This morning as Aubrey was getting ready for school she asked me "Mom, do you know that 'Body' song?" I had to think for a second what she could be talking about, "Body song?" "Yeah, Mom, 'My body lies over the ocean' that one".
Of course then I knew she was talking about "My Bonnie". I told her it was really "Bonnie" not "Body" and it was a Scottish song. She then proceeded to tell me that her teacher told her that it was an African song about Slavery.
So, we went to wikpedia which stated:
It may have its origin in the history of Charles Edward Stuart, commonly known as Bonny Prince Charlie, the grandson of the deposed Stuart monarch James II. Many Highland Scots supported Bonny Prince Charlie's attempt to restore the Stuarts to the English throne in 1745-46 by invading Scotland and England.
If you want even more background info because you are a history geek like me? Here.
I printed out the Wiki page for Aubrey to take to school so she can give it to her teacher but then in typical Lisa fashion; I started to wonder. What possible slavery song could the teacher have been thinking of?
John Brown's body was more of Union Soldiers song, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot perhaps?
This isn't the first time thru the years of having children in school one has come home with a tidbit of information that a teacher told them that was not quite correct. Sometimes it's not even the teacher but an source the teacher uses that has a different opinion or outlook on history. I'm not writing this to diss Aubrey's teacher, we all know I'm far from perfect. I do think this shows though one of the many reasons why we as parents need to talk to our children about what they are doing in school and give them the correct information if something is wrong or if it is something that you feel differently about; give them the other side. I've also learned it's better to have your child learn how to ask the teacher for clarification and present the information (depending on their age of course) because it really helps your child develop confidence in their ability to reason and debate with intelligence. There has only been one time where a teacher was upset about this, and that was years ago with my son. Then I had to get involved, and part of that was due to the attitude in which my son presented the information. It's one thing to ask for clarification and then state you believed it was one way and here's why, it's another to just go in and say "HEY! You were WRONG!"
:-)
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20 comments:
Yes, it would be a heckuva stretch to find a link to slavery from this one, Lisa.
For one thing, it has a 3/4 beat, which is a staple of European music, both in folk and the waltz.
The melody also has a Gaelic lilt to it, and even the lyrics (especially the title) sound positively Highland, lassie.
The only way the might interpret this as a slavery song would be in the mood - that of a longing for someone across the ocean.
Indentured servitude, maybe. Many English, Scots, and Irish found themselved in bonded labor in the 17th and 18th century in America.
But if the teacher is referring to African slavery, methinks she has some 'splaining to do.
Lisa,
"She then proceeded to tell me that her teacher told her that it was an African song about Slavery."
Sad, isn't it?
Are we getting scared yet?
Aubrey is very lucky to have you for a mother, but what about the children who aren't so lucky?
Is it any wonder that we are slowly becoming millions of chimpanzees pounding on keyboards? Maybe, if we are very lucky, excellence will return to education, but only after the whole thing collapses onto itself.
Shudder...
It is one thing to misspell or use the wrong word for effect, but it is quite different thing to not know that you misspelled or are using the wrong words.
Basic education is your life's foundation.
I thank God for the nuns (and their trusty rulers, ouch!) and for their insistence on excellence...
I loved historymike's detailed music history lesson; awesome and thanks for the ride.
My kids all had to take driver's ed at school to obtain a driver's license. I then had to re-teach them proper techniques to correct some of the bad habits taught, proper seat/steering wheel/pedal positioning and things like that. I have not been as lucky teaching them proper history that was distorted by their teachers.
Hooda, actually it's gotten better, with the older two when they were Aubrey's age the problems were alot more frequent. It is scary, but with the way Aubrey is so talkative (ask Mike she'll talk your ear off don't know where she could have gotten that trait -lol). I know more about what she's learning than any of mine so incidents like this are few and far between. Granted I've done things like provide teachers with research material especially for the 4th grade section on local Ohio history but? We're getting there.
I think it's important that we keep doing this and paying attention but? It could be worse.
Like TF brings up. The driving thing makes me shudder, I've been thru that four times now.
:-)
I have to bite my tongue a lot when my kids come home from school and tell me some of the misinformation they get.
I am less concerned about "liberal bias" in the schools - like the Colorado teacher who suggested that the SOTU speech of the president was reminiscent of Hitlerian speeches - as I am about teachers who feed the kids bad information.
As long as a teacher tries to present both sides, or explicitly acknowledges "opinion" versus "fact," there should be freedom of speech within the accepted bounds of decency.
But there should be no excuse for ignorance among teachers.
One of the more troubling changes in education colleges if the move toward a single-degree BA in Education (BGSU has been offering it, and UT is close to putting a single-degree option together). These present and future teachers no longer have a concentration in, say, Integrated Social Studies.
Thus, we have teachers coming out with less than half the specialized courses as someone with the dual-degree option (at UT, the dual-degree ed majors get a BA in Education and a BA in History).
All in the name of competition between colleges for students, and getting undergraduates through a semester or two early.
Scary...
While I understand the desire to create a situation where you don't have to spend as much time in college to get your degree, the easier solultion would be you would think to get rid of some of the classes that have no bearing on the degree, and make it more specialized. Take Emily as an example, she's in Engineering, yet almost a year of her college education is going to be spent on classes that have no bearing on Engineering at all.
Be glad they haven't tried to teach your kids Intelligent Design.
One of the first questions with most of mine when the topic of Darwin comes up is "What about God". Why I don't support this being taught along side of The theory of Evolution is simple for me though. There are varying creation theories if you are going to base ID on religion. Unless they are going to teach all of the various creation theories they are promoting one religious belief over others.
