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Why black sheep are barred and Humpty can't be cracked
Times online ^ | March 07, 2006 | By Alexandra Blair, Education Correspondent

Posted on 03/07/2006 12:42:51 AM PST by vimto

The Times March 07, 2006

Why black sheep are barred and Humpty can't be cracked By Alexandra Blair, Education Correspondent

TRADITIONAL nursery rhymes are being rewritten at nursery schools to avoid causing offence to children. Instead of singing “Baa baa, black sheep” as generations of children have learnt to do, toddlers in Oxfordshire are being taught to sing “Baa baa, rainbow sheep”.

The move, which critics will seize on as an example of political correctness, was made after the nurseries decided to re-evaluate their approach to equal opportunities.

Stuart Chamberlain, manager of the Family Centre in Abingdon and the Sure Start centre in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, told the local Courier Journal newspaper: “We have taken the equal opportunities approach to everything we do.

“This is fairly standard across nurseries. We are following stringent equal opportunities rules. No one should feel pointed out because of their race, gender or anything else.”

In keeping with the new approach, teachers at the nurseries have reportedly also changed the ending of Humpty Dumpty so as not to upset the children and dropped the seven dwarfs from the title of Snow White.

A spokesman for Ofsted, the watchdog which inspects Sure Start centres, confirmed that centres are expected to “have regard to anti-discrimination good practice” and that staff should “actively promote equality of opportunity”.

Gervase Duffield, a Conservative district councillor representing Sutton Courtenay and Appleford, denounced the ban as ridiculous.

“It’s the sort of thing that people continually do nowadays — it’s become something of a curse,” he said. “Why do people waste time and money doing this sort of thing when there are far more important things to think about when it comes to educating our children?”

A mother whose daughter attends the Sure Start nursery at the Family Centre in Abingdon, who did not want to be named, said parents had been astonished by the change.

“Baa Baa, Black Sheep has been one of the most well-known nursery rhymes for generations. For people to come along and fiddle with it is ridiculous. What on earth is a rainbow sheep anyway?

“I’ve spoken to other parents about it and none of us has ever heard of anyone getting offended by the words ‘black sheep’.”

This is not the first time, however, that the nursery rhyme — written in 1744 satirising the taxes imposed on wool exports — has fallen foul of political correctness. In 2000 Birmingham City Council tried to ban the rhyme, after claiming that it was racist and portrayed negative stereotypes. The council rescinded the ban after black parents said it was ludicrous.

Last year, a nursery school in Aberdeen caused uproar, when teachers changed the lyrics to “Baa baa, happy sheep”.

Margaret Morrissey, of the National Confederation of Parent Teachers Association, said: “It’s really sad. Children for generations have loved and enjoyed nursery rhymes and it’s very sad if adult political correctness doesn’t allow them to grow up in an unbiased world.”

A DfES spokesperson said: “We don’t support this approach to the teaching of traditional nursery rhymes, but any such decision would be taken locally.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: 1984; england; libertarians; london; ok; oxford; pcbs; politicallycorrect; tardsonparade
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Can anyone think of other PC rhymes?
1 posted on 03/07/2006 12:42:54 AM PST by vimto
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To: vimto

'.45 your not alive'


2 posted on 03/07/2006 12:50:46 AM PST by Westlander (Unleash the Neutron Bomb)
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To: vimto

1984/brave new world bump. if it is from the UK and reads like satire, you can rest assured that it probably isn't.


3 posted on 03/07/2006 12:53:31 AM PST by WoofDog123
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To: vimto
Several years ago, some author wrote POLITICALLY CORRECT FAIRY TALES and a few other PC titles, as a joke. Even as satire, he didn't go THIS far!
4 posted on 03/07/2006 12:54:42 AM PST by nopardons
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To: vimto
Dear moderator - I've probably posted this on the wrong forum, apologies.
5 posted on 03/07/2006 12:55:12 AM PST by vimto ("Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Briton." King George III)
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To: WoofDog123
This is BIG news in the UK this morning. Most radio commentators are having a field-day with it!
6 posted on 03/07/2006 12:56:58 AM PST by vimto ("Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Briton." King George III)
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To: albertp; Allosaurs_r_us; Abram; AlexandriaDuke; Americanwolf; Annie03; Baby Bear; bassmaner; ...
Not only did I not think it was possible for school administrators to get any more retarded then they have been in the last ten years or so but I didn't even think it was biologically possible for a human brain to get that f***king damaged and still support enough involuntary bodily functions to keep the morons alive. I guess I have been proven wrong on both counts.

