Jack-O'-Lanterns

Next Monday night, millions of carved pumpkins will decorate the porches and windows of millions of homes.  We get together with our kids and now, our grandson, to carve a few pumpkins for Halloween. In fact, we did that last night.  Jack- O’- Lanterns have a long history. The name “Jack” comes from an Irish folktale about a man named “Stingy Jack”. Look him up if you want the story.  At that time, turnips and potatoes were carved and illuminated.  Irish immigrants brought the practice to the U.S.A.  Not long after, they found that pumpkins were a better choice for “Jack-O’-Lanterns”.  Today, people carve their pumpkins to create images that are spooky, happy, angry, scenic, incredibly creative and yes, sometimes inappropriate.  I wonder what drives people to create the images for their own Jack-O’-Lanterns.  Is it a reflection of their personality?  Is the image the antithesis of their personality?  Is it to have fun?  Is it to create an image of their pet (our son and daughter-in-law created a “Dachsund” Jack-O’-Lantern to honor their dog, Winnie)?  Do they do it to display a favorite product or to make a special announcement such as the upcoming birth of a little pumpkin (done last year by Jayme and Andy)?  I wonder why people do what they do with Jack-O”-Lanterns. 

Since Halloween involves dressing up like someone you are not and then essentially begging for food products that, for the most part, provide no nutritional value whatsoever, let’s start from there.  Let’s go with the “antithesis theory” of carving Jack-O-’Lanterns.  Thus, the image that you carve is exactly the opposite of who you really are.  So, if you are really brave, go with the lion from the Wizard of Oz.  If you are always happy, carve out a likeness of Caligula.  If you are not stingy with your toys, work with an image of a two year old.  You get the idea.  Now that you have that firmly in place, what if your students were doing the carving?  What image would they carve of you if you instructed them to carve just exactly the opposite of how they perceived you?  What would that image be?  It should be of someone that is not approachable, someone who is perpetually angry, of someone who is not engaging, of someone who really doesn’t care.  This could be a really good indicator of how your students see you.  Give it a try – safety knives only.