A Little Bit of Normal

On Wednesday we hit the pause button on normal school and met outside for the Halloween Parade. It was great. There were superheroes and minions, unicorns and skeletons. Waldo was hidden somewhere among the staff, and Grover Cleveland graced us with his presence. After the Parade we took part in a new event, a Fall Festival. We knocked over plastic bowling pins with pumpkins. We took a hayride, sipped cider, roasted marshmallows, and worked up the courage to walk through the (not so)Spooky Trail. It was all a lot of fun.

I’m a big believer in fun. It’s one reason why I’ve so enjoyed my career in education. Children are usually not too concerned about what other people think about them, especially when they are having fun. That’s why children are more playful than grown-ups. Walk across campus with a bucket on your head? Sure. How about a giant panda head? Why not? Sounds like fun. And it is! Like too much candy, too much fun is not good for you. But there is something wholesome and healthy and ennobling about giving in to your playful side and giggling with your friends for the sheer pleasure it brings. It makes everything else seem more manageable.

Much has been written these days about the “new normal”. This year, normal school is different. Our students and teachers have been very successful in transforming our new routines into normal routines. It is a measure of their resilience and character. But getting there has taken effort. It hasn’t been normal. I think we are all thirsting for pieces of life that feel normal again. We want to take part in activities that are effort-less because they are regular and familiar. That’s why the staff felt it was so important to devote time on Wednesday to a celebration where our students could engage in the crazy, goofy, normal rituals of Halloween. What’s more normal, if you are a kid, than putting on your Storm Trooper helmet, grabbing your lightsaber, and heading for school.