No carol singing in school....

It’s a great pity that ‘wokery’ is instantly seized on in response to this.
I love carols and religious music, the Messiah at Manchester Bridgewater a Christmas tradition here. Mr i’s funeral was at our village Church, hymns were sung . We live in an increasingly secular society. Few of the funerals or weddings I attend have any religion included

That’s life folks. Muslims generally consider themselves practicing whereas fewer people identify as Christian. In my town, the black African immigrants and asylum seekers keep the Evangelical Church buzzing

I don't think it's actual wokery per se, (whatever that may be), as mentioned by a few on here. I do think, however, there needs to be a stop to all this over sensitivity to whatever offends anyone, especially where the Arts are concerned.
Is it just the music, or should we just ignore the Christmas works of Rembrandt, Botticelli and Raphael too? Or the Christmas works of Charles Dicken, Robert Louis Stevenson etc.?
Christmas carols are everywhere, with modern versions in Harry Potter and Home Alone which explore themes entered around peace, forgiveness and goodwill to ALL men. If people are exposed to Christmas carols, so what! Live and let live, fgs.

Pretty standard practice in High School these days! Don't want to offend anyone...lol sad really.. I know I was a high school reacher. Stopped in our school in 90's

So, a non-denominational school should, in theory, have no religious affiliation, but you’ll still get the Tommy Robinsons squealing if a school was to do anything to recognise any other religion ( but specifically Islam). Working in schools for many years, I have yet to encounter any ‘other religion’ being offended by celebrations of Christian festivals. Quite the reverse, in fact.
My son teaches music, and never includes singing in his lessons, though his school has plenty of opportunities for those who want to sing. When I get on my hobby horse about young people not doing ‘proper singing’, so miss out on singing things like Beethoven 9 or Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand, his answer is that they’ll just sing something else. I find it so sad, when I think of the joy I’ve had singing all the magnificent big choral works.
I’m quite nostalgic now.

This is a bit off-piste but has brought to mind last December when I landed in Australia just in time to hear my 7 year old grandson's class singing "Santa Koala" to the tune of Waltzing Matilda. What a welcome 😍

Sago

We’re going to have to get used to it.

This is wokery at its best.

Well not really, is it? Some schools just don't do singing of any sort any more. They can always go to church if carols are what they want.

Yes, agreed, Church services is where they belong, with believers, as their choice. Although our local Vicar was always very clear at Midnight Service, with the 'so lovely to see so many of you here tonight- would be even nicer to see some of you sometimes on a Sunday'.

I sing in three choirs. My love of singing was nurtured in school, where it played an important part. It was the same in the last school I taught in. My grandchildren’s schools still had nativity plays, with songs, and Carol services.
But if singing is disappearing it is no wonder we can’t get young people to join our choirs. Such a loss.
Singing is so good for the body, mind and soul. It encourages creativity, love of beauty, co-ordination, working together, a sense of community- and much more.

Daughter’s at secondary and they have a Christmas Carol evening with the school choir - it’s lovely. I work at primary and we go down to the local church for a Christmas service the last week of term.

Claremont

Yes, agreed, Church services is where they belong, with believers, as their choice. Although our local Vicar was always very clear at Midnight Service, with the 'so lovely to see so many of you here tonight- would be even nicer to see some of you sometimes on a Sunday'.

Not all schools are secular in the UK.

Should they be, do you think?

I am not a Christian but am proud to live in a Christian country and am sad that hymns are no longer sung in schools. So many hymns have words that are fine for any religion to sing. I feel our culture is very important.

gagsy

I am not a Christian but am proud to live in a Christian country and am sad that hymns are no longer sung in schools. So many hymns have words that are fine for any religion to sing. I feel our culture is very important.

I strongly agree 😃
In fact I love to hear Carols they are beautiful.

Absolutely witzend

I taught in secondary schools for many years and don't recall any type of singing really. I'm not sure when people imagine it would happen. Music lessons? No, students are generally rugged into headphones. Assembly? These are long gone in most schools, reduced to a few notices from head of year at best.

Allira

Claremont

Yes, agreed, Church services is where they belong, with believers, as their choice. Although our local Vicar was always very clear at Midnight Service, with the 'so lovely to see so many of you here tonight- would be even nicer to see some of you sometimes on a Sunday'.

