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.

Where is this school and how can i get my children in?

My children yawn over these gems

My god is so big
The children of hope
oh oh oh how good is my lord

(it's not a faith school)

The only non religious songs they can remember singing are:

I want to break free
(No)Thankyou for the music(ds adds the NO)
Consider yourself
When i'm 64
Tomorrow
My bonnie lies over the ocean.
Soldier soldier

I would kick up about DS being forcefed High School Musical in a music lesson unless it was to deconstruct the awful vapid rubbish and teach the DC that this is 'music as merchandising tool' same as all that X Factor shit.
THe HSM songs are incredibly badly constructed, they sound like they are the bits and pieces Steps threw away and there is no interest in making 'good' music in HSM, it's just about raising the brand awareness so any old shit will do.

I did a year 7 unit on Polynesian rap music, many of the kids said they preferred looking at Mussorgsky, Berlioz or Saint Saens with me as I was obviously more excited by them, and thus they were intrigued.

Or maybe it was because they don't want to deconstuct rap they just like listening to it.

I have also had piano students want to do HSM, and then kick it on the head two weeks later and beg to go back to Mozart and Pam Wedgwood.

Leave a flyer for sing up www.singup.org laying around in the staffroom,along with a note saying "Did you know many counties provide free whole class singing lessons for a whole year? Contact ...music service for details"
All schools have access to free county led whole class instrumental/singing lessons for a whole year. It can even cover PPA time so no school should ignore it! Find out what your county does & flog it to your school!

Re the comments on the song 'the ink is black,the page is white' as to it being politically incorrect - why are posters saying this? the song is about children of different races working together - how can that be wrong?

applepudding Sorry I didn't make myself clear. I mentioned 'the ink is black' with fond nostalgia. What I'm saying is that it has been largely dropped - if not altogether scrapped - from the modern school music syllabus because there is so much political sensitivity today about black/white/multiculturism and integration issues, which is a shame.

fircone- are you in Ch F? I may be completely wrong but if you are, I am frankly amazed that the local parents don't also kick up a stink about he quality of music at primary school!

I also remember Singing Together fondly, the period from 1969-73. Then went to a trad girls GS where, in the choir, it was all 'I vow to Thee' & 'Jerusalem' . 'Jonah and the Whale' was as 'out there' as we got! BUT I can now tell my Mozart from my Holst...

I think you're correct to challenge the short shrift the DCs are getting, potentially missing out on such a vast musical heritage.

Informer2 "I would have pointed out to a kid that vanessa and Zac are a real couple and not little kids and that means they kiss and make out and also make love and its normal for both guys and girls to want to tease and enoucourage and turn on their partner so they think their partner is pretty, hunky, hot and want to come over and snuggle with them.

Sex and relationship should start age 5 weekly ans when teaching it in the context of reltionships its easy to point out that said nude photos where just a normal way young women (and men)are saying hey hot stuff your girl/boyfriend wants you to come over for some snuggling"

Are you mental? You wouldn't last long in teaching if you pointed any of the above out to primary age children (the op is talking about KS1, fgs, but it would still be completely out of order to talk about any of this in the context you suggest at any age in primary school).

Not to mention your suggestions that we teach children that the slut/faggot insults in 'Fairytale of New York' are just 'messing around'.

I can't believe these posts went unchallenged.

Feenie - informer2 has been posting on loads of threads over the last day or so. He has broadly similar themes around teen sex, self defence etc. Just ignore him! He's had quite a few posts deleted.

Ahhhhh - thanks, Littlefish. I have been away for a couple of days, and did wonder. That explains a lot!

i'm thinking of becoming a governor for this very reason. kids at the local school did a concert at our church where they sang along (albeit enthusiastically) to a really uninspiring, dull, insipid song from a CD.

The theme was mother's day and it was clearly supposed to be cute, but it really grated.

If you can't get someone (anyone!) to bash out a few notes on a piano when the kids are singing, then let them do it acapella fgs! Singing along to a CD at a concert is beyond crappy. That'll be my first bone of contention, if and when i get on the board.

And will be nothing to do with governors, since assemblies would most definitely come under the heading of day to day running of the school.

I disagree Feenie - governors on the curriculum committee should be able to show an interest in, support and influence the standard of music in the school as they can with any all other subjects. Although this initially will mainly be the music and singing taught in lessons, if the standard of music rises throughout the school, then it will have a knock-on effect for assemblies and performances.

I take your point, but singing together is a very small part of the music curriculum - I think hoping it would change assemblies and performances may be a little ambitious.

I would also not want to encourage anyone who has a personal bugbear to think that becoming a governor would be an easy way to address it. Parent governors are not on the governing body to take complaints etc to meetings, nor to champion individual, or even collective issues.