To raise an eyebrow at dd's nursery?

[snickersnack]

It's International Day at nursery next month. Lots of dancing, food and dressing up. Each room is given a country to learn about and "celebrate". DD's room has been given Zimbabwe. She's 3. What do you expect they may be learning?

It seems bizarre that they would chose Zimbabwe at all.

They might as well have chosen Nazi Germany. There are hundreds of countries in the world .. there can't possibly be hundreds of nursery rooms.

Why pick that god-forsaken place?

Are you worried Robert Mugabe will drop by?

You can't delete a country from your right-on radar because the government's crooked. There has been a recent thread on mn (what I've not look at ) about how people are sick of Germany bashing - it's almost as if it's still ok to slag the place off for the events of WW2, even for young whippersnappers like me . Maybe the nursery is being v right on and addressing that issue?

Or maybe the teachers are dyslexic and they're going to go 'Oh no! We meant Zambia!'

WHERE is FAQ?

Yeah Zimbabwe is a fab country, and will be again. Its a blip

But it is still OK to slag it off because of WW2. It's within living memory, after all.

Or is it OK to commit mass genocide and then forget all about it? Is this how desensitized we've actually become to human suffering?

It's all very well and good for right-on folk to 'move along.' A tad harder if you were an actual victim .. whether it be at the hands of Nazis or Mr Mugabe's thugs.

No obviously I'm not comparing him HW but I am saying that in the case of three year olds, any information you give about a country will be highly superficial and idealised.

I think it is very sad to be saying that a country is not to be talked about because its ruler is an evil man. And yes, China is a good example. Are you saying that the olympics shouldn't be talked about to three year olds because of Tibet?

Dd's reception class was 'linked' to Equador. During International day the class learnt about Equador - it is hot there, there are mountains, vulcanos, what animals live there etc, and were shown lots of pictures.
The children then took part in a charity art exhitition whereby they all painted an Equadorian (?) volcano, the pictures were framed, the school hall decked out like an art gallery with all pictures displayed and then parents had the option to buy them, money raised went to a primary school in Equador.
'Twas fab

I think it's a great idea if they have someone with Zimbabwean connections and you have all made good points about separating the country from the dictator.

But if there isn't someone with a personal connection I maintain it seems a REALLy weird choice for preschoolers.

8 year olds, totally different matter. They should know about it.

'Nazi' Germany dosen't exist anymore - Germany has moved on from that- or have I missed something ?

This madness!
They're 3!
Of course it would be wrong and stupid to try and talk about what Mugabe is doing. But if all our current teenagers, ten years ago, had learnt that Zimbabwe was a place where people like them played, ate, slept, sang etc....then maybe NOW they'd be interested in what's happening there?
I'm not saying YP aren't interested, you understand, but that interest and empathy have roots in early learning.
FWIW I bet there's a member of staff with some connections there. I hope your dc has a lovely day.

Also it might make some parents sit up and take more notice about what is going on out there in Zimbabwe.

Yes, Captainunderpants. I think we know this

Let's put it another way. Let's roll back a few years and look at South Africa and Apartheid. Everyone was boycotting SA. No one would engage them in sport, there were official sanctions, etc.

Would they have had a SA day at the nursery whilst all this was going on? I would hope not, because life is confusing enough.

There are enough countries in the world to chose from, and whilst I fully agree that all things will come to an end, including Mr Mugabe (hopefully sooner rather than later), in the current political climate, Zimbabe is a fuckwit's choice of country.

they're not going to be teaching three year olds about mugabi are they. They're going to teach them about the languages, the people, the animals, the food, the music. All of which still exist.

Or should the good bits (and there are still good bits) be forgotten because of the one person who is causing all the suffering?

Because if you do that then he has won.

I was just responding to you saying

'Or is it OK to commit mass genocide and then forget all about it? '

Couldn't quite see what you were getting at , what were you getting at ?

Nazi Germany doesn't exist any more hence wouldn't be used for an International Day theme. Pople haven't forgotten what happedn there but it didn't happen in the country as we know it now .

these are three year olds.

you can take bad from any country.

take the UK and you could be teaching them about knife crime and asbos.

What if one of the staff, or a child, is from zimbabwe? should their country be considered unteachable because of the actions of one person?

But there are no good bits in Zimbabwe at the moment. You vote for Mugabe, or you die.

I think the 'culture' can sit on the back burner for a while, until someone, somewhere, has the balls to sort it out.

Culture doesn't thrive under evil.

FFS let children be children , let them learn about all cultures , when they are old enough they will be able to see the crap and inhumane doings for themselves .

Otherwise we will bring up our children never to see beyond what they see on the news.

Yes, but mass murder is happening in Zimbabwe right now, Captain. It exists right now.

Do you honestly think that Zimbabwe is a good country to chose, when there are so many others in the world?

How about Costa Rica, the only country in the world without a standing army? How about anywhere but Zimbabwe, in fact.

It is utterly ludicrous to chose this country. I agree with another poster. I think they meant Zambia, or somewhere else.

Asking children to celebrate a nation which is currently going through such turmoil is insensitive, at the very least.

So Have you asked the nursery why they chose Zimbabwe? Am dying to know why or if it were a random choic?. DD's nursery has had international weeks but the've always been linked to a member of staff who comes from there and they've cooked food, brought in costumes sang songs, looked at photos and flags etc. Generally quite fab.

V interesting debate. I agree it might seem an odd choice but also agree that the current atrocities should not prevent the children learning about the country as a whole. There are certainly other atrocities that Bush and other leaders are responsible for altho I agree my brow did furrow when my DD aged 3 celebrated Independence Day!

I've got a splinter in my bum from sitting on the fence then!

'Yes, but mass murder is happening in Zimbabwe right now, Captain. It exists right now.'

Er yes I think I know that one

but dont fancy explaining it to a 3 yr old .

hey, when the Olmpics are on lets not allow our children to watch that too shall we.

I share your bewilderment snickersnack re choice of Zimbabwe...

Yes, sorry, when I posted I had in mind they would be learning about climate, culture, language, animals etc.
Not Mugabe.