Not all schools are secular in the UK.

Should they be, do you think?

Yes, absolutely.

Nanny27

I taught in secondary schools for many years and don't recall any type of singing really. I'm not sure when people imagine it would happen. Music lessons? No, students are generally rugged into headphones. Assembly? These are long gone in most schools, reduced to a few notices from head of year at best.

Your post simply makes my heart sink into my boots.

How can anyone possibly approve of schools being such cultural deserts?

Two of my GC are at a private secondary school and the singing and musical opportunities are alive and well and a total joy for all. Why should people have to pay for this ...... I was going to say privilege .... but it is not a privilege, it is part of our birthright.

When did we degenerate into this mess?

Luckygirl3

Nanny27

I taught in secondary schools for many years and don't recall any type of singing really. I'm not sure when people imagine it would happen. Music lessons? No, students are generally rugged into headphones. Assembly? These are long gone in most schools, reduced to a few notices from head of year at best.

Your post simply makes my heart sink into my boots.

How can anyone possibly approve of schools being such cultural deserts?

Two of my GC are at a private secondary school and the singing and musical opportunities are alive and well and a total joy for all. Why should people have to pay for this ...... I was going to say privilege .... but it is not a privilege, it is part of our birthright.

When did we degenerate into this mess?

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👌

The last primary school I taught at, as music specialist, was about 10% Muslim. The attitudes of the Muslim children, or rather, the parents, ranged from total participation in anything musical going, through not singing in anything that had even religious undertones in the words, to not even being allowed to even attend music lessons.

A few of my nicest little singers used to have to absent themselves from the annual Christmas concert, usually after the parents had vetted the words, but to my joy in year 6, one of my best singers, from a Bangladeshi family, told me, “My mum says it’s all right for me to sing those words, but I mustn’t mean them.”

My response? “That’s great, A****, tell her thank you and say that I don’t mean them either.”

At my grandson's Carol service they sang the same French carols that I sang 60 years ago (Quittez Pasteurs and Noelle Nouvelle) they also sang a couple of German ones as they learn German as well. I was disappointed to find that they sang Adeste Fidelis in English but I suppose you can't have everything.

I sat in on one of their Religion and Philosophy classes where the theme was Right and Wrong and how we know which is which. They talked about in relation to other religions as well and one of te Indian boys went into great depth about it.

Gizzy48 👏💙💖

Our local catholic and Church of England based faith primary schools are sought after and supported by our Muslim community. They support the celebration of Christian festivals, schools support Muslim, Hindu and other important festivals.

My children went to non denominational primary, CofE high school. At high school RE GCSEs was mandatory. Comparative religions taught.

I recognise Claremont’s insistence that teaching faith, acknowledging various key festivals is wrong. I do t agree. My daughters learned so much about other faiths. Two of my grandchildren go to a catholic primary school. They’re also learning about all faiths and none. And they have a Nativuty each December, a wonderful joyous occasion

Religions are a fact of human life. Not acknowledging or teaching them is wrong, as would be ignoring history and other subjects.

The pity is that now, only one choice can be made from Humanities at GCSE level, either History, Geography or Comparative Religions. The problem is trying to fit all into the curriculum.

Luckygirl3

Nanny27

I taught in secondary schools for many years and don't recall any type of singing really. I'm not sure when people imagine it would happen. Music lessons? No, students are generally rugged into headphones. Assembly? These are long gone in most schools, reduced to a few notices from head of year at best.

Your post simply makes my heart sink into my boots.

How can anyone possibly approve of schools being such cultural deserts?

Two of my GC are at a private secondary school and the singing and musical opportunities are alive and well and a total joy for all. Why should people have to pay for this ...... I was going to say privilege .... but it is not a privilege, it is part of our birthright.

When did we degenerate into this mess?

Yes, it makes me want to weep.

Schools were I taught were never ever a cultural desert- but not religious. Singing very much part of the music curriculum.

I am happy to hear that Claremont

It is sad that your GD doesn’t have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in a traditional way at school but I am sure there is a local church that would welcome her talents in the clarinet come the festive season