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?

christ Desi - last I heard none of H's nephews and nieces (of which there are a LOT) have had a gun or knife to their head. That's not to say it's not happening, of course it is, to argue otherwise would just be stupid and ill-informed.

But when in London alone so far this year there have been 50 deaths from stabbings (compared with 72 for the year April 07-March 08). I can't find national figures - and those figures are just those that have died - couldn't find gun deaths either. I think it's a bit rich to say to someone you don't even know

"You do argue, however, for the final time, from a place where your kid doesn't have a gun at his head."

you know what TheHedgeWitch - I already keep my eye on what the DS's learn at nursery and school about "Africa"

Thankfully they have learned about invidiual countries and cultures - not a whole continent as one place - so I haven't had to bring the subject up.

As long as parents attitudes continue "well they can just learn about Africa" (like it's one country) then schools aren't going to teach any different. And another generation of children will grow up thinking that "africa" is one big country (I used to receive letters addressed to me from relatives xxxx, Zimbabwe, South Africa" !

and now I really am off to bed, was going to have an early night (suppose it still is for me) and I've had enough reading compeltely ignorant and ill-informed posts.

May even hide this thread in the morning so please don't be offended with me if I don't respond to any further comments/questions written to me.

Sleep well

Sorry FAQ, but comparing London to Zimbabwe is a nonsense.

You have an unelected monster running your country. A psychopath. He is the Hitler of the 21st century.

Our probems our social. Yours are worse.

If you've got the answers, go back and sort them.

I have a three year old who khows that Africa isn't a country.

Africa is definitely approached as one big country in the way it is talked about in Europe. I don't think a lot IS known about the individual African nations, whereas European countries are presented as having very distinct entities - though nowadays they are possibly more homogenous than African nations. Changing this approach can only be positive.

Just curious as to how many people have stood up and protested about what is happening in Zimbabwe. How many have put pressure on the government to do something about it? We are allowing troops to go to Iraq and Afghanistan to support a 'war on terror' but our government - duly elected - are allowing this and so many other atrocities occur in Africa... Mugabe is terrible but despite a few opportunities to do so - no one has ever arranged to remove him from power - using whatever means necessary!!

SO we can shout about how inappropriate it is for three year olds to learn about a culture other than their own but what are we doing about the bigger picture??

do not understand how making a stand about this solves anything.

Message withdrawn

Costa Rica isn't the only country without a standing army, here is a list.

I don't know what to think re: the OP, I can see both sides. I can't see teaching Africa as a country, though, that just smacks of 'eh, they all look alike to me'.

eidsvold - yes I have stood up and protested about Zimbabwe.

Left the protest/strike just before the police clamped down to disperse everyone with tear gas (though still suffered some of the effects of it as I retreated back to the school I worked at to watch the school Crciket team - and it was close enough to the city centre for some of it to drift across - very glad I wasn't still in town).

Have also contacted my MP several times in recent years, and signed various petitions (not been able to make it down for any of the protests outside Zimbabwe House though).

btw OP - what other countries are the other rooms doing (just out of interest?)

Why not Zimbabwe? Despite Robert Mugabe, there are still wonderful things about the country; culture, wildlife, music etc. Why not celebrate that?

There are real downers on most countries so I don't see why Zimbabwe should stand out for being a wierd choice. Colombia (kidnappings and drug trade), America (Guantanamo Bay, unjustified war), Spain (appalling animal rights record), China (appalling human rights record), Tibet (see China), India (immense poverty).

I agree with the OP, Zimbabwe is a very odd choice at a time when thousands of people there are starving and being terrorised. Children are being orphaned, by starvation, AIDS or state-sponsored violence. It's immoral to pretend to small children that everything is fine and equally wrong to frighten them by explaining what's going on. As someone said, there are 192 recognised countries, WTF go for Zim? Why not, I dunno, Botswana?

apparently the German company that supplies the paper for them to print money on has pulled the plug - so maybe they'll just have to draw extra zeros every coupla days now instead of printing new ones...

yes admittedly Botswana (so far) has been quite a sucess story in terms of the economy (not that 3yr olds will have much concept of "economy") - however their life expectancy (mainly due to AIDS - is still less than 40 and despite their GDP being that of a "middle income" country -

Discrimination against women still extremely strong out there too.

white women not allowed to work in Botswana.

Or Swaziland, or lots of other countries in Africa.

IBundle - interesting you should mention that - as they've recently introduced a ZW$500m note (which still isn't really big enough given that inflation is now running at 2,200,000%!! (and we think we have it tought with rising food prices!)

However that still shouldn't detract from the fact that Zimbabwe still has a rich cultural heritage.

Can the OP tell us which other countries the nursery will be learning about that day?

hmm - lovely a country which sends men to prison purely based on the fact that they have HIV/AIDS?

Where opposition activists are also beaten and intimidated.

I could go on......but I shan't - as like you said you could pick any country in Africa and counter it was badness.

So perhaps they just shouldn't learn about any African countries (given that the argument against using Zimbabwe is because of the crap going on there)..........

Come to mention it - perhaps they should contact Amnesty, or HRW and ask them which countries they deem to have the "best" Human Rights records to ensure that the children don't learn anything about any country where anything too "bad" is happening

Oh come on, Zimbabwe isn't just one amongst many countries with undesirable governments, it is one of the very worst regimes on the face of the planet atm.

no it's one of MANY countries in the world with despicable regimes - it's just the rest don't make the news so often, partly due to them not being ex British Colonial countries, and also because their mad leaders tend not to try and place all the blame on the UK.......