National Anthem at school.
 

So who here thinks that playing the National Anthem each day before school starts is somewhat archaic and should be done away with?

Of course up until yesterday this was never an issue but it is now. Considering the way Canada has treated Indigenous people who could blame one for not standing up when the National Anthem being played at school.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...-cbc-1.6179258

I attended a catholic school in the UK and I believe we said the Lords Prayer at assembly (if I made it on time) but we never had the National Anthem. I believe most US schools do the Pledge of Allegiance. So is a kid who is not a Canadian expected to stand for an anthem that is not theirs? Every hockey and football game they play it but it is never heard inside a UK football stadium unless an International match. I think it is played too much at places where not required. Sure if the leader of a foreign country is in attendance and I was present I would stand for both anthems but daily at school forget it.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

I was taught, and follow it today, that one stands out of respect for the country whose anthem it is. If I'm in the UK and your anthem is played, then I would stand out of respect. I've done the same when in Canada when O Canada has played.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

In Thailand, their national anthem is played (and you are expected to stand) before every movie starts at the Cinema! Not standing is illegal.

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It doesn't worry me!

I went through the state system in England, and at both primary and grammar school we had morning assembly, with a hymn, a prayer and a reading, and this was then followed by general announcements for the day.

The primary school was attached to an Anglican church, and all pupils above the age of 7 went to the church every Thursday morning, for a serviced led by the vicar.

My daughter went to a private Anglican-based school here, they also had morning assembly but no national anthem.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

I was a little surprised attending my first high school graduation ceremony over here and heard it.
But they've been doing it in the mornings here a fair bit.

On weekends, CBC starts its 6.00am broadcast with different versions.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

I had no idea it was even done.

Reprimanding a student seems a little harsh though over it, even in my California schools they were not that harsh and that was in the 80's and 90's, standing and participating was optional for the pledge, but by 9th grade the schools completely did away with the pledge too, the ones I went to.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

In the UK there is no national anthem at school, though with this current bunch of flag-shaggers in charge I wouldn't be surprised if it's proposed at some point. Personally I'd be against such a mandatory imposition, not least because the lyrics of the UK national anthem are "God Save Our Gracious Queen" and I neither believe in God nor think that the Queen needs saving.

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In the UK all schools have to have a daily act of collective worship, most of which has to be Christian. National Anthem is meant to unite kids rather than divide them and does not try to instil religious superstition.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

I am in the USA. I am a teacher, the US anthem is only played at assemblies that happen a few times a year. I do not stand, when it was just about me, I used to not sit down in the first place, I didnt turn to the flag or put my hand on my heart. Since Kapernick, I make sure I am sitting and that I am seen to remain sitting, I consider it to my way of providing a kind of authority figure that is modeling civic engagement, utilizing Constitutional rights, and resistance to peer pressure. I understand this might not be fully applicable to Canada.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

I'll stand for O'Canada simply from peer pressure to do so, I don't want to be the odd duck out as well very few sit during it.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

So if you were in a bar and the hockey/football game was on numerous TV's in the bar and the NA was played would you stand?
There is a place and time for the NA and for us to respect the anthems but IMHO played at school everyday is a bit too much.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

If everyone else is standing yes just to not stand out, if others were still sitting, probably not, I simply don't want attention drawn to myself and if 99% of the group stands, well you draw attention to yourself.

So far in 17 years there has only been 2 events I have attended that played it, a hockey game in 2005, and a school play around the same era, so me going anywhere that the anthem would be played is pretty much rare and not part of my normal life and really not something that I need to worry about.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

At a recent High school graduation in Alberta, Land of Hope and Glory was played throughout the students awards.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

I knew you could do it if you put your mind to it. Congratulations.

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:lol:
Even more remarkable when you consider it was all done in French :nod:

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

The first high school graduation we attended on this side of the Atlantic was in Texas .................

quite the eye-opener.

and yes, we did stand for it, but we did not put our hands over our hearts! We did get some peculiar looks from people around us for that, but no-one said anything.

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We used to stand and sing God Save the Queen at primary school assemblies. That all stopped in high school, I think the teachers knew they were on a hiding to nothing.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

My high school was pretty boring, no anthem, a few speaches, 900 names later and its done.

Pretty boring overall.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

Anthems do seem rather anachronistic. Having said that, I read something about a new "black anthem" emerging in the US. Just what we need, more tribalism.

