This is a letter I sent to the principal of my daughter's school, regarding the new Chorus teacher's curriculum of only evangelical christian songs. I think the letter more or less speaks for itself, but I'd appreciate comments if anyone has the time and patience to read it.
--
Dear Mrs. [Principal],
A few nights ago at the dinner table, my daughter expressed frustration to her mother and me about the program in one of her classes that is making her feel uncomfortable and marginalized because of her religious beliefs. She indicated to us that at least one other student in her class has expressed similar discomfort to her at what is going on in that class. As parents, we are of course concerned about the well-being and comfort level of our daughter, and as the ministers of a small congregation here in Manassas, we are also troubled by the fact that the issue is affecting other students who share similar philosophies with us and our daughter.
The class in question is Mr. [Teacher]'s chorus class, the [Name Of The Chorus Class]. My wife and I attended the concert that was held in December, and we were both impressed with the level of skill the [Name Of The Chorus Class] demonstrated. Mr. [Teacher] is obviously a talented teacher, and he is doing an excellent job in helping the students grow as performers.
The concern we have is that most or all of the arrangements Mr. [Teacher] is currently teaching the students are Christian pieces. We understand that his prior employment was as the choir director for a church, and so naturally the music he is most familiar with is Christian music. But [School] is not a church, and his students are not self-selected members of any particular faith, as his prior students were. As such, we object in principle to one single faith being the source of all of the music that is being chosen for the class. As a point of interest, one of the songs that the [Name Of The Chorus Class] are currently learning was specifically rejected last year by Mrs. [Previous], the chorus teacher at the time, for being inappropriately faith-specific. That song is called Witness , and includes lines discussing the necessity of baptism, and how ones soul must be a witness for the Lord.
Our congregation is not a Christian one, but I want to be absolutely clear that our objection is not to the inclusion of Christian music in the program; church choirs are a major historical form of choral music, and many of the pieces are masterful and give the students a unique perspective into this important type of music. It would be a terrible thing to exclude Christian choir music from any program that intends to be well-rounded. Our objection comes from the fact that most or all of the music the students are learning is Christian in nature, to the exclusion of other types of music. Surely in all of the many hundreds of years of music history, there are at least a half-dozen or so choral pieces, from a source outside the church, that are appropriate for teenagers.
We would be raising the same objection if our daughter's class were being taught only Muslim music, for instance, or only traditional Celtic songs, or, for that matter, only Broadway show-tunes. This is not about anti-Christian sentiment; it is about recognizing the diverse nature of choral music, as well as the diverse nature of the student body. In my visits to the school, I have seen the traditional dress of at least four cultural/religious groups, and I know for a fact that there are at least six or seven students at [School] who follow the religious and philosophical path we share with our daughter.
While six or seven may not seem like many in a school of twelve hundred, it is a fact that at least two students in Mr. [Teacher]'s class are feeling uncomfortable because they are required to sing only songs that give praise to a deity designated by a teacher, and they're being graded in part on the level of passion they put into those songs. That is an untenable situation for adolescents who are currently in the process of building self-identity: they have developed a belief structure that is not based around Christianity, and yet they must either praise the Christian God to the best of their abilities (thus contravening their own fragile philosophical self-identity), or remain true to their own beliefs (and suffer academically for it, because they aren't "giving their all" to the music). If there are two students that we are aware of who are feeling excluded by this music program, how many more are there who feel similarly, but have simply not made their concerns known?
Further, one of the songs that the students are learning is called Hush! Somebodys Callin My Name , which is part of the Boosey and Hawkes Sacred Choral collection. While its obvious and thorough Christian message is quite enough to make it questionable for use in the public schools, the fact that an asterisked footnote on the sheet music for this song states, *In the Negro dialect, the s is often dropped. (emphasis mine). When questioned about this use of the term Negro , Mr. [Teacher] told the inquiring student that Negro was the proper and correct term to use when referring to them . With all due respect to Mr. [Teacher]'s knowledge and experience, the term Negro has been out of common usage for decades, and has been considered demeaning and implicitly offensive for well over thirty years. I submit that were he to travel to an area with a large African-American population, and make use of the term Negro to any of them (as he put it), he would receive a brief but enlightening educational experience on the current acceptability of the term among the very people it purports to describe.
To clarify one last time, neither we nor our daughter have any issue with Christian music being included in the program. In fact, she has said in the past that she particularly enjoys the gospel-type music often sung in African-American churches. We would be remiss in our duty as ministers and parents if we suggested that the school exclude such a major part of the musical landscape from the music program. But we feel that it is a reasonable request that not all of the music in the program be Christian in nature, that songs that are Christian at least be ones that do not amount to evangelical proselytizing, and that Mr. [Teacher] be advised about the use of terms long considered racist and inappropriate.
It is from diverse knowledge and experience that we gain wisdom and strength. We would like to see that principle applied to the music program at [School] as it is in other areas of the school.
We look forward to your comments on this matter. We would be happy to meet with you in person to discuss this further, if that would be helpful to you. If you need to reach us, you may call or e-mail us at your convenience. Thank you for your time.
Namaste,
-[BrokenPaw and BrokenMa], Shadowgrove Spiritual Ministries
