aww..how sweet

[michlan]

Are you familiar with this nursery rhyme?

I don't want to go to Mexico
No more, more, more.

There's a big fat policeman
At my door, door, door.

He grabbed me by the collar,
He made me pay a dollar,

I don't want to go to Mexico
No more, more, more.Would you allow your kids to sing it? How would you feel if it was taught to your kids by another

Comments

[michlan]

it accomplishes this without racism
lol.

I'd be perfectly happy if my kids came back from school with this one.
wait. now i can't tell what's going on. serious or sarcastic?

[michlan]

oh okay.

well, i disagree. it clearly seems racist to me, but that's fine. i don't disagree with much of what you say about going to mexico. but i believe that by the time my kids are old enough to decide to go to mexico, they'll know a lot more about the world and will be thoughtful enough to get any more information they need. it's not necessary to teach them to be fearful of something they aren't going to encounter.

young children see many issues in a stark good/bad contrast. "ingrain" here sounds like a euphemism for brainwashing to me. it's certainly a step backward from the broad-minded approach we generally try to show/teach them.

[prock]

To coutneract the effect, you should buy your children English Rebel Songs.

[michlan]

oooh fun stuff! :)

[jpmassar]

Never heard this before.

Not allowing your kids to sing it is probably counterproductive.
Makes it stand out, etc.
I'd probably just try to find some other jingle that's catchier
and get them to sing along and ignore the other one.
(Not that i have kids, mind you, but you asked...)

I would be somewhat upset to know that an educator was
teaching kids jingles like this.

OTOH, on the scale of things, it doesn't seem like something
to make a huge deal about. I'm sure your kids hear all sorts
of ethnic jokes that are far, far worse (not from educators,
hopefully...)

[michlan]

Not allowing your kids to sing it is probably counterproductive.
Makes it stand out, etc.

this would be true about many types of issues, but not this one. my kids are sensitive to reasoning so telling them why i'd prefer them not to sing it would be all that's required.

they're much more likely to sing rhymes that have to do with body parts/functions because i sometimes don't have good reasons for stopping that. :)

[sabyl]

I think what upsets me is they learned the rhyme form educator! Why? What lesson was this a part of.

Part of me thinks it is racist, but when we were researching places to live outside the US, the reality is police corruption and the practice of taking bribes is real in places like Mexico. So it isn't teaching them a falsehood.

And besides, as a kid we said all sorts of rhymes jumping rope and stuff and I don't think I ever seriously thought about what they said.

So while I might make a complaint based on how the kids were taught the rhyme, I might not get overly upset about my kids singing it either.

[michlan]

I think what upsets me is they learned the rhyme form educator! Why? What lesson was this a part of.

that's what i said. :)

So it isn't teaching them a falsehood.

true. but are you sure about what it's really teaching them?

And besides, as a kid we said all sorts of rhymes jumping rope and stuff and I don't think I ever seriously thought about what they said.

indeed. nursery rhymes are ridiculous. but the question is, at what age, if any, might you start to form ideas based on these rhymes? of course, we can't know.