To hate modern school assembly songs?

[MintyChapstick]

Following on from a recent thread about those bloody awful modern class photos.

When I was growing up in the 90's we used to sing religious based songs like All Things Bright and Beautiful and Who Put the Colours in the Rainbow?Now they sing bloody weird shit about school rules, one about the lunchtime queaue. A few even have raps in them! They are hideous and to be quite frank, mostly drivel. For some reason I really pine for the songs I sang as a child.

It's nothing to do with school assemblies becoming more secular either, because they have to have collective worship as part of the curriculum and still say the Lords Prayer, hear Bible stories so I don't understand why they can't sing proper old songs?

But assemblies where they all have to sing about how god made us all are not teaching Y2 about music. It's straightforward god bothering.

Not focusing assemblies around hymns is not 'teaching music badly', it's accepting that a large proportion of the kids don't worship the Christian God and picking suitable music.

The assumed Christianity in so much of English primary school life is not good at all.

The assumed Christianity in so much of English primary school life is not good at all.

Actually, as a religious person who's not Christian, I'd rather a bit of Christianity than an avowedly secular school, where religion is hived off to the odd lesson and not treated as part of everyday life at all.

Religion isn't everyday life for many, unless your child's school indoctrinating your child.

Ahhhh, child's school starts indoctrinating.

corythatwas Though if you are after catchy tunes, suitable for communal singing, I can strongly recommend the Soviet anthem

I recently stumbled across this study. Apparently "The suicide rates of 18 European nations were associated with the proportion of sad words in the lyrics of their national anthems as well as the gloominess of the music."

It's still a legally the case that (faith school or not)

The law in England and Wales provides that children at all maintained schools "shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship". Even in schools with no religious designation, the worship must be "wholly or mainly of a Christian character".

So religion isn't an everyday thing in many adults lives, but is still the case in the everyday goings on of primary pupils. I think a lot of parents are not aware of this requirement. They can request their child not take part in the acts of collective worship but have to actively do it rather than actively sign their child up to them.

It is obviously hotly debated as to whether it's right/wrong/antiquated etc. But while it stands then there's a place for Hymns in collective worship due to the requirement of it being wholly or mostly Christian in nature.

Ah, singing.
My primary school was C of E, so we sang hymns. Lots of the ones mentioned here as well as others like Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace and one called I The Lord Of Sea And Sky.
My secondary school was secular and private. We didn't do hymns often. Even though it was secular we did do a Christmas and Easter church service.
Occasionally, though, we had a "singing assembly" lead by the Director of Music (Head of Music, if you will). He led us through a load of random warm-up exercises that were as much a part of the assembly as the actual hymns. At that school I learnt Bread of Heaven, or something, which I swear was sung at William and Kate's wedding or something. Also learnt Lord of the Dance there (everyone loved that) and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!" etc and then "Glory Glory Hallelujah!" I quite like that one.
I've saved the best till last though: my primary school's 'unofficial' anthem was Reach Up For The Stars. We blasted that out at every opportunity, school event etc.

We had Morning Has Broken, and Lord of the Dance cue sniggering at 'stripped me naked' line

Oh come Praise with Me, we used to have that book in our Primary back in the 1980s. Even if you were not religious, they were nice songs to sing, even now thinking of them, bring back nice happy memories.

We sang the modern tune to O Jesus I gave promised at school. I hated school but this has brought me to tears. I know the third tune as well as know the fourth not quoted, it's the first I don't hear often.

I regret children don't sing the folk songs that Cecil sharp collected, a hugely rich source of language, lore and poetry. I don't think we used the one below, or at any rate we had floppy covered books in lime green, orange, sky blue, iswim, with the tune and the words, not a piano part, and I've been looking for them with the piano part ever since. I regret DS hasn't got these in his life blood as much as I regret the hymns. What shall we do with the drunken sailor, strawberry Fair, the keys if Canterbury, etc.

www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/english-folk-songs-schools/english-folksongs-schools.html

Let me come over all old here. O Worship The King. Pavilioned in splendour and girded in praise. I wouldn't expect a Primary-aged child to have a clucking clue what that meant. SO EXPLAIN THE ANALOGY. That's what teachers are for, innit? My kids had it explained to them and they were gobsmacked.
And then move on to the hymn I never heard a child sing without something moving in them - Immortal Invisible. You are hearing this from an evangelical atheist, but if you have to teach them any kind of appreciation of English and whence its inspiration came (hey, cross-curricular me!), the use of light as a metaphor for the glory of God is unparalleled in these verses.

I've seen Muslim kids moved by this hymn. And then I had to check it out with the Imam and even he thought it was dead good.

Sorry, forgot to put "Cauliflowers fluffy" in the bin.

I was randomly singing colours of day the other day - and then came this thread - will you tube it tomorrow

Loved colours of day and I the Lord of sea and sky

O can we all teach them stuff they would benefit from knowing without its having to be something attached from another agender?

O the vile two-dimensionality of today's educational world where everything must be intelligible and entertaining. Yy to pavilioned in splendour and girded with praise. Also casting down their golden crowns upon the glassy sea.

My kids went to primary school in the USA. No religious assemblies but at Christmas aka " The Holidays", the music teacher bent over backwards to make them sing Hannukah songs but refused to teach them any Christmas Carols.
WTF

Made me want to become an Evangelical Christian ( But I didn't)......

Oh worship the King Motherbluestocking
Holy, holy, holy.

Happy to play "name that hymn," any time !

If I may weigh in here, I was born in 1989, educated entirely in private Christian schools with chapel either every morning at primary, or three times a week in secondary. We didn't have assembly, we just had chapel. With all the hymns that accompany it, as you may imagine.

I am pleased to report I do not have a single religious bone in my body, and despite enjoying the music and finding old churches fascinating (archaeologist), I remain a 100% undoctrinated atheist.

A few hymns are not going to brainwash your children.

Travelled Perhaps we should start a new thread! [till we cast our crowns before thee/lost in wonder, love and praise]

Ok Motherbluestocking.
Might only be you and I posting though.

Changed from glory, into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place.

I was raised as a good Methodist.

OK starting a new thread (but don't know how to paste a link here)

"Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" usually reduces me to tears.

Time for that still small voice of calm, and off I go to sleep.

Oh yes, the still dews of quietness.