Acknowledging that not everyone believes in Darwin's theory of evolution for various reasons should be able to be done without it resulting in a major crisis.
No matter how you try to describe it ID is based on the concept of a higher power having some influence on the creation process. People that use Darwin's theory to try to prove God doesn't exist to promote their own belief process are just as destructive as those who try to promote the teaching of creation to promote their own belief process.
If it's wrong for an educator to promote a religion, it should also be wrong for an educator to tell young children that God doesn't exist. Last I checked? That's something still up for debate. Mine have had science teachers that have mocked those who believed in God. They've also had science teachers that clearly stated this is Science's answers to these questions, not everyone may believe this but if you do believe in a creator, imagine for a moment he didn't exist. Then how could man have gotten here? Personally I think it's obvious the teachers that took the second track got farther...
I've been honest with mine, I believe God exists, but I also know there are those who don't. It's normal to want to know where did we come from? How did we get here? Some prefer to accept their answers from their religion or their culture. Others prefer a science based answer. Some try to combine both. If nothing else? Mine know we are a country of people who have different beliefs and there is nothing wrong with that as long as you give others the same amount of respect you expect.
To me evolution and a Creator are not mutually exclusive.
The idea that God set everything in motion dovetails nicely with a changing, evolving universe.
To me.
To many of the fundamentalists - especially the literalists - it's not about seeing how science and religion might integrate, but rather forcing their religious dogma into the classroom.
They do not want to hear that the Genesis creation story might have been an oral tradition explaining the birth of the universe in a way that people could understand several thousand years ago. The Bible, to the fundamentalists, is the last Word.
They are not interested in finding a way to accommodate or tolerate - it is all or nothing.
I believe that Chrsit died for my sins, and that He will return in blazing glory to usher in a new Paradise.
I also believe that, until He comes, the physical world will operate in a manner that science can serve to describe and predict with some degree of accuracy.
If some Christian sects believe, for example, that modern medicine is an abomination in the eyes of God, should we then require medical schools to offer "alternative" faith-based healing systems?
I would hope not...
History Mike,
I very concerned about teachers having any bias when teaching chilred, whether it be liberal, conservative, or otherwise. That is not the teachers job. Having Bush compared to Hilter is outragous. I not a Bush supporttor, but to compare him to one of the biggest monsters of the 20th century is unbelivable, even if the teacher was comparing only speechs. If my child came home and told me that, I would go to the principal and superintendant and have that teacher fired.
A teahcer's job is to teach skills, present facts, and have the children form their own opinion. A teacher is not supposed to influnece the children with his or her views. Teach the children subject matter and keep you religious, political, and sexaul views out of the classroom. I know that teachers still express their views; I have been around the block a few times. But a blatant bias opinion in the classroom should not be overlooked.
I will not go over the Darwin/ID debate, though I don't see why an alternate theory can not be taught. Darwin's theory is still a theory and not a proven fact, so other theories should be introduced. Throw in the Cookie theory in as well. Let the individual decide. Yes, I believe in God for the simple fact that I cannot fathom that this world was a big oops as scientists try to tell us. There is too much order in nature for it to be an accident.
Ok, so I lied about not getting into the theories debate. Sue me.
I don't know how much I believe in evolution, I do believe some creatures evolve in time to adapt to the environment and other factors but I don't believe we all descended from some primordial ooze, so I'm probably close to your beliefs Mike, but let me play devil's advocate for a second.
The lack of tolerance for some of those involved in the teaching of science has also created some of this as almost a backlash.
Let's say you are very religious and your child comes home from school and tells you that his or her science teacher told them that God cannot exist because of Darwin's theory. That then creates these situations where the demands to include ID are taught first get their start.
I have just as little respect for someone who ridicules someone for believing as someone who ridicules someone for not believing.
But? We can't all just get along so this will continue to be an issue until common sense takes over or the courts end up deciding it.
I had a teacher who pronounced the Great Compromise wrong all the time. She was good peeps though. Although, I did turn in a great paper on slaves in combat during the Civil War and got a B+. My brother stole my paper and turned it in three years later to the same teacher and got an A+. The only chnage he made was the first name.
I mock people who blindly believe in God. Although I do believe in God, I believe that a lot of things can be proven or disproven by science. I believe more in a God that gives us the power to change things and not one that does it for us
Hey! You were WRONG!
Aw, what's wrong with that!?!
Teachers are generally approachable about corrections, and are often willing to help give the child's confidence an extra boost by sharing the correction (and the credit) with the class. If they're not, then yes, parent should *gasp* get involved!
As an update, the teacher told everyone she was mistaken on the song and played it for the class so they could hear it.
:-)
I used to be the one who would call in, I was probably every teacher's nightmare (lol). Then I discovered if I did it my children were not learning how to handle these situations themselves and they were old enough so now I let them handle it and if they need me? I have their back...
:-)
Boy, am I not in the mental state appropriate for the turn these comments took.
Mike,
"To me evolution and a Creator are not mutually exclusive."
My sentiments exactly, almost everything in that comment I agree with 100%.
I also agree with Lisa's,
"The lack of tolerance for some of those involved in the teaching of science has also created some of this as almost a backlash...."
Okay, that's enough seriousness for me. I'm in way too good of a mood for debate. (And Lisa knows why!)
"As an update..." Good!
"I have their back..." Great! (not that I had any doubt)
;-)
Stephanie, you should still be (((Happy dancing))))
:-)
I am! :-)
"I believe that Chrsit died for my sins, and that He will return in blazing glory to usher in a new Paradise." --HM
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