The boy told us that they sing this song in his music class. It even has hand movements.
Oh I’ve got a home in Glory Land
That outshines the sun
Oh I’ve got a home in Glory Land
That outshines the sun
Oh I’ve got a home in Glory Land
That outshines the sun
Way beyond the blue
Here's the problem. I googled the song (because alarm bells were ringing in my head) and found the rest of the lyrics. Here's the part that Eva Cassidy had in her version:
Oh do Lord, oh do Lord
Oh do you remember me?
Oh do Lord, oh do Lord
Oh do you remember me?
Oh do Lord, oh do Lord
Oh do you remember me?
Way beyond the blue
And here's the part that is included in the full version of this traditional folk (gospel) song:
I took Jesus as my savior, You take Him, too.
I took Jesus as my savior, You take Him, too.
I took Jesus as my savior, You take Him, too.
Look a way beyond the blue
Eva Cassidy's version is titled "Way Beyond the Blue", and is on the "Time After Time" album. The traditional version is called "Do Lord", and I found it on quite a few Christian albums and on a Johnny Cash album.
So...can I be done? Can I run away from this awful place? Is he too young for me to turn and fight this school?
I was good. I did not get upset when he sang the song for us. I did have him repeat it to be sure I was hearing him correctly. He says that they sing it at the beginning of every music class (once a week). The moment I heard the phrase "glory land" I knew it was a gospel song. I actually really like gospel music. I just don't think it has a place in a public school.
Any advice?
2 comments:
Yes, yes, yes you can do something. And yes, you should. I am so done with this blurring of lines. Public school is publicly funded. Period. Separation of church and state is a fundamental principle of our country. So yes, you should raise a stink. And no, they won't like you. And yes, they will put another red flag next to your name in the computer.Oh well!I recently contacted the superintendent, school board and school principle when I discovered that they used instructional time to send boys to a school assembly/recruitment for the Boy Scouts.You know, the organization that admits to denying membership to homosexuals.I was so done.I'm not entirely comfortable with them sending literature home but when you use my limited instructional time someone has to hear about it.Now I was lucky, the principal admitted his mistake and says they will not hold the assembly next year.I hope he means it and imagine I'll have the same argument with his new school next year.I don't care.I'm done.It's hard enough to get an adequate education for my son but I will not allow them to use the facility to promote inappropriate agendas.So I complain, make calls and write letters.They may not like me but at the end of the day I hope that the lesson I am teaching my son is that we cannot allow our schools to be a place where intolerance and personal agendas are placed on the shoulders of our kids.Some battles are worth fighting.The most noble one of all is the battle to give your child the education that they deserve.If you wanted him to have a religious affiliation in his school then you would be sending him to a private religious facility!
Just a quick note to let you (and anyone else) know that Korea seems to be blocked from Blogger. I'll email you after we speak to the teacher on Tuesday. Many emails have been exchanged, so we will see what happens next.
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