even though it is it is vital to respect them, I do not believe we should be part of a celebration that has nothing to do with our history and traditions. In my humble opinion, it is only a matter of money and not about sharing someone else´s customes.

[RitaZ]

As a "citizen of the world" --though I have always lived in Argentina-- my views can go as far as to say I'd myself like to have different cultures introduced to our own. We need to learn, to learn to share and to share..., and bringing in a different culture --not only the so-called "American" culture, with its broad spectrum of intercultural diversity, but "the world" culture-- would enrich ours, would make us all more tolerant, more open-minded, more humane. And much wiser.

[Berta]

Uhhhhmmmm!!!! This is a tough one.
Although I am not Argentinian and do not really know how Halloween has been celebrated in Argentina in the past years, I can only speak for Venezuela and the fact that unfortunately, it is celebrated as if it were a national holiday in the main cities. I am not against knowing more about the culture and traditions of other countries but I guess some people celebrate it simply as if it were carnival and without really knowing how it originated and what the meaning of the colors and costumes are, for example. Malls are completely decorated with Halloween stuff and many people who celebrate their birthdays near that date usually have a Halloween kind of party (I am sure they did not have it like that 20 years ago ...) I guess I am a bit against following traditions from other cultures superficially simply because it is "cool" or that´s what everyone else is doing.

But if we take into consideration schools and the teaching of English as a foreign language, it is certainly a topic to be taken into account as students are not only learning the language, but the culture of its native speakers as well. It would be ideal to mix a local celebration with activities that would make students know more about this holiday, its origins, how it is celebrated, its key terms, differences in how it is celebrated in different English speaking countries or even have students make their own costumes from recycled materials, for example.

Thanks for providing this space to share our thoughts.

Happy Halloween, by the way!!!

[nagora]

Hi everyone!
Thanks a lot, Gladys, for inviting to participate in the forum about celebrating Halloween.
In fact, we've never celebrated Halloween in our country (Ukraine). Though, we provide our students with the information about it and read a lot and discuss it in classes and after lessons. They definitely know much from reading texts, searching Internet.
I completely agree with Berta:

...take into consideration schools and the teaching of English as a foreign language, it is certainly a topic to be taken into account as students are not only learning the language, but the culture of its native speakers as well. It would be ideal to mix a local celebration with activities that would make students know more about this holiday, its origins, how it is celebrated, its key terms, differences in how it is celebrated in different English speaking countries or even have students make their own costumes from recycled materials, for example.

It would be great to learn from your students more about celebrating Halloween in Argentina.
Happy Halloween celebrating!!!

[Vanesa]

Generally, people associate this celebration with American culture and we (human beings) tend to reject those customs belonging to other countries and we would rather implement to local ones. This belief is completely reasonable because first we should inculcate our own customes in our children's minds but it is also important to make our students aware of the sense of otherness. This is one of the reasons why we teach foreign languages by the way. I mean, I believe that Halloween can be educational: we as teachers-to-be can contribute to our student's knowlegde of different cultures, that is, the fact that they exist and we should respect them but I'm not in favour of taking these as our own because actually, they have nothing to do with our culture and in many cases those who celebrate it here don't know what Halloween is about. They do it for the sake of having fun and wearing a costume.
I would like to highlight that Halloween is not only a joyful event meant for children but also a religious one that is worth inculcating in the children's minds.

[xMelx]

Of course it can. Being aware of others’ culture is one of the aims (if not the most important) of learning another language. Since we live in a globalised world we are already immerse in many cultures from the time in which we are born. Halloween is one of them, though it was not our custom to celebrate it in the past, children are very much attached to it or very attracted by it because they are exposed most of their time to television, internet, books (rarely though still worth to mention), films which foster these cultural exchanges.
As teachers we can take advantage of this to teach them some differences between cultures and even use it as a way of motivation. But always remember to make clear that although we accept and respect this custom it is not something that defines us.

Dark kisses to all of you,
… Trick or treat?

[Admin]

I often ask myself that very same questions year after year, but, I always end up celebrating it.
I choose to celebrate it because you can teach about the culture and beliefs of the target language, as well as revise or teach something new in linguistic terms while the disguise and have fun.
On the other hand, I think the question is not whether we should celebrate it or not, but how teachers approach to this celebration? If we don’t teach our students how Halloween originated or what it represented originally, they will take for granted that Halloween is part of our culture, which, in fact, is not true. If, on the contrary, we exploit this celebration to work on multiculturalism, for instance, by comparing this celebration to others, including ours, we will be succeeding in our role as educators.

By Miriam Rodriguez

[Admin]

I think that celebrate Halloween in Argentina can´t be educational because it is not our culture. Many people celebrate it because they think it is funny and can help children to learn more about other culture. But in my opinion, there is other ways to know about different cultures. Children should learn more about argentina´s national culture, this can be educational.

Romy

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