Trick or Treat: A Night for Caring

Trick or treat, smell my feet,  give me something good to eat!  Tomorrow is the Friday before Halloween and I just finished making 120 goodie bags of candy for my students.  And yes, it cost a pretty penny.   I tried to make them good goodie bags and filled them with Rice Krispie bars, Gardettos, candy bars, Fun Dips—you name it, if it’s not good for you, it’s probably in the bag.  I had a colleague tell me I was silly to spend that kind of money on my students, but I have to disagree.  Not because they need the sugar.  No one needs that amount of sugar!The reason it is important to do this for kids is because one of the most important lesson any teacher teaches is that it is critical that we care about one another whenever given the opportunity.

 I recently read the story of Kitty Genovese with my AP juniors.  Kitty Genovese was murdered outside of her apartment building over a twenty minute period while thirty-eight of her neighbors listened to her screams for help.  No one called the police until she was dead.  She had been attacked three separate times over that twenty minute time period.  Then we discussed last year’s rape at a Richmond, California, high school where purported twenty different kids stood around and watched as a young girl was gang raped.  Some even took pictures and video with their cell phones. 

My kids were incredulous at these stories.  They couldn’t believe people could be so uncaring.  I could.  The world is full of callousness and unkindness.  We hear about it every day.  Kids, even high school kids, want to believe that isn’t true.  They want to believe that the world cares about them.  And some folks in the world do care.  But a lot don’t.

So as I teacher, not only do I teach reading and writing and the joys of poetry, I also try to teach kids that when we get the chance, it’s good to send a little love out into the world.  Maybe this means opening the door for someone whose arms are loaded down with books.  Maybe it means not cussing in front of your grandma.  Maybe it means helping a younger sibling with their homework.  And maybe it means bringing in a small sack of goodies on Halloween just so the person who receives it knows you care.

It’s a small gesture for the kids in my class, but I hope it speaks volumes.  I hope that they think about how many people are willing to work to give them the opportunity at a better life.  I hope they think about the fact that even if they go hungry tonight, someone cares about bringing a smile to their face. I hope that they consider that love doesn’t always come from our family, but it comes in some way if we open our hearts to it.

You may say I am idealistic, and I would say, “Thanks.” I have a belief, though-- a belief that you can’t work with kids without caring deeply about them.  So tomorrow, as they leave my room, I will hand my students their sugar laden bags and smile, hoping it sends a special message to each of them on this night  of ghouls and goblins.