PS Day of the Dead unit study rant....

[Julpost]

For some reason, I just can not fathom how making paper pop up coffins with skeletons with colorful wigs and dressing up "adorable skeleton dogs w/ an ipod" (does that phrase even make sense? Adorable??) is commemorating deceased loved ones!

These are the things my first grader is doing...and will be doing for the next 2 weeks. They've already been working on this unit for 2 weeks as it is. A whole month???? They're decorating a hanging skeleton in the classroom with scarves, etc. They're coloring paper skeletons and making sugar skull cookies. How does this celebrate their lives?

It gives me the creeps and makes me feel helpless. I already discussed it with the teacher and told the principal that if this study is done each year, my daughter will be excused from her class next year (they have 2 years with the same teacher). Of course, we'll probably be homeschooling so I won't even have to worry about it. :001_smile:But since it's not a definite decision, thought I wouldn't mention it quite yet.

What is this world coming to? With all of the worthwhile and uplifting things to study, why spend so much time focusing on this one particular day. I can see studying it maybe 1 day, maybe 2. But a month????

In addition to all of this, they didn't have a holiday party but will be having a party at the conclusion of this unit!!!

I must be missing something. This just doesn't make sense to me. Anyone care to enlighten me??

[Wendi]

I taught Spanish this year at co-op, and included Mexican culture and holidays. We read aloud a children's book about the Day of the Dead, talked about remembering loved ones who have died, and colored a picture.

I don't have any problem with learning about the holiday, and the idea of using skeletons and skulls as decorations as a part of it. But I don't see the purpose of spending a whole month on a holiday from another culture! Do they spend a whole month on Thanksgiving or Memorial Day?

Wendi

[LunaLee]

Do you live in an area that has a big hispanic population? Maybe the teacher just wants to make sure she covers the topic in depth. How often do they work on this topic each day? Every day, a couple times a week, once a week? Sometims it's hard to cover a subject thouroughly in a class room when there are other things going on.

And I have to disagree, about spending so much time on a holiday from another country. Not trying to open a can of worms on the political correctness of holidays in the school systems-here they don't even call them Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter break-however, learning about customs/holidays from other countries will help the kids better relate to other people.

Just my .02

[JennifersLost]

The thing that's confusing me here is that isn't the Day of the Dead November 1st? That's when we always celebrated it in California. I loved learning about the tradition when I moved there because it was such an awesome serious counterpart to the frivolity of Halloween. We could be lighthearted about death on one day, and then talk about it more seriously the next.

I, too, wonder about spending a whole month on the theme. Shouldn't they be growing seeds for their gardens, or something???

I think that as a teacher you can never win. Maybe she just delved into studying this topic and found so much that interested her that she couldn't pick only one or two things.

[LunaLee]

:)

[Julpost]

Do you live in an area that has a big hispanic population?

No, we're in New England. She usually does the study in the fall but she was on a trip to Australia at the time.

[Teddi]

If my young child were being subjected to such bizarre lesson plans, I'd have pulled her out of there at least a week ago. A month on this topic is extreme "overkill," IMHO.

[Kinsa]

Hmmm... I guess I see it a little differently.

I live in San Antonio --- BIG hispanic population here. I would even venture to say that the Hispanic population is the MAJORITY here, not the minority.

Our country is VERY QUICKLY growing a large Hispanic population, and not just on the "border states". Since the trend in this country is going that way, I would not have a problem with my child learning about the culture and traditions of the Hispanic people.

The Dia de los Muertos is a three-day celebration that is taken very seriously by the Hispanic community. Anglos only think it's "creepy" because it wasn't something that they were regularly exposed to in their upbringing. I can assure you that it is not creepy in any way. It is simply a way of honoring and remembering your loved ones who are deceased.

The reason that skulls and skeletons are used is for symbolism. The skull was the Aztec/Mexican symbol for death AND life. To them, life was like a dream, and only through dying did they truly awaken. So death wasn't so much the END of life as a CONTINUATION of it.

Anyway, all this to say that no, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Perhaps the reason that the teacher is taking an entire month to study it is that originally the Aztec celebration WAS an entire month (in the month of August). It was only when the Spaniards conquered the area and tried to convert the indiginous people to Catholicism that they moved the celebration to coincide with All Saints Day and shorten it to a three-day memorial period.

