Government must end Christmas carols ban
It’s hard to believe it could happen, but this year’s school Christmas concerts may be the last at which children are allowed to sing traditional carols, under new State government rules quietly introduced last month.
Well known and much loved Christmas carols like Silent Night, Away in the Manger and Come All Ye Faithful are all caught by the new bans.
The Education Department has instructed government school principals that parent volunteers or outside music instructors are not allowed to teach carols or other “praise music” to students unless it is “common societally recognised music” (whatever that means).
As well, teachers will only be allowed to teach carols if it is part of a “general religious instruction curriculum” that covers different religions in Australia and around the world.
The new rules have already caused at least one school to decide to remove traditional carols from their end of year performance, before reversing the decision after parent protest.
Next year, many more schools are likely to decide it is easier to scrap Christmas carols altogether rather than try to work out whether or when they are allowed to have them under the new rules.
It’s not clear whether these new rules are part of a deliberate move to drive out Christmas carols from schools, or the unintended consequences of bureaucratic incompetence and bad drafting.
Either way, the government must withdraw these new rules and allow students at government schools to learn, sing and enjoy Christmas carols as they have for generations.
To read what I said about this in Parliament this week, see http://bit.ly/2c8ZH5Q. For Tom Elliott’s coverage of the issue on 3AW, see Victorian government announces hymns should not be sung in state schools.