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!

Why indeed Puzzled?

tell I know. I'm feeling like Mary Whitehouse here!

As to those that say kids don't listen to lyrics. My 'special' male friend left his son in the car for 5 minutes listening to music whilst he nipped to the shop.

He then had to explain what 'the bad words' were that he had just heard on Use Your Illusion II.

You are being completely OTT, children are too young to understand the context of it unless you explain it to them. Your life must be pretty boring to get so up in arms about this. Also, nothing wrong with sipping champagne and dancing all night and the rest is innuendo which would of gone over their little heads.

I don't think lyrics in songs go unnoticed or simply wash over children as much as we might like to believe. I paid attention to the lyrics in songs when I was that age. Children absorb, listen, observe and think about a hell of a lot more than we give them credit for. Parents know their children best. It is really up to parents to decide whether those adult concepts in the lyrics are appropriate or not for their young child. Definitely not up to the school or teachers. Some parents are ok with it, some parents are not. Parents who choose to not expose their young children to those kinds of lyrics shouldn't be undermined by the actions of the school they send their children to. It is an inappropriate song for primary school, it's pretty obvious that there would be parents who would have issue with their young children singing along to those lyrics. So, out of respect for all families how hard is it to choose a more appropriate song? I agree Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy would have been a much better choice.

Whereas typical popular music by girl groups especially has a tendency for: Not many clothes, sexy dance moves, no artistic substance. And then it's heralded as EMPOWERING. If that's all your material ever presents I'm not so sure it is, feels all about the male gaze to me.

Yeah, get this. Girl Power might just might have been about a new wave of feminism for about 5 minutes but not the trash we get today. In fact me and special friend were chatting about this the other day - where are the big bands like The Who, Floyd, Zepplin or Bowie - the utter fucking genius's. Queen FFS!

We get Bieber. Says it all really.

Oh and that twat Thicke

I don't think lyrics in songs go unnoticed or simply wash over children as much as we might like to believe. I paid attention to the lyrics in songs when I was that age. Children absorb, listen, observe and think about a hell of a lot more than we give them credit for.

Good God, yes.

Don’t stop believing is my karaoke song. I think I do a belting rendition dance moves and all

Candyman is definitely inappropriate and a completely stupid choice to be honest.

There is something distinctly odd about this.

Class teacher not in - experienced teacher by all accounts

Head who says he hasn't seen it yet

OK - looks like MN are divided on Candyman. Fine. But, for the sake of argument, we were all parents in that assembly then a good proportion would complain based on the posts alone. So in that respect it is a controversial choice.

These are experienced professionals at a school which has been brilliant in the past. No cause for concern on my behalf.

I took DD age 10 and her two (male) best friends ,same age, Trick or Treating this week and one of them came out with the gem "Trick or Treat, beat my meat" WTF????? I told him not to say it again.

I'm guessing he heard this on YouTube as he spends lots of his time on it and yes, he didn't quite know what it meant but we're now living in a time when something like 1 in 3 school girls will experience some form of harassment or unwanted attention from men/boys. I'm not in anyway saying this lovely, polite and quite naive boy will become one of those, however this is a small part of a bigger picture which fuels this problem. It's not necessarily just the repeating of or listening to wrong messages that's the problem. It's the way it normalises it.

I'm so surprised at how little people seem to listen to lyrics of the music around them.

yeah, lyrics wash over them... like that time that my DCs' school decided to get them to dance to despacito, I really would have liked the teacher who had that brilliant idea to have been the one asked by the kids to translate the lyrics instead of poor me!!

I have a soft spot for despacito - yes, I wouldn't want to translate it for people, but it's not a horrible, violent, abusive song like so many are, it's all in the sentiment not in actual swearing.

Trick or Treat, beat my meat - fuck me.

Mind you when DS went trick or treating the other day, he put an empty plastic bowl on his head and ran around saying, 'I'm a pothead!'

I was

Oh I'm going to have to google despacito now...

Renarde1975

I remember a parent kicked up a massive stink about the class singing Don't Stop Believing when my DC were in primary school. None of the kids had really given it much thought and then when the whole 'whoha' of a parent going ballistic and insisting it was inappropriate, all the kids suddenly took a massive interest and wanted to know which bits were inappropriate, why were they inappropriate, what did it all mean. It was really annoying.

I'm not saying I'm all for explicitly sexual songs being played to junior school kids but sometimes kicking off about something not much of an issue like Don't Stop Believing actually causes more harm than good.

None of the kids would have understood Candyman either. I'd have probably told mine it was a joke about someone's knickers falling off, if they'd have asked about the pantie thing - not that they would have done because they'd have been all about who wet themselves, farted on stage or fell over!

I want to undress you in kisses slowly

Firmly in the walls of your labyrinth

I think this bit still needs translating

urgh that's awful.

I don't know why songs that glamorize rape aren't banned.

I felt a bit icky that DD (7) was singing pentatonix daft punk....but actually pentatonix changed the words....from the slightly creepy

she's up all night till the sun
I'm up all night to get some
she's up all night for good fun
I'm up all night to get lucky

to 'we're' at the start of every line.

Micke Oh, I quite like despacito, too, I just didn't fancy explaining to my Reception child what it was exactly the nice man was planning on doing slowly...

I was just surprised the teachers didn't anticipate this might happen, or maybe as you say they just didn't pay much attention to the lyrics!

Margo

None of the kids would have understood Candyman either.

How on earth can anyone make that kind of sweeping statement? We have no idea what they know/don't know. DS certainly knows what sex is.

Candyman is a weird choice for a primary school assembly.
There's so many other songs they could use. Or if they wanted modern covers in a style then something like The Puppini Sisters do some great covers of modern songs like.

I'm surprised anyone is saying it's ok.

Renarde, he may well know what sex is, but would he have understood that the lyrics are about sex?

Of course I can make a sweeping statement! This is a thread seeking heads on platters after all!

Like I say, I'm not a fan of sexualised songs for children. I wouldn't have chosen that song myself but I can't get worked up about it either.

Dunno Margo but I wonder what they do think it's about unless it's about a tattoed stranger who gives out sweets to naice young ladies

"I'm surprised anyone is saying it's ok."

Me too tbh.

But then whilst people say nothing, this is the shit that some schools will come out with.

But then whilst people say nothing, this is the shit that some schools will come out with.

Yeah and I still cannot for the life of me see why any parent of a 9 year old would be OK with this. Which makes it all a bit - deliberately provocative if that makes sense?

@Reynarde1975 couldn’t just slip the trick or treat ditty into your next seasonal extravaganza could you ? I’m thinking Love me Tender as a working title!