Thursday 9 September 2010

Melbourne school doesn't like 'gay' Kookaburra

A Melbourne school has been attacked for dropping the word 'gay' from a children's song, replacing it with 'fun' to avoid children "rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter".

The school has received angry emails from the public as a result.

The 1930's song 'Kookaburra Sits in an Old Gum Tree'...."Laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra, gay your life must be".

The school's head said the word change was not meant to offend but he should have explained to the children that the word also meant 'happy'.

"I changed the word as a behaviour management strategy for the seven and eight-year-old children to stop them giggling," Garry Martin, head of Lepage Primary said. "I possibly should have stuck with the original and explained that in a tender, caring way."

Here's the original. Can you spot how so gay it is?

4 comments:

Andrew Williams said...

That is fucked. From what I understand, the word gay originally meant happy (before my time lol!). I would like to meet the imaginary politicially correct police and check their badge and ID and the legislation they operate under in order to create this fear of self censorship and communistic mentality. And besides, I love rainbows and bright colours and purple and I am not gay (but happy lol!).

kate said...

Hey MM,

Re your top banner. There are 2 x R is stirring. Or is the misspelling a "stir" as well?

The Essence of Good Taste said...

I loved the comment on Good News Week "How could the Kookaburra be gay - the line before is Merry, Merry King of the Bush is he..." :)

:Kevin-John: Morgan. said...

Don't know where you went to school
kate, but the word stirring does contain 2xr's, so there's no chance of mis-spelling on Mike's part, OK?
If you disagree, maybe we could have a spelling bee?
You would lose of course!