Michigan teacher takes ‘gay’ out of ‘Deck the Halls’

[kpete]

A music teacher there decided to change the lyrics to "deck the halls" because one particular word had the students giggling. The teacher gave the students a music sheet of music with the changed verse: "don we now our bright apparel", instead of "don we now our gay apparel.

After hearing about the change, the school's principal talked to the teacher. He says he hoped the teacher used the situation as a teachable moment. The word gay in the carol means happy or joyful.

Principal Chris Parker said, "We have an anti-bullying and discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and so going forward the teacher will be addressing this is how we're supposed to be reacting, this is the way to be respectful about this."

Some parents say they think the music teacher's decision to change the lyrics is inappropriate, and now they're taking the time to explain to their children that gay is not a bad word.

MORE:
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/bizarre&...
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/08/michigan-teacher-...

[FSogol]

1. As Conan O'Brien said, next she'll change "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

[phleshdef]

20. Hahahaha. Took me a minute to get that.

[LeftishBrit]

2. How ridiculous

I wonder what they'd do with the British nursery rhyme that ends:

'But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.'

[NeedleCast]

3. Sounds Like The Principal Has A Level Head At Least

[SCantiGOP]

4. from my 14 year old daughter

She read Pride and Prejudice in literature class. Casually mentioned that it was several chapters before she realized that the sisters were not gay. In the first chapter, one mentions that she has never felt gayer, and, as they are discussing arrangements for Christmas one states that "this will be the gayest Christmas ever." Soon, she realizes that they are all straight.
The absolutely amazing thing to me was that - while she didn't realize that Jane Austen could not have gotten a book with even a closeted gay character printed in the early 1800's - it was perfectly normal to her to see gay characters in a book. I've often joked that, when I was young in a small southern town in the 1960s, we didn't have gay people, because no one could or would risk coming out.
Makes me realize that the fight over gay rights is over, and the humane position has won. As more old folks die they are being replaced by people who have grown up with gay friends and don't understand what the big deal is about sexual orientation.

[CTyankee]

7. Correct me if I'm wrong but in Austen's time, wasn't "gay" used to connote

"festive"?

I hope the time comes when we can discuss, in schools, how these changes in word definitions come about. I for one would find that an interesting discussion...

[Lance_Boyle]

8. Indeed. The music teacher clearly needs to do some boning up on language.

Not to demand that she dedicate her life to becoming a cunning linguist, but her reaction was asinine.

[SCantiGOP]

9. indeed

"gay apparel" referred to bright, festive clothing like one would wear for the holidays.

[11 Bravo]

12. The teacher also objects up to your use of the suggestive term "boning up".

[CTyankee]

14. OMG, I haven't heard the term "cunning linguist" since the time it was used

by Princeton in their half time skit during an Ivy League game back in the 60s (I think they got into trouble for it).

Here is a reference from the Daily Princetonian:

"Sitting in the stands at the 1968 Princeton-Harvard football game, Mary Procter GS ’71, a graduate student in the Wilson School, was disgusted. The University band was making jokes referring to Princeton’s small female population — a group of women studying critical languages — as “cunning linguists.”

Sexist roots, my friend...

[Lance_Boyle]

15. As the term 'cunnilingus' in itself is not remotely sexist, I highly doubt that the

play on words "cunning linguist" should be considered to be so (by any rational human, that is).

[CTyankee]

18. the women in Princeton's critical languages program had a different view.

So by your standard these women are not rational? They were smart enough to get into Princeton...BTW, were you?

C'mon, you know darn well what that remark was trying to do. And that is humiliate a small group of women in a traditionally male school that regarded it their privilege to do so. Women had to knock down lots of barriers, including stunts like this (meant to discourage them, obviously) to simply study without harassment at an Ivy League institution.

You really need to think harder and read some history of the women's movement in this country...

[Lance_Boyle]

19. In that instance the word was used in a sexist way. The word in and of itself is not at all

sexist. Unless you consider the word "blowjob" to be inherently sexist as well, I think you're looking for offense where there is none.

[CTyankee]

22. I had assumed that you would know the sexist history of these Ivy League schools.

It was a rough time for these young women (also for the first women to attend the service academies). We still have problems at Yale with one of the fraternities. But there are more women now in these schools so the harassed victims can feel safer in speaking out and also have the support of many more women than those back in the late 60s.

[Lance_Boyle]

23. Since when did the discussion in this thread turn to Ivy League Schools?

You appeared to assert that the word "cunnilingus" as referenced by the play on words "cunning linguist" was in and of itself a sexist remark, or had "sexist roots." I assert that the word or the play on it are, in and of themselves, in no way sexist. What are we arguing about here again?

[CTyankee]

24. I'm not really arguing with you. I was reciting for you some history with the term

"cunning linguist." I happened to have been at that football game at the time and remember the phrase (the first time I had heard it). I misremembered which team's band had said it over the loudspeaker at the half time show and thought Harvard had said it. But my archival look into it seems to suggest it was Princeton. There was a big fuss over it at the time. And a reference to that use of the term showed up on Google. It was thought of by female students in the Critical Languages Department at the time as a sexist jab at them. I copied the statement in my post.

I hadn't heard the term again till I saw it here...

[Erose999]

5. Bright apparrel

3 snaps in a Z formation.

[qb]

6. The dumbing down of America.

I remember learning in High School that newspapers are written at a level that someone with a 3rd grade education.
That probably holds true of many popular magazines, and TV soundbites are even simpler.
Apparently many people are never challenged at all to read classic literature, which would put into context how meanings change over the years.

Something I've heard a few times as a sponsor in AA is the complaint that the language in the "Big Book" is too old-fashioned to understand! While I wince at the multiple times the author(s) insist one needs to know "God" to stay sober, it otherwise looks like plain English to me.

[lbrtbell]

10. I remember an episode of The Monkees with this song

When they came to the part of "Don we now our gay apparel," Davy Jones (and one of the others, I forget which one) did a quick limp-wristed pose on the word "gay".

It shows we've made progress, when such a joke would be roundly criticized nowadays.

Here's video, for anyone who hasn't seen the episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mH48_NXUJU

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

21. Nowadays it would just be corny

Back then to even reference gay people existing was pretty subversive. Which the Monkees were.

Man I loved the Monkees. Especially season 2.

[cbdo2007]

11. Geez, imagine the response if the song had the word "niggardly" in it.

[jberryhill]

13. And so, the War On Gay Christmas begins!

Cue Fox outrage on "Are they trying to take the 'gay' out of Christmas?"

[rdking647]

16. if shes going to change th elyrics to some carols I suggest this instead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWcJ7Ye_LGQ


or this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmVvg1BLlAY&feature=mfu_...

[whistler162]

17. Sounds like she caused some parents to talk to

their children about word meanings through history!

Which is not bad!