School choir program

[Not_Giving_Up]

My fifth grader is in choir at school, and Friday night was a huge concert, with choirs from every school in the district. I was really creeped out by the entire thing. The title of the show was "Celebration of Voices". Several school did songs with relgious connotations, including "This Little Light of Mine", "Who Did Swallow Jonah", "Wade in the Water", "Ose Shalom", "American Hymn"...my son's school did "God Bless America". This is a public school district!!!

[CalebHayes]

1. I know.... I hate choir. I'm in the band

Trumpet kicks ass.

[Not_Giving_Up]

2. I played french horn

I have no problem with choir, just don't think they should be doing those songs in public school. At xmas, they aren't allowed to do songs that are biblical, they have to stick to Rudolph and such, no silent Night or anything, yet they can do all of these numbers? It makes no sense!

[CalebHayes]

3. I compleatly understand. It happens here in WA too.

[realisticphish]

4. my sister plays the horn

and i can say, there is no louder instrument. While she is practicing, i can go outside, walk out to the barn, close the door, and PLAY MY DRUMSET, and STILL hear her

[CalebHayes]

5. Yeah, mom hates me for it.

[JVS]

6. Other than the Red Army Choir, which choirs specialize in secular music?

Your kid's choir was singing the closest thing in that list to a secular song, "God Bless America" is not a hymn it's a freaking show tune. Much less religious than the other choices. Music with religious themes kind of comes with the territory in choirs

[Not_Giving_Up]

7. I really wasn't complaining about that song

It was all of the others combined with it that made it creepy!

[JVS]

8. Yeah, I guess it is kind of strange.

But choir really is a religion-dominated area of music

[Hardrada]

9. Our public school

Puts on an Advent Sing which is largely Xian Xmas music maybe throw in one Hannukkah little number. I am always amazed they do this but no one complains. My entire public school when I was in the grades did an out and out Xmas Cantata complete with about a dozen Xmas hymns and carols and a Manger Scene right up on the stage. I always wanted to be one of the Wise Men but no luck. I thought all of this was quite proper at the time and had no harmful effects on me and I am an anarchist agnostic at present.

[izzie]

10. We did the same when I was in school.

I think we turned out OK, and we even had to read some thing from the Bible at the start of school and then the flag stuff. Every one hated to read the Bible as we had that in Sunday School which we all went to. It was just a public grade school in a little town. We even had the state police come around and take our finger prints and we were really interested in all that. Course this was in the 40's. I started grade school in 1939 at 5 as I had been to a summer camp and they figured I was ready for school. This was par for school. We even had May day with a Maypole and that is funny.

[starwolf]

11. Part of that is limited choice

The vast majority of choral music has a religious background, especially for that age group. At least they we able to spread it around to spirituals and Hebrew music, not just western European hymns.

A coworker was telling me the choir director at his kids high school was teaching a medley of the 5 military theme songs (Anchors Aweigh...) for a special event. I was surprised there was no protest.

And yes, a long time ago, I thought I might sing for my supper, or at least at supper clubs.

[woodsprite]

12. If the "Ose shalom"

was one written by Michael Larkin, at least he's on our side. :) If they bought it with fundie purposes, they weren't supporting one of their own. I've known him for almost 30 yrs.