Costume Proposals for Read-a-Thon

Greetings Families,    Students May Wear Uniforms 

Today, I will be sending out the costume proposal forms for students to let me know what they will wear on October 31 to celebrate Read-a-thon.


Here is the wording of the form:

Our sixth annual Read-a-thon will take place on Thursdays, October 31st. Students have the option to come to school dressed as their favorite classical literary character, scientist, or historical figure. Costumes need not come directly from the grade-level curriculum, though they must be classically aligned. We kindly ask that you send costume ideas to your classroom teacher for approval by Friday, October 25th. Be sure that costumes allow students to engage in regular school day activities such as recess, lunch, and P.E., as well as curricular instruction. (No violent symbols or weapons of any kind will be permitted on campus.)

Every year, the biggest issue is with students wanting to wear pop-culture costumes. Here is a very broad definition of pop-culture.

Popular culture (or "pop culture") refers in general to the traditions and material culture of a particular society. In the modern West, pop culture refers to cultural products such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, cyberculture, television, and radio that are consumed by the majority of a society's population. Popular culture are those types of media that have mass accessibility and appeal.

Students often confuse pop-culture with things that are on TV or movies. However, pop-culture refers to the things that have "mass accessibility and appeal." As a school committed to the western classical tradition, we want Read-a-thon to be a celebration of that historical tradition. Thus, all costumes must be based on characters from classical great books or important scientists and historical figures who have made significant contributions and who have been deceased for more than 20 years. Historical figures may also include religious figures such as Grecko-Roman and Norse gods and other important religious figures. However, out of respect for religious students, please do not have your child dress up as Jesus, Mohammad, or other prominent religious figures that some students may find insulting.


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren


P.S. Many of the pop-culture characters children love so much have connections to classical stories. Check out this Wikipedia article with a list of Grimms' fairy tales as you try to select a costume for Read-a-thon.