ny jw principle causes problem banning patriotic song...on foxnews now

by oompa 16 Replies latest jw friends

  • oompa
    oompa

    god bless the usa song by lee greenwood...is making little kids sing a bieber love song instead lmao...baby baby baby....and it is a very long segment with lee himself making good points about the idiot jw as did the mom of a kid the jw lady principle bitch slapped for singing the song...that is not literal all you pc sensitive types out there.....oompa

  • cantleave
    cantleave

    http://m.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/school_silences_patriotic_song_xdunXcLPbE8S2rAEcZoUiP

    REUTERS

    A Coney Island principal refused to let students sing "God Bless the USA" at a school ceremony -- but Justin Bieber's "Baby" was suitable.

    A controversial Coney Island principal has pulled the plug on patriotism.

    Her refusal to let students sing “God Bless the USA” at their graduation has sparked fireworks at a school filled with proud immigrants.

    Greta Hawkins, principal of PS 90, the Edna Cohen School, won’t allow kindergartners to belt out the beloved Lee Greenwood ballad, also known as “Proud to be an American,” at their moving-up ceremony.

    Five classes spent months learning the patriotic song, which skyrocketed in popularity after the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

    It was to be the rousing finale of their musical show at the June 20 commencement. The kids, dressed up for their big day, would wave tiny American flags — which, as the lyrics proclaim, “still stand for freedom.”

    But Hawkins marched in on a recent rehearsal and ordered a CD playing the anthem to be shut off, staffers said.

    She told the teachers to drop the song from the program.

    “We don’t want to offend other cultures,” they quoted her as explaining.

    The curt edict stunned both staff and parents.

    “A lot of people fought to move to America to live freely, so that song should be sung with a whole lot of pride,” said mom Luz Lozada, whose son, Daniel, is in kindergarten.

    The song has been sung at previous school events. Last year’s fifth-graders, including another Lozada child, performed it at graduation.

    “Everybody applauded and whistled,” the mom said. “They gave it a standing ovation.”

    Parents — many immigrants from Pakistan, Mexico and Ecuador — “love it,” Lozada said.

    A teacher agreed: “It makes them a little goosebumpy and teary-eyed. I’ve never come across anyone who felt it insulted their culture.”

    Department of Education spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti gave The Post an explanation staffers said they never heard — that Hawkins found the lyrics “too grown up” for 5-year-olds.

    The song starts: “If tomorrow all the things were gone, I’d worked for all my life. And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife, I’d thank my lucky stars, to be livin’ here today.”

    Scaperotti said the department supports the principal’s decision. “The lyrics are not age-appropriate,” she said.

    But Justin Bieber’s flirty song about teen romance, “Baby,” was deemed a fine selection for the show. Hawkins had no problem with 5-year-olds singing lines such as, “Are we an item? Girl, quit playing.”

    The other songs: “We’re All Together Again,” popular at Scout campfires; “The World is a Rainbow,” which celebrates diversity; “Shake Your Sillies Out” by Raffi; and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story.”

    Scaperotti noted PS 90 kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing “America the Beautiful” each morning. Insiders say Hawkins tried to end that tradition a couple years ago but staff objected.

    The principal, a Jehovah’s Witness, does not recite the pledge because her religion forbids followers to salute any nation’s flag. Staffers gripe she doesn’t stand in respect during the school-wide ritual.

    The song uproar comes amid tensions. Hawkins has been called a tyrant and bully by some staffers.

    The DOE reprimanded her in 2010 after teachers complained she called the school “racist” and declared: “I’m black. Your previous principal was white and Jewish. More of us are coming.”

    Scaperotti said Hawkins is being targeted by the teachers union and has received hate mail, which is under investigation by the NYPD

  • Chariklo
    Chariklo

    Weird.

  • AnnOMaly
    AnnOMaly

    Ditto that.

  • Black Sheep
  • VIII
    VIII

    "Hawkins has been called a tyrant and bully by some staffers".

    Typical JW.

    And she's the Principal. Ugh.

  • red21
    red21

    Wow...even as an active JW I couldn't have supported what she did....I always told people that we want others to respect OUR beliefs and we do that by respecting OTHERS beliefs. As principal, she has no obligation to censor what the other teachers or students are doing...this is very aggravating considering how we raised our children even as JWs...she does not do them any justice whatsoever. Sort of like being a postmaster and refusing to sell flag stamps! I would have to think she is one of those uber self-righteous types that are very full of herself! Ultimately...a moron....probably be a big full featured personal experience article one of these days after she gets fired or something about how she would bend her principals..."a pun intended!" ark ark ark....

  • snowbird
  • blondie
    blondie

    Now if she were a teacher and the non-jw principal had forced her to teach Christmas songs to the children, she would have sung a different song, eh?

  • FlyingHighNow
    FlyingHighNow

    JW's aren't supposed to impose their consciences on other people. Bad moves for her, careerwise. If she wants to ban patriotic songs and the pledge, she should think of opening a private school for JW's.

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