Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat!

This Thursday, we celebrated Halloween at Yongfeng. The kids spent the days leading up to Halloween making masks and crafts to prepare for our celebration. When they arrived at school on the 31st they new that it was a special day. Their excitement escalated steadily throughout the morning and peaked during lunchtime when the four of us acted out the story of Peter Pan, complete with costumes and projected illustrations. After the show, each student had an opportunity to seek out their English teacher and exchange three magic words for a small bag of American candy corn.

I provided candy to the second graders and the fifth graders. Immediately after the show, I walked to the second grade classroom carrying a witch’s hat brimming with treats. At this point in time children of all grades were running at top speed around the school, energized by sugar and adrenaline. I entered the classroom to find about half of my students waiting for me. I told them that everyone needed to be in the classroom before we could start. Two of the class leaders ran out the door to round up their classmates.

I spend more time with the second graders than any other grade. They are sweet kids, but we do have our share of behavior problems. Topping that list of problems is easily the frequency with which half of my class hides in the bushes during P.E. It was humorous watching them sit so straight and patiently, desperate for the candy. We practiced saying "Trick or Treat" together and then each student said the words individually before receiving their candy. It was extremely satisfying for me to see them so excited. Even my students who are often crying, for one reason or another, had smiles on their faces.

The fifth graders were also pretty desperate for candy, but were significantly more intense in their pursuit. This is the fifth year of the Yongfeng program and as a result the fifth graders are especially well versed in Halloween traditions. In the morning, I taught their English class and gave them lollipops, so I felt it was important that they wait at least a few periods before receiving more candy. They were instructed to wait until then end of seventh period before coming to my room to trick or treat. 4:20 on the dot the bell rang and I could hear the scramble of desks from across the courtyard. Then the stampede began. I walked out my bedroom door and watched as kids poured out of the fifth grade classroom on the second floor of the teaching building. They ran down the hall, down the stairs, across the courtyard and up the stairs to my bedroom on the second floor of the residential building. They lined up. I gave them candy. The whole event was over in three minutes. By 4:24 the hallway was clear and the fifth graders were back in their classroom. This brief moment captured the sentiments of the day: anticipation and excitement. It is midterm season at Yongfeng. All of the classes are devoted to intense test prep and the kids are exhausted. As I watched the kids run to my room, I felt glad that I made them wait until the end of the day. Clearly they had been looking forward to trick-or-treating all afternoon. It was nice to be their motivation for getting through three consecutive Chinese Literature periods.

            

Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays. As a kid, I preferred passing out Halloween candy instead of trick-or-treating. I enjoyed dressing up, but I rarely spent more than a few days planning out a costume. This year, Halloween at Yongfeng was one of the best ever and I enjoyed every minute. The opportunity to relax and have fun with my students made me realize that I need to do it more often. I spend a lot of time trying to connect with my students through the English language. For some, bonding over academic success is enough to secure a relationship, but for many of my students it barely scratches the surface. Celebrating Halloween reminded me that there are more ways to connect with a student than one on one tutoring sessions.  A little fun and a little sugar have the power to go a very long way in creating a lasting impression on a ten year old.