The latest school fight.

[allysther]

Blogspot has decided to block all of Korea from viewing or posting to blogs, so I'm hanging out over here for a bit.  Mostly I need to get this down and organize my thoughts before Tuesday, when we will meet with this teacher.  I have copied and pasted this from my other blog, so I will leave it public.  Everything else I write about this will be

Comments

[annsk8r]

I think there is a place for this song. I think it would fit nicely into a theme week on spirituals and talking about US slavery in a historical context. Singing it every week is indoctrination, plain and simple. I would suggest a patriotic song if his goal is to promote American culture. Many patriotic songs include references to G-d but usually in the context of G-d looking out for our nation and it's people, not about the singer's individual acceptance of G-d and Jesus. I suggest My Country Tis of Thee...that's one of my favorites.

[zanla]

I can almost agree with you, except for one small detail: This is a first grade class. Sorry, but to my knowledge 1st Grade music classes don't teach anything about the history of Slavery in the US or learn about the spiritual nature of multiple cultures.

I can't wait to hear what this teacher has to say on Tuesday.

[explodingalice]

I was just going to say what you said ... I do think a topic on this subject would be appropriate for an older grade level who could understand the concepts involved to a greater depth. In its current context, it is exactly the same to me as though he is opening each class with a prayer, and that is unacceptable in a public school.

[allysther]

Exactly. In the sixth grade my parents helped me call in the ACLU when my teacher asked us to bow our heads during the moment of silence. I had not been happy with the "moment" but let it slide until she turned it into a prayer. I really enjoy listening to most religious music, but I do that at home or in a concert setting, not at school, thanks!

[allysther]

In middle school I asked to be excused from the holiday program when they showed me that the only songs on the list were Christmas songs. They offered to toss in a few Hanukkah songs for me and the other Jewish kids in the school, which I appreciated, but still chose not to hear. I sat quietly in the library and read while my classmates suffered through the school wide assembly. It wasn't that I did not understand why the songs were being performed, I just saw no reason that I needed to attend.

The area where I spent most of my school years was smack in the middle of Pennsylvania, and we were surrounded by Amish and Mennonite farms. Religion was a part of everyday life for a good number of my classmates.

I'm looking forward to hearing what the teacher has to say tomorrow.

[allysther]

I'm looking forward to the discussion tomorrow. There are open school meetings (parent teacher meetings) at the end of the week, so if I'm still not happy I will push it further. If nothing else this has made me re-affirm my non-religious stance.

[deb90]

I am so ashamed of myself ... this is SUCH a good song. I'm off to find the chords - I had forgotten about this song.

No, maybe not for 1st grade class but rather a quiet Sunday night at home.

I like the "bound for glory" and the "circle will be unbroken" songs too. They are such catchy tunes. Too bad the lyrics get in the way. There is something about what these songs DO to you ... I think Johnny Cash knew about it too - they all did.

Now I'm torn - I have such good childhood memories of singing out these tunes. Those songs are like little treasures to me - all so happy and hopeful. That's what those songs were - they gave people hope.

I'm not a good one to comment. But I did.

[allysther]

Nope, that's the thing. I love gospel. I really really do, and I agree that the songs give me chicken skin and that they have a certain power.

The thing is that I came to this realization on my own, not at school. My family always had religious music, but it was from a broad range of religions and we listened to it because it was amazing music.

The way I look at it, if my elementary school in the middle of Amish and Mennonite farmers knew enough to keep the religious music out of the schools, this one can do the same.

[allysther]

Luckily it is a class which is only taught once a week, so dropping it would not be too awful. I've also begun to question whether it really is sung during every class or if this was just a one time thing. It is hard to tell with the boy. We will see tomorrow.