HOME SCHOOL YOUR CHILDREN NOW!

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

7 posted on 03/07/2006 1:30:00 AM PST by freepatriot32 (Holding you head high & voting Libertarian is better then holding your nose and voting republican)
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To: vimto

Wait. Snow White can't be Snow White. She has to be "Snow Happy" or "Snow Rainbow."


8 posted on 03/07/2006 1:30:55 AM PST by Sun Descending
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To: Gabz; SheLion; Diana in Wisconsin

this isnt a smokers ping but these same type of grade Z morons are the poeple that set smoking policys for citys countys and nations they should be tagged and put on animal preservations and studied so they will not effect actual human life in polite society.


9 posted on 03/07/2006 1:36:51 AM PST by freepatriot32 (Holding you head high & voting Libertarian is better then holding your nose and voting republican)
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To: vimto
This just in: there really ARE black sheep.

In another stunning development, the sheep don't seem to notice.

If there is an entity in danger of "running off a cliff" I would suggest it's human society, not the sheep.

10 posted on 03/07/2006 1:38:32 AM PST by garandgal
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To: vimto
Suddenly the upcoming movie "Vendetta" is having more and more relevance.

First it was cameras everywhere, then just recently laws were introduced giving strict guidelines on how to give your pets mental equilibrium and care, and now this.

Hieght-challenged gender-neutral Muffet/Sat on a Tuffet/eating her vegetarian curds and whey/Along came a species-neutral arachnid/And sat down beside her/And forced her to acknowledge its mistreatment at the hands of humans by engaging it in a cross-species dialouge all day.

11 posted on 03/07/2006 1:59:44 AM PST by WestVirginiaRebel (Islamofascists don't need cartoons. They're already caricatures.)
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To: garandgal
How can you tell when black sheep are baa-ing?

They do it in Ebonics.

12 posted on 03/07/2006 2:01:45 AM PST by WestVirginiaRebel (Islamofascists don't need cartoons. They're already caricatures.)
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To: WestVirginiaRebel

Good stuff! Thats what we want.


13 posted on 03/07/2006 2:38:01 AM PST by vimto ("Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Briton." King George III)
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To: vimto
ROTFLMAO. This is the best start to may day I couldn't stop laughing. These PC'ers are truly brain dead. Amen.
14 posted on 03/07/2006 3:06:20 AM PST by gakrak ("A wise man's heart is his right hand, But a fool's heart is at his left" Eccl 10:2)
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To: freepatriot32
"Not only did I not think it was possible for school administrators to get any more retarded then they have been in the last ten years or so but I didn't even think it was biologically possible for a human brain to get that f***king damaged and still support enough involuntary bodily functions to keep the morons alive. I guess I have been proven wrong on both counts.

HOME SCHOOL YOUR CHILDREN NOW! "

Love you post great belly laugh over it. We do home school our girls. Amen.
15 posted on 03/07/2006 3:08:51 AM PST by gakrak ("A wise man's heart is his right hand, But a fool's heart is at his left" Eccl 10:2)
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To: garandgal
"In another stunning development, the sheep don't seem to notice"

but do they commingle? LOL. Amen.
16 posted on 03/07/2006 3:10:40 AM PST by gakrak ("A wise man's heart is his right hand, But a fool's heart is at his left" Eccl 10:2)
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To: vimto

what about 3 men in the tub.


17 posted on 03/07/2006 3:39:34 AM PST by mal
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To: mal
Rub a dub dub
Three men in a tub
Not that there's any
thing wrong with that
18 posted on 03/07/2006 3:51:59 AM PST by opinionator
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To: vimto
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
Humpty Dumpty was fertilized
And used for stem cell research
19 posted on 03/07/2006 3:53:59 AM PST by opinionator
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To: vimto

Andrew Dice Clay bump!


20 posted on 03/07/2006 3:58:06 AM PST by PGalt
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