Trick-or-Treat-or-Not

Halloween is just around the corner.  I love Halloween.  It’s definitely one of my top three favorite holidays along with New Year’s Eve and the 4^th of July. There is nothing better as a kid, than running around in costume in the dark getting tons of candy.  As an adult, I love getting dressed up and waiting to scare the children that come to my house.

Which is why it really disturbs me that some public schools aren’t even allowed to celebrate Halloween anymore.   According the Seattle Public School district, “costumes could offend or upset students who come from other cultures”.  The pagan origins of modern Halloween can be found in the Celtic celebration of Samhain, or "End of Summer." The Celts believed that on this agricultural harvest festival the dead revisit the land of the living and communal fires were needed to ward off evil. Many feel that celebrating Halloween is somehow promoting paganism, witchcraft and the occult.

I’m not sure how dressing up as a comic book hero and knocking on doors for candy is related to paganism, but it did get me thinking.  In a few weeks, we will be discussing our First Amendment rights, and the separation of church and state.  Halloween isn’t the only holiday that schools have banned in the interest of not offending anyone.  So my question to you this week is, “What do you think of school’s celebrating holidays?  Should they celebrate all holidays, some holidays or none at all?”  For an added twist, “What are your Halloween plans?”  I’d love to hear what you’re dressing up as!  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, October 31^st, 2012.  Have a happy and safe Halloween! 

Look Who's Talking

The second round of Presidential debates happened this past Tuesday.  Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack squared off in a town hall style of debate, which meant undecided voters got to ask them questions on topics related to the economy, women’s rights, and foreign policy, amongst other things.  In case you missed it, you can watch the full debate here: http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/10/16/us/politics/100000001849654/timescast-politics-presidential-debate.html?partner=rss&emc=rss#100000001849654

I must say I thought this was a good and entertaining debate. Yes, I am nerdy enough to consider Presidential debates entertaining!  After being bored out of my mind during the first debates, I was glad to see a variety of issues come up in this one. I did think at times both candidates were a little disrespectful to the moderator, but overall it was a spirited conversation.

So my question you this week is two-fold. First, I would like to know, “If you could ask the candidates one question in this style of debate, what would it be?”  Second, I would like you to research how you think both candidates would answer.  Both Romney and Obama have long records having served as Governor and President respectively.  They have also completed two debates and have been on the campaign trail for months, so there should be no shortage of information regarding how they feel about specific issues.  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, October 24^th, 2012.  You must answer both parts to receive full credit.

Celebrating National Coming Out Day - Part 3

This week, we will start a discussion regarding same sex marriage in class. It happens to coincide with National Coming Out Day which is October 11^th. National Coming Out Day, which began in 1987 promotes a safe world for LGBT individuals to live truthfully and openly. You can read about the controversy that happened here in Indianapolis two years ago on National Coming Out Day and what your fellow students had to say about it here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2010/10/celebrating-national-coming-out-day.html

This year, in honor of National Coming Out Day and in support of a more tolerant America, I decided to blog about the rise of bullying due to sexual orientation. In a previous class, we discussed the issue of cyber-bullying. You can read my thoughts and the student comments here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2010/09/cyber-age-of-bullying.html

The first time I remember hearing about this issue was in 1998, when Matthew Shepherd was targeted, tortured and murdered because of his sexual orientation. I’m sure other hate crimes such as this had happened prior to this event, but it was Matthew’s murder that sticks in my mind most. Tomorrow marks the 14^th anniversary of Matthew Shepherd’s death. Today, hate crimes and bullying based on sexual orientation remain on the rise. Consider the following:

• According to the Gay Lesbian Straight Educator’s Network, students hear anti-gay epithets over 25 times a day and teachers fail to respond 97% of the time
• According to the Task Force on Youth Suicide, gay youth are 3 times more likely than straight youths to commit suicide. In fact, 30% of all youth suicides have been linked to issues the youth faced concerning their sexual identity
• The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force reports 28% of gay students drop out of high school
• In a survey done by the National School Climate Task Force, 64% of gay students feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation

So my question to you this week is, “What do you think can be done to prevent bullying or hate crimes against homosexuals? How should students, parents and the community raise awareness of this issue? Be specific!” Answers are due no later than Wednesday, October 17^th, 2012.

Choose Your Own Adventure

This week we started our study of the Constitution and the freedoms that make us uniquely American. You can order your own free copy of the United States Constitution from: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=bookstore&page=freeCopy.cfm

Normally, our first blog post has something to do with the freedoms you value most and whether or not you are proud to call yourself an American. This quarter, I would like to start with something different. A good portion of this class will be spent discussing current events and political issues that affect our everyday lives. For this post, I would like you to tell me at least one issue that you are interested in studying. To help you out, you can look over the blog posts that we've had in the past several years to get an idea of the type of things we've covered. Many of the topics are pretty controversial and I do my best to not censor the information available to you.

So my question to you this week is, "What is one issue that you are interested in studying in this class?" Answers are due no later than Wednesday, October 10th, 2012. I hope all of you had a wonderful fall break!