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I went grades 1 to 4 in a little 2-room country school (brass bell on the teacher's desk, wooden desks with a hole for the ink bottle) and every morning we stood and sang God Save the Queen and Oh Canada and recited the Lord's Prayer. After we moved to the city I don't really recall doing any of that in school, though I believe we did sing the anthem and recite the prayer in Cubs and Boy Scouts. I remember the debate in Scouts over what to do about the 2 Handel brothers being Jewish vs Lord's Prayer. One possible solution was to have them mouth the words. :rofl:

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

UK’s system of not separating church and state and forcing religion in schools is a real problem as it separates children and enforces superstition. Ontario has Catholic schools which (for whatever reason) are taxpayer funded but at least its not mandatory.

Homo Sapiens formed in caves and the humans are tribal. Is singing anthem a logical thing to do? No. But its sung when Canadians win gold at the Olympics and most tend to support Canadians in sports (or Brits or whatever they feel). Not logical at all but its harmless. Remove national anthem and Canadians will replace it by some other tribal characteristic, be it race or religion or class or gender or some other flag which tends to divide kids into “us” and “them”. Not a good thing.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

Perhaps adopt this version


And for something completely different


:rofl:

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

This is pretty much the anthem of the Metis Nation:

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

child 1’s high school graduation in Ontario they were lead into the hall by a piper playing’Scotland the Brave’.

Never had that at any stage of school for 10 years in Aberdeenshire (although no-one got to the leaving school stage while we were there)

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

The problem of religion in UK schools is not to do with the non-separation of church and state, but with particular "faith schools". State schools either have no religious affiliation or a nominal religious afflilation, and in each case, teach some fundamentals of all the major superstitions religions.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

BTO all the way :thumbsup:

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

Newfoundland went to a secular school system sometime in the 90's - so my Mrs tells me. However, the names of the schools are slow to change, particularly the formerly catholic ones. Too many Holy Heart of Jesus Mary and bloody Joseph Elementary/High Schools around for my liking.

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No wee donkey? ;)

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In England the law says that all pupils in state schools must take part in an act of daily superstitious nonsense of prayer. And most of the time (by law) it has to be Christian. That’s to do with non-separation of church and state. Parents must specifically request for their kids to be excluded from the religious ritual every other kid is taking part in, which is in itself an act of religious discrimination.

Many schools, particularly secondary ones, do not follow the law, but your luck of avoiding Christian indoctrination very much depends on where you live.

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At the start of my secondary (Comp) school in 1968 we had to buy our own Hymn books and from the SPCK bookshop. Detention until you got one.
Didn't think much of it back then but forced to pay for it and from a dodgy organisation too. :blink: Not sure if it could have been bought anywhere else, but I remember we were given Gideon bibles. Maybe they should have given out the hymn books free instead.

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Daily prayer ? What law is that ? In any case, Britain is now very much an atheist country with churches across the land being turned into cafes, bars or flats. So any theoretcial state induced religous indoctrination is not having much of an affect. In my experience there is far more religous faith in Canada than in Britain, probably a geographical hazzard of being next door to those bible bashers to the south.

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More importantly does anyone still stand for The Allelujah Chorus?

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The law is called “education act”. It was a problem for me in the 90s as we couldn’t find local schools in England that didn’t do this BS enforcement. Whether people next door are religious or not is none of my business and certainly not a “hazard”.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

I remember this law from 1990 or so, current law seems to be from 1998
From Wikipedia "The law on compulsory collective worship was first introduced by Section 25 of the 1944 Education Act The legislation was subsequently developed by the Education Reform Act 1988 by Chapter III of the Education Act 1996 and, most recently, by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998"

Maybe things are a-changing?
"Young more likely to pray than over-55s - survey"
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58681075

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

Law or not, one would assume that enforced Christian praying was part of the school system going all the way back to the good times when the church in England used to burn women, Jews and heretics.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

Isn't this the Canadian Anthem?




In England, I went to a local "grant school" (fee paying but reduced) and to a small private school, and at both we had hymns and prayers every morning, but zero national anthem.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

Well, yes, the burgeoning medievil crowd are likely to impact the statistics. All the more reason to ban faith schools. Paradoxically, one the unintended outcomes of the Taliban returning to power in Afghanistan is that it might persuade some cloak wearers to take Western freedoms more seriously.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

What would be brilliant if everybody sang a different national anthem at the same time?

I got to say as national anthems go, the Soviet Union one is the best ever.

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

[QUOTE=Oink;13058654]What would be brilliant if everybody sang a different national anthem at the same time?

I got to say as national anthems go, the Soviet Union one is the best ever.

As best exemplified in "The Hunt for Red October".... (We schail into history skip to 2.35ish)

Re: National Anthem at school.
 

Different people have different tastes, as far as the songs of mass murdering totalitarian regimes are concerned.