LETTERS: SCHOOL SALES AND NO HALLOWEEN

To the editor:

My son recently brought home two notices from school with which I feel I must take issue. One regards the annual fund-raising event and the other a decision to drop Halloween from the regularly scheduled school parties. I have received no notice from the school that either one of these topics was open to input from parents, so I will use this letter to state my views.

I understand that, instead of Halloween, Franklin will celebrate a Fall Festival this year, with the children being invited to wear straw hats and overalls. We do not have those items. What we have is a pile of material which through my own limited sewing ability and my son's boundless excitement and imagination was to be a wizard costume. He will have the opportunity to wear in Halloween night, but showing it to his school friends was the main point. It is a rare child whose best buddy lives next door. I must ask: Why is this favorite holiday being dropped from the school roster? It seems to me that we already celebrate a fall festival each year. We call it Thanksgiving.

Is the problem that costumes become to elaborate? The guidelines from last years, which prohibited masks, makeup and props, made it difficult to create much of a costume, but we managed. Is it that Halloween has its basis in the darker side of everyday life? That is how we learn to laugh at the dark. After all, Halloween has about as much to do with demons as Ester does with eggs and bunnies. I wonder if Valentine's Day and Christmas parties are any less expensive or messy. I don't think so.

The second theme to my letter is the annual fund raiser. I understand that Franklin is selling pizzas this year. Every day my doorbell is rung by apathetic little salespersons who rare comprehend what they are selling, how much it costs, when it will be delivered and, most especially, that the corporation whose slick magazine they are holding will receive all but a modest portion of the profit. These children are never accompanied by an adult during their agonized shuffle from neighbor to relative. Can this be safe? Most businesses will no longer permit Mom and Dad to boost sales by offering goods to their coworkers. How can schools see any profit in this? How can I respect a system which says that those who sell a specified amounts will get out of school to attend a party, while those who do not will be ignored?

If you want a great idea for a fund raiser, make a haunted house. Celebrate Halloween and charge a dollar at the door. You can keep all the profit and supply a really good time for everyone. I know it is too late for me to turn the thought processes around this year, but please reconsider for next year. My family will not be salesmen for large corporations. We will not give up Halloween. If you need funding, ask for my donation. Ask for my time. Ask for ideas. But do not ask my son to peddle overpriced, cheaply made merchandise. It is unacceptable.

TANA HOWARD

Cape Girardeau