Your eyes are working correctly, that is in fact a photo of my Binny in praying position. That can only mean one thing....... Why yes, the Public School Holiday program was last Friday.
My long time readers will remember that last year I threw a bit of a stink* over the program because of some of the content. I was disappointed that the music teacher chose only Christian songs to celebrate the Holiday season and conveniently left out songs that represented any other religions that happen to celebrate this time of year. In addition to the Christian slant, the play portion of the program included a character named Leroy, wearing denim overalls and a John Deere hat, dancing around the theater while the 8 year old singers on the risers sang Leroy The Redneck Reindeer.
Even with the inclusion of Binny's class singing Go Tell It On The Mountain (...where Jesus Christ is born), I have to admit that this year's program was a HUGE improvement over last year. There was no acting thrown in between songs and most certainly no mention of Rednecks, just each grade singing 3 mostly non-religious Holiday songs. Mae's class didn't even sing a religious song at all. After last year's Jesus and Redneck extravaganza, I tried to set up a conference with the music teacher this year to discuss my concerns, but the day before our scheduled conference, she had to cancel. She wrote me a note requesting to reschedule but never returned my calls. 
Whether or not my complaint to the principal had any influence on the the changes, I was pleased that the music teacher decided to make the changes, period. No, it wasn't void of Christian references but the teacher made an effort and I appreciate that and agree to compromise as well.On our way out of the building I spotted the principal in the office and decided to turn back and give her my opinion on this year's program. At first as I explained to her who I was (Last year we only spoke on the phone, not face to face.), a concerned look came to her face but as soon as I told her how much I enjoyed the program and more importantly the changes, a smile returned to her face and I'm sure she also felt a sense of accomplishment that she's doing her job.
* Links to the posts I wrote after last year's program:
My initial post.
Follow-up after another blogger challenged my first post.
Follow-up after I spoke with the school's principal.
8 comments:
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I just love Binny's polka dots.
Very cute photos. I'm glad this year was much better for you. I am all for diversity. And I don't mind Rudolph, Frosty or those type of songs being sung in school. I don't even mind the christian songs as long as other religions are included as well. I think it's okay to expose the children to religion so they can learn to respect other peoples views. It is such a sensative subject and it's a shame others get up in arms when someone tries to point out a different view.
Leroy the Redneck Raindeer! I love it! She looks almost solemn - except for the sly twinkle in her eye.
My little sister's "songfest" included Christian, Jewish, and nondenominational songs. That said, most of the kids still couldn't remember the words :)
Oooo, my goodness! lol! I just went back and read all the stuff from before, lol.
Shit, you were right on the money the first time. I really don't care who believes what (considering in the end I bet it doesn't matter)...but my thing on public school concerts is you leave the religion out.
Jingle bells? fine. Rudolph songs...okay. Dradel songs, okay. (insert muslim song here, cuz I don't know any). My point is is that you can send your kid to a religious school if you want the full blown holiday celebrations and teachings. If you send them to public, there's a little thing we call 'separation of church and state'.
I could go on and on. Let's just say I agree with you. Whole heartedly. Even on Leroy. Good Lord, why WHY put that song in there? Ughhh.
Leroy the Redneck?! What the heck?!?!? In what realm is that appropriate for children EVER?
And well, you know what I would say about religious songs in school. Yes, my friend, yet another reason we homeschool. ;)
Oh and that polka dot dress ROCKS!!
Leroy the Redneck Reindeer? I can't believe they sang that. Schools around here are so careful to be politically correct. They don't sing any religious songs.
Thanks for offering to post. I'll probably post on RTT also, so I'll see if I can get some more traffic too. Love Binny's outfit. I just got my Willa some dotted tights to go with a little jean skirt that has a dotted belt. I hope she likes it. Oh, did I say, I got it? Actually, Santa did.
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