to complain that DD had an Empire Day theme at Rainbows?

[DancesWithTimMinchin]

DH is from a former colony. We don't think celebrating our history of colonisation is appropriate or inclusive. When we complained, the people who organise the Rainbow's didn't think there was anything inappropriate about celebrating Empire Day as a theme for a history-based afternoon.

AWBU?

Then again I don't read the daily mail or fear foreigners either

FFS. What a twattish answer.

"I've never heard of Empire day?
What were the children actually doing?"

Thwt's because Empire Day has existed only in museums since 1958.

I am truly horrified by some of the views on here. I don't think even UKIP would suggest celebrating Empire Day. It's more an EDL sort of thing.....

LittleHouseOnTheShelf Nazi-ism is the history of Germany - so I assume you'd encourage them to celebrate it with 5 and 6 year olds? And I'm sure you'd encourage celebrating slavery - it could be an international holiday perhaps?

It is part of the country's history - but it is not a part to be proud of, or celebrated.

Funnily enough ds school have been doing this very subject in history. He thinks Britain were terrible for treating others so badly. They also had a fun day looking at foods from parts of the old BE and tasting stuff.

I can't see the harm wheb it is presented as part of history. My DS learned about the way his nation behaved to others but at the same time learned to appreciate how that had brought us a very multi cultural society.

Being autistic DS has a strong sense of justice and says that at that time "Britain were just dicks werent they Mum?"

Couldn't have put it better myself son.

Yanbu OP. Totally inappropriate to celebrate Empire Day. I'm lost for words at some of the responses on this thread.

Not rtft I fear for my blood pressure

But Empire Day??

REEEEALLY?

Id shit a brick

Google the Woodcraft Folk with any luck they will get back to you by christmas

I swear mumsnet's getting more right wing as it gets older

LittleHouse--it's the history of a lot of countries, not all of which find anything to celebrate about it, strange as it may sound.

Holding an Empire Day doesn't mean that you have to celebrate it. Children learn about world wars etc without celebrating it.

Strange, isn't it, Muddha.

I get the idea about not complaining about volunteers, even though as a volunteer, I disagree.

Can't quite get my head around the section of people that don't see anything wrong with how this was done at all.

Jesus Christ. The leader was obviously stick for ideas, googled May 24 and found an arbitrary excuse for a little party (with some historical context, albeit one with slightly unpleasant associations).

Don't shit on a kids' party by pushing your own agenda much much harder than they were pushing any agenda on your DD.

I'd wager your DD probably just saw it as dress up and fun so I hope your outrage remains unwitnessed by her.

But in this case Little it appears they did something very similar to celebrating it.

It would be quite possible to mark Empire day if you wanted to by doing something that didn't involve having a party, dressing up as royalty and calling it 'Celebating Empire Day.'

Or even Celebrating

I don't see the problem with this in its historical context. You can't pretend it never happened. My daughter just did a topic about the Victorians at school and there was a lot about Empire.

If however it were more about sampling food from different countries or locating them on a current globe, Commonwealth is more appropriate.

I wouldn't complain about it though.

but Littlehouse - I'm the OP - and the wording of the theme was celebrating Empire Day - they used it twice in formal communication with the parents.

2ManySweets - Laziness in selecting a theme, and presumably ignorance of the injustices of colonisation, do not absolve one from causing offence to the millions of people living in the UK descended from people whose country was colonised.

Do people really not see a difference between learning about the Empire and celebrating Empire Day?

Surely you must?

Being a volunteer stuck for something to do and having a little google is not an excuse for coming up with such an awful idea.

If the leader wanted to do some dressing up and food tasting, have an 'international day.' Not hard.

The idea that these children would be 'taught' anything positive except a, by implication if nothing else, ahopelessly anglocentric view of the world is laughable.

YANBU OP. At all. CELEBRATING Empire Day us outrageous.

And I am a volunteer who is routinely scrutinised, quit properly so, for any poor decisions I might have made.

I think it was wrong to hold an Empire Day celebration but you've complained and I'm now wondering what you now want OP? Not everybody will see it from your point of view and it doesn't mean they are bad people. Just a little naive.

But why would you want to "mark Empire Day"? It hasn't existed since 1958!!!!!

Often activities focus upon themes which people may disagree with, you are entitled to your view. I would not have a problem with this particular day. However , I do think to talk about complaining in the context of volunteers is a sensitive, raise it as a question or query ie just wondered why it was chosen would be more appropriate. To complain when a volunteer is organising week after week is not fair in my opinion.

"Often activities focus upon themes which people may disagree with, you are entitled to your view."

List me some likely themes for Rainbows that people may disagree with.

The op doesn't live in the1950s
But she did say she lives in East Anglia, which is the same thing

Who on earth is saying anything about 'bad people'? Honestly, this really isn't a complicated one. No one has to get nailed to anything.

2ManySweets - the leaders could have, in all innocence and ignorance of history, found Holocaust memorial day on the calendar and had the girls goose-stepping around the hall. I'm sure they would have had a wonderful time. Would I, as a Jew, have been "shitting on a party" if I'd complained? And don't try to tell us it's an unfair comparison. The genocide of the British Empire killed more "savages", I'm sure, than Nazi Germany killed Jews.

Oh, and 2manysweets

so I hope your outrage remains unwitnessed by her.

Get your judgy pants out of your arse love. At no point have I indicated that I was outraged, that I made a scene, raised my voice or anything of that nature.

DH had a quiet word with the leader, in which he said that as a person from a former colony, and therefore DD is descended from people from a former colony, he finds a celebration of Empire Day non-inclusive and inappropriate.