How can I make a stand against the "chavvy" music at dd's school?

[fircone]

When ds was in the infants, the children sang a lot of songs and it sounded lovely. Now dd is there the music is on a downward spiral. They just sing along to (presumably teachers') old pop music tapes. At the last assembly the children mumbled dispiritedly to "Reach for the Sky" by SClub7, and at Christmas I ground my teeth as they half-heartedly muttered a bit of "Funky Town" (remember that one?!) and something by Annie Lennox. They came into the Christmas concert to "Fairytale of New York". You cheap lousy slut, anyone?

I'm not expecting a full production of "Nymphs and Shepherds" but this is getting ridiculous. It seems not just a shame but a failure not to encourage music.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can broach the subject? I am a governor, but I am not in the inner circle, and have to struggle to get my points raised. I need to put it diplomatically, rather than coming across as an outraged snob.

Good music is so much more than just classical though - jazz, folk, blues...the list is endless, it depresses me that our school only focuses on dull assembly (God) songs - I'd rather listen to my kids sing a bit of cheesy pop any day. At least then I might be spared from "All things bright & beautiful..." Please!!!!!

angelene - ah, the underrated genius of Stock, Aitken and Waterman! They have a lot in common with Bach.

I must admit I'd have apoplexy at any head who introduced a "Konfident Kids" room. I'd probably have him hauled in front of the governors for a Vote Of No Konfidence.

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I am with you on Konfident Kids, UQD!

no not you,feenie. The op. The fircone. The one who drones on about assemblies without telling us anything about musuc lessons

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It is actually very unreasonable to assume something from a very small part of the music curriculum and then criticise, without finding out properly, and it won't do the op's credibility any favours at all.

You might just as well assume that a school who turns out polished performances for every singing assembly must spend every minute of music lessons rehearsing and drilling the children, and therefore cannot possibly be fulfilling the rest of the music curriculum.

Without bothering to find out, that would be an equally silly assumption.

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Does anyone remember singing any of these at school:

1. The board is black, the chalk is white. Together we learn to read and write, to read and write...

2. When the red red robin comes bob bob bobbin along...

3. Dance then where ever you may be, I am the lord of the dance said he...

4. All things bright and beautiful....

5)Day O, Daaay O, daylight come and me wan go home....

6)My old man said follow the van and don't dilly dally on the way.....

7)Oh daisy,daisy give me your answer do, i'm half crazy, all for the love of you....

8)Rat a tat tat, rat a tat tat. No NO NO! There isn't any room and you can't stay here, there isn't any room for STRANGERS...(xmas)

We would have loved S Club!

Well, I think "Jeruselem" should be compulsory.

And why don't tehy sing "we plough the fields and scatter..." at harvest time these days?

yeah, what do they sing at harvest time now..? I bet it isn't "food, glorious food" we sang that every harvest

Does anyone else remember 'Singing Together?' Was on the radio and we used to listen every week, singing songs like 'Fire Down Below' and 'Marie's Wedding.'

I loved it, but remember our teacher hovering behind some of the boys shaking his cane and hissing 'sing!'

It's perfectly possible for children sing pleasing songs without resorting to pop drivel - and I agree with others that pop drivel has a place - it's just that that place is not at an assembly for little children.

Why not expose them to something different from what they might hear on the radio at home?

Isn't that part what education's about, widening children's horizons instead of just repeating more of what some of them are experiencing at home anyway?

Btw, I used to get upset in our last school that 'Gaude Te' was transposed into a lower key at the Christmas assembly - was poncey school down the road.

I'd probably have walked out had they tried to get the children to sing along to a cd, no matter who it was by.

2kidzandi we still sing all those you mentioned, apart from the first one. Rat a tat tat never gets out of my head!

When I was a kid, I used to think it was 'I am the Lord of the Dance Settee'!

So people, when you are looking at prospective schools for your DC, be sure to ask what songs are sung in assembley.

I'm with you - I moved ds after realising that I couldn't listen to another 7 years of "Loyal" by Dave Dobbin being sung in the original key (ie much too low) with the kids droning along. Just as I thought it couldn't get any worse the new head teacher gets up and compliments them on their lovely singing.

I did do the music for ds's class in the school play though before he left.

Now he has 40 minutes of music, 40 minutes of Junior sining, 40 minutes of Junior Choir, 40 minutes of Assembly (where they sing 3 hymns) and 40 minutes of Singing Assembly per week. All accompanied by a real teacher playing the piano and modeling good singing.

They still manage to cover the maths, english, science etc. and do loads of sport, so I'm not sure what the old school did in all the extra time they had.

I am proud to be an "old school" teacher who can play the piano.

Unquiet dad - yes I remember that Jonathon Coe scene - excellent.
I can't decide on this one, maybe as dd is not yet at school, but I do have very fond memories of singing the entire Andrew Lloyd Weber catalogue at school - admittedly secondary.
Bizarrely, our English set had to once perform a song to the teacher. We chose 'Frigging in the rigging', for reasons unknown. When the lovely Miss S asked us if we knew what 'frigging' meant, nobody knew (we were 14) .

lol at MeAndMyMonkey 's English set! How did Miss S respond to the "..because there's fuck all else to do" bit?

Do kids still sing this?:

Autumn days when the grass is jewelled
And the silk inside a chestnut shell
Jetplanes meeting in the air to be refuelled
All these things we love so well
So we musn't forget
No we mustn't forgeh-eh-et
To say a great big thank you
We mustn't forget...

I have no idea what they sing at my dc's school. Bad Otter.

As 11 year olds at school, we were forced to sing 'ITS CHRISTMAS!' with Noddy Holder.

It was even recorded and shown on BBC local news & the Radio.

Why on Earth did my parents agree (rather enthusiastically) to me participating in such a humiliating event.

Whatever happened to pop music being about rebellion? Guaranteed way to put kids off it comprehensively - make them sing it at school.

Otterinaskoda - All I remember is her sitting there with a lovely polite look on her face throughout.
You know when you're trying too hard to be cool and it totally backfires? She resolutely refused to get cross or upset and subsequently we ended up feeling really young and dumb!

My sister runs a musical theatre company for kids, they love all the great show tunes, but most of them had never heard them before joining her. It's a shame, I used to love watching all the old musicals when I was a kid. I think a lot of songs my 8yr old likes are inappropriate for her age, but I don't want her going to the school disco and asking for 'something by Doris Day please'. We listen to all types of music at home, so she does get a variety.