And I may well be....Indian children used in school play

[TheFeministParent]

So my ds (9) had a school rememberance assembly, the focus was non British troops, particularly Indian. DS's school is predominantly white (probably 98%) and only one class per year group. In his class there is one little girl with Indian parents, one mixed race boy with a Pakistani father and one Egyptian boy. So when they discussed India two boys from another year were used to represent India...nothing was announced why they were picked for a different year group's assembly and no reference was made about their own heritage (although I assume they are of Indian descent). Am I unreasonable to think that the teacher should have prefaced the assembly by announcing that the children had been asked if they wanted to represent India in another year's assembly? Or am I being a bit over sensitive and ridiculous? My, and other parents, initial response was a bit .

well maybe those children were asked if they would like to and they said yes. Id certainly like to be picked to represent norway.

Would you feel the same if your children had been piacked to rep uk at an asian or black school? i imagine you would be bothered if they were not chosen

I'd have thought the teacher saying something would have made more of an issue out of it than would be necessary TBH.

But their parents weren't there! And it wasn't their assembly, it was a different class.

So in essence IABU!!

IMO, it was better to do that than to 'black up' white children.

Were they from an older year? Year 6? I would have thought it is quite normal to use year 6 pupils in other years assemblies.

Never before, but I accept that my unease says more about me than the situation. If the only disabled child was wheeled out to represent a veteran I would have been just as . To be honest as the boys only said one line about a photo they were holding it did seem rather weird and pointless.

I'd be annoyed if my mixed race ds was 'used' in this way so Yanbu.

yanbu and feels a bit wrong to me,
so can understand how you feel.

Phew I did think I was being a bit OTT!! If the boys had said that they were proud of these men being Indian themselves or anything I would have been okay with it. But in a not very mixed school I thought they were used.

Perhaps there was only one assembly with that particular theme, then, if it's not a very mixed school? So perhaps they said to those boys, "Year X are doing an assembly on this theme and one of the countries mentioned is India, we know you're not part of that group but wondered if you wanted to come along" and they said yes?

Maybe...

I don't see the problem. The assembly was about India and two children were there to show what Indian children look like. .

What? You think Indian children were there to show what Indian children look like, is that supposed to be funny?

No. I really couldn't make out what you were saying and that was all I could come up with. When the kids learn about grandparents in school they look at pictures of older people.

Hee hee. I can't think of why either!

Hmm, can see it both ways, so...

If it had focused on ANZAC troops, and they'd got an Australian boy from year 6, would you feel the same way? (Not saying you would, or wouldn't. Honest question to help you sort out your reasoning.) If it had been an ANZAC-focused thing, and you were the one and only Australian child in the school, would it upset you not to be included?

(I thought this was going to be a thread complaining about Joseph and Mary being Asian in a nativity play. I'm not sure whether to be glad or disappointed that it isn't.

The school sound like they're trying to be very internationalist in their approach and are promoting the idea that the war wasn't just won by white british people. I think that's great. Why not just be happy about the sentiment rather than find offence in how they did it?

If it were ANZAC I wonder if they'd ask the Australian.

So are you saying that a school that went beyond what most schools and organisations would do to include other nations in the remembrance are racist?

Why on earth was the focus on non-British troops? Offensive.

Nope, I'm saying in some weird PC way the school has needlessly or unjustifiably used children from another year because they were Indian. They should have been thanked or something for coming out and representing India but they weren't. I hope the black children aren't trotted out for an assembly on the slave trade.

I don't really understand what worries about this. I don't think I would have thought twice about it.

Do you feel the dc are being set apart and thus open to some kind of discrimination by being singled out?

Sorry not really getting the point ...

oh ok just seen your last post, explains your issue to me