The Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, deplores the decision of certain school principals to ban any costume in reference to the “Squid Game” series for Halloween, a position which is far from unanimous in the school network.
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“I am not a supporter of the ban on Halloween costumes for children,” he ruled on Thursday in the corridors of the National Assembly.
He associates this ban with “the somewhat extreme culture of banishment, of good feelings” which, according to him, “is going a little far at the moment”.
Archive photo, QMI Agency
The Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge
“I remember when I was teaching in elementary school, there were kids who dressed up as Freddy or Jason, and those characters weren’t quite altar boys. They were characters from horror films, but the children put on these costumes to have fun, to scare each other, ”he then recounted with reference to the famous horror film.
Be benevolent
Let us recall that Jean-François Roberge recently signed an open letter with his French counterpart entitled “The school for freedom, against obscurantism” in which they oppose what they qualify as “excesses linked to the culture of cancellation ”.
If it is up to parents “to be benevolent, to supervise their young people and not to expose them to anything”, the minister pleads that it is necessary “to let the children be children”, he said. he however explained.
Given the growing popularity of the television series The squid game, Where Squid Game in English, directors are banning any costume referring to this violent series for Halloween activities taking place at their school, reported The Journal of Quebec, Thursday.
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This decision is welcomed by the professor at the Faculty of Education of the University of Sherbrooke, Caroline Fitzpatrick, who sees it as a way to avoid arousing even more children’s curiosity towards this South Korean series classified 18 years.
Position denounced
In the school network, school administrators deplore the fact that Minister Roberge “interferes in the management of schools”. “As he has said so often, decisions must be made by those who know the students by name,” says Kathleen Legault, president of the Montreal Association of School Administrators.
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The rules surrounding Halloween costumes have always existed, recalls Ms. Legault, who sees “no link” with the “culture of cancellation”. Accessories or costumes of a violent nature have long been banned in several schools.
“We have always wondered what is and what is not acceptable when students celebrate Halloween in schools. (…) Each environment has its traditions and each establishment manages them according to the school climate and the reality of its students, ”adds the president of AMDES.
For his part, the president of the Federation of Parents’ Committees of Quebec, Kévin Roy, also affirms that “this decision belongs to the schools”, through his governing board.
In recent weeks, “many school circles have reported worrying situations” in connection with this series, which presents images of “extreme violence”, we read in a letter sent by a team from the ministry of Education in the school network at the beginning of the week.
“Games featuring certain violent gestures present in the series have also been observed in some schoolyards and required interventions”, it is indicated, before recalling that certain resources are available to guide school personnel to this chapter.
The craze for this television series is global. In the State of New York, in the United States, schools have also decided to ban costumes referring to this series for Halloween.