To want heads on platters? Utterly inappropriate school assembly

[Renarde1975]

This is a fucking corker. I am fuming but I'd like the hive minds' view.

At DS assembly today. Topic is 'Evacuation: WW2'. All good. Actually, they've done a great job and it's really excellent. Then this.

Towards the end, Christine Aguilera's 'Candyman' comes on. I'm watching open mouthed. I still cannot believe it.

MN: let me refresh you on the 'choicest' lyrics.

He's a one stop shop, makes the panties drop

He took me to the Spider club on Hollywood and Vine
We drank champagne, and we danced all night

He's a one stop shop, makes my cherry pop

And no, MN - this was NOT the radio edit.

And then to cap it all off for some inexplicable reason we are treated to two renditions of Don't Stop Believin' by Journey

A singer in a smoky room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on, and on, and on

WTAF? Did I smoke crack this morning and enter into a parallel dimension? I am a teacher, that another member of my profession could fuck up so royally is just, wow.

I don't want my nine year old son to be singing this in a school assembly, or listening to words that objectify women and glorify alcohol. Turns out the kids were practicing the dance moves to Candyman for three weeks!

Wouldn't describe it as a "corker" OP. Are you usually this agitated about things?

Kiwi

Only crap pop songs and cucumbers.

That's is quite funny, sorry op. Tbh I never really listened to song lyrics until my kids started singing them and only then realised how inappropriate

Tune!!!

I think this is a fascinating discussion. I never realised before that some just let lyrics wash over them. There's nothing wrong with that of course but it's very intresting.

My kids' schools tend toward this LCD thinking.

It's depressing.
But I feel no guilt at taking them out of school so that's a handy side effect!

I'd had many class assemblies where I thought we could sing a song and then looked up the lyrics and swiftly changed my mind. However, I did teach a singing unit using 'Don't stop believing' as it was very current and the kids loved it. I would definitely have a word about the candyman song choice - probably gone unnoticed by the children but would make me feel unneasy hearing them singing along to it. Once watched a group of year 6 boys choreograph a routine to Flo Rida's Right round and wondered how no one had managed to pick up on the lyrics.

I know what you mean, op. A classic I saw was a Reception class dancing to "Bad Romance". A great song but not for 5 year olds. The irony was that the teacher is a massive hardcore unforgiving Catholic. I'm a Catholic and I know to avoid the hardcore ones who have no visible sense of either proportion or humour. This teacher's other classics include telling kids that god will punish them for whatever.
She loves a bit off Gaga, though

OP YABU saying that Don's Stop Believing is a rubbish tune.

I agree with you on Candyman being a very lazy way to round off the assembly, as many others have said, why not use an authentic 40's song? Christ. I'm not sure I would have too much of a hissy fit though.

However, the idiotic choir teacher who chose Timber as a suitable song for a kid's choir? Are they on glue?? I mean, the lyrics are utterly disgustingly misogynistic and totally inappropriate for a choir song.

Wow Op, I’m with you. That was completely inappropriate. What on earth were they thinking? I think some of the the posters on here must be on crack if they think this is fine!

I sang a lot worse when I was a kid and was oblivious.

You're overthinking this.

This isn't a drip feed because I geuinely forgot about this when started the post.

Right at the beginning of the assembly - taken by the head - he says something I think is rather telling on reflection.

I have not seen this, yet or WTTE

The class teacher wasn't there. her day off I believe.

I can see your point on handyman. Didn't even realise what don't stop believing was alluding to myself so doubt kids would.

Don't get me started on playing Timber at ks1 discos, the lyrics to that are obscene!

Oh I see someone else mentioned Timber! Bloody horrendous! And blurred lines

Could be worse. DS had the rainforest for his topic. They learned the soundtrack to Tarzan.

A few days later I heard in the living room "ok google play songs by Phil Collins" 

This reminds me of being at school in the 1960’s, when our very strait laced music teacher decided to be uncharacteristically trendy and announced that she planned to have the junior choir sing some songs from the musical Hair.
Until I asked if that included the “Sodomy, fellatio, cunnilingus, pederasty” song...

Bloody hell Bab!

Blueberryporridge - On hand we have people complaining about mysogynistic attitudes, and on the other hand we are normalising vocabulary which demeans women and girls. There is a link, I think, and it's not good enough to say that the children aren't listening or understanding. Subliminal messages get through...

I really agree with this and OP I'm with you on the use of Candyman as a song choice. Researching a piece of music relevant to that era would have been additional learning in itself so it's also a bit lazy.

As for young girls dancing to Timber? The mind boggles I was at a wedding reception recently dancing with my young niece (age 6). I was doing the Mum Shuffle as you do and then Little Mix came on and her dancing turned from quite impressive (I could see that her Dancing Lessons were paying off) to what can best be described as Flash Dance - esq. I was . I mean I get that some of these moves are contemporary but if feels with all the different types of dance through the ages a dance school could teach surely this isn't necessary at such a young age?

I realise my comments make me sound like a Pearl Clutcher to many. > pulls cardi on closer and drinks sweet tea

apologies - it was a choir that chose Timber not dancing.
I think that's worse!

Ok so I'm the true spirit of Mumsnet, I'm going to point out that y3s are not 9 years old.

OP how can you be bothered to want ‘heads on platters’. over something so trivial? Are you bored? Those lyrics probably wouldn’t even register with the kids.

How exactly does Candyman objectify women? It's about wanting to have sex with a guy because he's got tattoos and a big penis. If anything, isn't that objectifying the man? It was also written and produced by Christina Aguilera and Linda Perry, both of whom are pretty big on female empowerment.

At least it wasn't 'I like big butts"

Missing the point, but I now have Don't Stop Believing going through my head on a loop.

I think Yabu. My niece performed to a little mix song with her performing arts school, she was 8. Most of it has went over her head.

I don’t get the objection to the Don’t stop believing especially.