Rise by Eddie Vedder banned from school talent show

I'd have to re-think having closed minded people teach my children.

Hmm. I went to a Catholic high school waaay back in the day (I'm not Catholic, but the school was). Our senior "class song" choice was vetoed by teachers since it was too modern to appeal to our grandparents (so we had to sit through the theme from "Mahogany," instead. :x); there was nothing offensive about the chosen song, the teachers just didn't like it.

Discourse on a variety of topics also was limited. I would say that some of this was expected -- this is a Catholic school, parents have made a choice to send their children to the school, even paying money for the privilege, so to some extent there is an implicit assumption of consent to abide by administration policy/whim/bias/whatever.

On the other hand, looking back as an adult, I wish my teenage self had been able to stand up to and perhaps stop the persistent bad behavior exhibited by some of the teachers and staff: sexual harassment, bullying, etc. The entire student body knew which teachers would be inappropriate and demeaning to the girls, and which administrator was super-creepy around the cheerleaders, and nobody said anything. There was a definite feeling that making waves and calling out the adults on their actions would lead to nothing but trouble. There were not the same avenues for resolution that there are in public school.

Thinking as a parent, I would say that the choice you and your daughter need to make revolves around when to make a stand -- is this a battle worth fighting? Rise is a beautiful song, uplifting, nothing remotely offensive about it. I do not see how you or your daughter could have anticipated there would be trouble if you chose this song. If you were to choose to fight this silly, silly decision, you might perhaps request a list, in writing, of approved (Catholic?) artists (my guess -- avoid Sinead O'Connor and Cat Stevens/ Yusuf Islam); then push back -- must the artist merely be Catholic, or must they be a Catholic in good standing? Are we assuming that all Catholics possess identical beliefs? Are you really expected to teach your daughter that her religious life is based not on a personal faith/ relationship with God, but on acting out or parroting what she hears in religion class? Can one not find God in all realms of life, not merely within the pages of the Bible?

I don't know. It seems to me that one could have a very interesting debate about the reasoning (or lack thereof) behind the teacher's decision. But first you have to decide if it is worth the fight.

It certainly sounds like this is a good time to talk to your daughter about how adults are not always right and how they are just as capable of making bad decisions as kids are. I think it also opens the door to a very interesting discussion with your child about faith and beliefs.

As for PJ songs for kids -- um, well, I do not censor the songs around here. I avoided some music when the kids were really young, and I still tend to avoid Rage Against the Machine ("Killing In the Name"), but beyond that, given that I take my boys to PJ shows with me, I see no reason to filter the music. The songs are of high musical quality and the lyrics are thoughtful -- I'm more concerned about a song's message than I am about the appearance of the F-word.

nursemomo wrote:

My 10 year old daughter had an audition for her school talent show today; she is a ballet dancer. A few days back she asked me for some music suggestions, so I suggested that she listen to Rise. She loved it, and put together a routine. The talent show theme was to showcase your faith and talents (she goes to a catholic school).

A couple hours after her audition (which went very well) a teacher pulled her aside to tell her that she would not be in the show. The reason was that one of the teachers coordinating the talent show decided to do some research on Eddie Vedder. She would not allow a song to be in the talent show that is written and performed by an atheist.

Strong kid that my daughter is, she handled the situation well. I think there are many important lessons for her (and me) here. She still loves the song, and it's given her a new perspective on school, authority, and probably some other things I don't even realize. My first reaction was that it is time for a different school, but that's not really feasible just yet.

My second reaction was that the whole incident is captured pretty nicely by the lyrics of the song, "such is the way of the world ..."

Anyhow, I thought some of you might be interested in the story.

I don't think Ed has ever said he was ever anything. Christian or Atheist or anything else for that matter.

God, what do you say?

In all fairness, it IS a Catholic School. They should have the right to edit the content of their activities... just like the rights of a Public School to omit 'Silent Night, Holy Night' from their Christmas shows... right?

I agree that they can do whatever they want. It sucks but you know what you signed up for when it comes to catholic rules and regulations.

nursemomo wrote:

So, to turn things around a bit, what are the best Pearl Jam songs for kids?!

Satan's bed...The teacher will love that one.

81 wrote:

i think Ed should contact this churc and ask to sing in the choir

hallelujah.........hallelujah.......

BRAINISDEEP wrote:

God, what do you say?

*looks around for Dimi. He's kinda the leader of the 10C, right?*