Editing to add that the sugar skulls are part of the Hispanic tradition. The sugar skulls are made, and then the name of a deceased loved on is written on the forehead of it, and then it is eaten. It's just part of the tradition.

[Mamagistra]

Oh, yeah...didn't you post some ambivalence about this a few weeks back?

Skeleton dogs with Ipods?!? :001_huh::blink:

ETA: I for one mean no cultural disrespect in replying here. I will say that it is just plain weird to study DdlM at this time of year, for that length of time, in the first grade. And the crafts the op mentioned do sound like a lot of silly busywork to me...

[Kinsa]

I would also like to send out a gentle reminder to everyone about being critical of other people's traditions. Whether you mean to or not, this type of thread could inadvertantly hurt some people's feelings.

[Teddi]

Would you feel comfortable if a month were spent on Roman Catholicism since a majority of the Hispanic population is now Catholic? Just curious.

The extended DOD emphasis smacks of religious teaching. I would NOT allow my child to be indoctrinated in this way and do not understand why anyone would be for it when there are sooooo many other interesting things that first-graders could/should be studying.

Hmmm... I guess I see it a little differently.

I live in San Antonio --- BIG hispanic population here. I would even venture to say that the Hispanic population is the MAJORITY here, not the minority.

[Teddi]

I disagree strongly with this. Not all traditions are created equal. For example, the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice, a practice certainly not worthy of respect.

I would also like to send out a gentle reminder to everyone about being critical of other people's traditions.

[melissel]

Would you feel comfortable if a month were spent on Roman Catholicism since a majority of the Hispanic population is now Catholic? Just curious.

The extended DOD emphasis smacks of religious teaching. I would NOT allow my child to be indoctrinated in this way.

While I do think it's weird that they're spending a month on the topic (on any topic, really, especially one whose season is already long past), IMO, the DOD is a cultural celebration, not a religious one--similar to our Thanksgiving or Halloween.

[Kinsa]

Teddi -

Dia de los Muertos is more a cultural tradition, and not a religious one. It would be akin to studying the Chinese New Year. (To answer your question, no, I wouldn't mind if my children learned Catholicism as long as it was taught within a cultural reference and not a religious one. Same with Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. I think it's important for children to understand that not everyone believes and acts the same way that they do.)

And as far as studying human sacrifice... well, there aren't any cultures in today's day and age that are practicing that, as far as I'm aware. ;)

Studying Dia de los Muertos is simply a way of understanding a culture that surrounds us and is gaining in influence in modern-day America. While I do think it's a bit overkill to spend an entire month on it, I don't see a problem at all with studying it in a classroom.

And with that, I am bowing out of this conversation. There's nothing more for me to say.

[Barb F. PA in AZ]

I for one would like to see threads like this die. This board really isn't an appropriate place to rant about public schools, guys.

Barb

[Plaid Dad]

Deleted. I thought better of it.

[Teddi]

Teddi -
I think it's important for children to understand that not everyone believes and acts the same way that they do.
:iagree: Though as a homeschooler, I have the freedom to explain why we disagree with such beliefs, practices,etc. This is more difficult to achieve when your child is in the ps setting all day.

And as far as studying human sacrifice... well, there aren't any cultures in today's day and age that are practicing that, as far as I'm aware. ;) LOL! Thank heavens!! I guess my point, which I didn't express very well, is that I don't agree with the idea that all cultures/traditions/societies are equal morally.

While I do think it's a bit overkill to spend an entire month on it, I don't see a problem at all with studying it in a classroom.

I think the only place we disagree here is on the amount of overkill. You think it's "a bit." I think it's over-the-top. :D

And with that, I am bowing out of this conversation. There's nothing more for me to say.

I hope you'll at least come back to read my comments.:)

[WTMindy]

is not necessarily studying anything for a month because I'm sure you could do a lot of cross-curricular things with it, but one of the reasons we did not put our kids in public school was the inordinate amount of time they spent cutting & pasting things with no real value to the project. I love projects, we do weekly projects, but I try to have them authentic and not just cut out and decorate. I jokingly told my dh after we observed a K class (when we were deciding what to do for K) that our nation is producing the world's best cutters. We will be able to compete internationally at a high level in cutting and pasting skills!

Now, maybe if they were labeling all those bones! :-)