School pulls patriotic song at graduation, but Justin Bieber's 'Baby' is OK
By SUSAN EDELMAN
A Coney Island principal refused to let
students sing "God Bless the USA" at a school ceremony -- but Justin
Bieber's "Baby" was suitable.
A controversial Coney Island principal has pulled the plug on patriotism.
Her
refusal to let students sing “God Bless the USA” at their graduation
has sparked fireworks at a school filled with proud immigrants.
Greta
Hawkins, principal of PS 90, the Edna Cohen School, won’t allow
kindergartners to belt out the beloved Lee Greenwood ballad, also known
as “Proud to be an American,” at their moving-up ceremony.
Greta Hawkins, principal of PS 90
Five classes spent months learning the patriotic song, which
skyrocketed in popularity after the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 invasion
of Iraq.
SCHOOLS CHIEF BACKS DECISION TO SWAP 'USA' SONG WITH BIEBER
It was to be the rousing finale of their musical show at the June
20 commencement. The kids, dressed up for their big day, would wave
tiny American flags — which, as the lyrics proclaim, “still stand for
freedom.”
But Hawkins marched in on a recent rehearsal and ordered a CD playing the anthem to be shut off, staffers said.
She told the teachers to drop the song from the program.
“We don’t want to offend other cultures,” they quoted her as explaining.
The curt edict stunned both staff and parents.
“A
lot of people fought to move to America to live freely, so that song
should be sung with a whole lot of pride,” said mom Luz Lozada, whose
son, Daniel, is in kindergarten.
The song has been sung at
previous school events. Last year’s fifth-graders, including another
Lozada child, performed it at graduation.
“Everybody applauded and whistled,” the mom said. “They gave it a standing ovation.”
Parents — many immigrants from Pakistan, Mexico and Ecuador — “love it,” Lozada said.
A
teacher agreed: “It makes them a little goosebumpy and teary-eyed. I’ve
never come across anyone who felt it insulted their culture.”
Department
of Education spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti gave The Post an
explanation staffers said they never heard — that Hawkins found the
lyrics “too grown up” for 5-year-olds.
The song starts: “If
tomorrow all the things were gone, I’d worked for all my life. And I had
to start again, with just my children and my wife, I’d thank my lucky
stars, to be livin’ here today.”
Scaperotti said the department supports the principal’s decision. “The lyrics are not age-appropriate,” she said.
But
Justin Bieber’s flirty song about teen romance, “Baby,” was deemed a
fine selection for the show. Hawkins had no problem with 5-year-olds
singing lines such as, “Are we an item? Girl, quit playing.”
The
other songs: “We’re All Together Again,” popular at Scout campfires;
“The World is a Rainbow,” which celebrates diversity; “Shake Your
Sillies Out” by Raffi; and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story.”
Scaperotti
noted PS 90 kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing “America the
Beautiful” each morning. Insiders say Hawkins tried to end that
tradition a couple years ago but staff objected.
The principal, a
Jehovah’s Witness, does not recite the pledge because her religion
forbids followers to salute any nation’s flag. Staffers gripe she
doesn’t stand in respect during the school-wide ritual.
The song uproar comes amid tensions. Hawkins has been called a tyrant and bully by some staffers.
The
DOE reprimanded her in 2010 after teachers complained she called the
school “racist” and declared: “I’m black. Your previous principal was
white and Jewish. More of us are coming.”
Scaperotti said
Hawkins is being targeted by the teachers union and has received hate
mail, which is under investigation by the NYPD.
Read more:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/school_silences_patriotic_song_xdunXcLPbE8S2rAEcZoUiP#ixzz1xXwFD5Fk
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