to feel disappointed over nativity casting

[madamearcati]

We are a small village school and every year the school has a nativity and so does the unattached pre-school.
It always seems to be the nicest looking children who are the angels and Mary and Joseph. The ones with the round cherubic faces ,pink cheeks and usually blonde hair
It can't be coincidence !In fact I once heard the TA discussing whether it would be 'ok' to cast an absolutely drop dead gorgeous mixed race little girl as an angel (because of her colouring )
Before the inevitable 'sour grapes' comments I would like to point out that my DD will be off for the nativity this year recovering from a minor operation.

My DS came home moaning that he was a star, and the only boy star at that.

I asked him what his friends were. "Harry's being a human he huffed". "He's got to wear a woolly hat".

I have absolutely no idea what the plot will be...

DD is blonde and, hm, angelic-ish. She is to be an angel ... along with her corkscrew-curled brunette best friend, and the archetypal fiery redhead. Mary is mixed race, but judging from walking home in front of her today has been chosen on the basis of her ability to PROJECT! That said, DD is the only speaking angel, so has presumably been exercising her lungs as well.

Reminds me of a time I overheard comments about a mixed race girl, who was dd best friend, being an angel in the nativity some years ago. WTF?? Are angels caucasian and God a BNP supporter then? Where do you start? Gah.

Reading this has made me realise that when DS was at awful infant school they cast him as King Herod & the big bad wolf .
When I was a child we did the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and I was Mrs Beaver

My dd is a shepherd. I can't work that one out!

Well, we were all penalised when I was at school (all those years ago!) because the angel gabriel role ALWAYS went to the one girl with the ginger hair! All of us blondes (there were quite a few of us) were angels.

In my final year of primary school I was the inn-keepers wife - a terrible role but I got to stand behind the curtain for half the play with the school dish. Ahem ....

This kind of thing always makes me feel happy that I allowed DS1 to be Jesus in my mum's Reception Nativity. Because he was a big boy (and also her PFB grandson!) she chose the sturdiest girl to be Mary. As a sturdy girl who was never Mary or even in the running for an angel, I felt I had done my bit for sturdy girls the world over.

Aghast at the TA...

See this is why I'm glas Ds's school has carols at christmas and a 'concert' at summer.

Each year group doing their own songs, all of them singing.

Our school is v lovely and everyone in Y2 gets one or two lines to say (Y1 and R do singing, KS2 keep out of it), and some say a few more - I guess these are the more confident ones with the ability to SPEAK UP DEAR. Not aware of anything nefarious going on re PTA children/racial stereotyping. We will apparently get a Simon Cowell in the play this year though.

And LOL at BitOfFun's DD (come on, admit it, you put her up to it didn't you? ) and campion's psycho shepherd boy.

I've been told ( by other mums) that my DS is a shoe in for Joseph simply by being the oldest tallest boy. I think he would make a better angel being blonde. He would prefer to be sheep or a firework.

Someone told me last night that there are lemurs in their child's nativity play this year...

I think the parts with the most speaking usually seem to go to the children who are most articulate and confident. Who are often the better looking children (regardless of hair/skin colour).
I don't know why this should be, but often the top sets at schools are better looking (washed, clean hair, tidy clothes etc). While the bottom set children are perhaps more likely to have sleepy dust on their eyelids, baked bean juice on their clothes and greasier hair.
I don't know what comes first, in that do the better looking people get their confidence boosted all along? Or does the confidence and alertness mke someone seem better looking?
It's unfair, but looks seem to get people a head start in life.

The TA's comment is something else though, that's racist.

YANBU!

i am still peeved at nativity choices from when i was a child.

I had and still have waist length blonde hair and NEVER not once was i an angel.

All the thick kids were angels at my school, i was never in the nativity, i did the readings, or the signing.

Now that sucks!

Found out this morning that my DS is apparently Joseph in his reception play...to say Im shocked is an understatement. I have absolutely no idea why they have picked him at all. He is gorgeous (in my eyes obviously!) but certainly not cherubic looking and doesn't fit the mould of Joseph (if that makes sense?)in any way at all so should be interesting!

My DD2 (dainty ,blondecurly hair and pink cheeks) and one other girl (small dark haired bob)are the only 2 girls in the R/Y1 class not to be angels and they don't seem to care in the slightest.They are the smallest 2 and have been promised to be angels next year.They ae going to be innkeepers and DD has decided she will be a lady innkeeper and wear a pretty dress and carry a lantern.
I am quite glad because there are about a dozen angels and only 3 innkeepers ,so I know at least we'll be able to see her well.

My daughter was one of only four children (from a class of 30 year 2s) who had no part at all in this year's nativity. She was a musician, which meant shaking the odd maracca and looking bored - the whole thing was so slick they must've been rehearsing for weeks and weeks which meant weeks and weeks of boredom for her.

She was baffled as to why she didn't have a part, and I was furious at the lack of sensitivity. The teacher's response was that she tried to be fair across all 3 years and the musicians are an important part. Hmmm... no public recognition, no costume, no dance, no lines, nowhere near the stage. Not convinced! (Though of course we didn't say any of that to her!)

She's not very confident, but would have risen to the challenge of a small part. This has really set her back.

Does this happen in other schools?

Nah, at our school they go out of their way to pick the ugly or talentless kids for the main parts.

learnermother - at our childrens school everyone in the class has a part, there are plenty to go around. seems a bit mean not to include them all

Must admit that I listened to the children rather than the overall director, and that's why my narrators were middling to crap, with two fantastic exceptions.
In our discussion before the event, my good readers pointed out that they were usually narrators and most of them wanted a change.
To act, speaking or not. One of them wanted to do props and no acting/speaking at all.
Parents and director might not have been pleased, but this year every child in the Y5 contribution got what they wanted. Good result in my eyes, I caught the flack.

Good for you Goblinchild. I went to several schools (forces brat) and never, not once did I get to act in a school play or assembly. I was always the fecking narrator, each and every time...

love this thread
DS is blond and angelic looking (to me anyway) but if the requirements are sitting still he will be sheep #3
how can you 'be' a calendar??
And BoF, what happened next?

my dd (almost 4) really, really wanted to be a cow in the nativity play, to the extent that a (completely silent and completely still) cow part had to be especially created for her

she was the cutest, proudest cow ever (among about 10 sheep)

ahh