A recent story on the CBC around a Springfield, New Brunswick school eliminating the singing of the national anthem, and subsequently having it reinstated, made me question the practices here in the corridor.
My son is in Grade 1 at Mamquam Elementary School, and on the rare occasion when I am bringing him in late, I have never been stopped in my tracks by the anthem playing. The administration there claims that they do not sing the anthem except before assemblies. A couple quick calls to friends from different parts of B.C. came up with surprising results. The majority of my B.C. born friends aged in their mid to late 30s have never had the ritual of singing O Canada before classes. Some of them claim to have sung it at assemblies, but some claim to have never sung it or rarely sung it.
This I found quite shocking as a quick poll of my Ontario friends all confirm having sung the national anthem daily as well as reciting the Lord's Prayer in schools during the '70s and '80s. Why the difference between two provinces? I called the schools I attended as a child, as well as my husband's, and they are still singing away every morning.
I asked my son in Grade 1 if he could sing the national anthem to me and he hummed the first line, and then shrugged his shoulders. This is concerning to me. What does it mean to be Canadian?
For me growing up, the rituals of the morning prayer and anthem were my start to every school day. It was a time for everyone to stop what they were doing and focus on a task. When I sing the anthem as an adult, I can still sing it in French (even though I can't speak French) and immediately rise when I hear the tell tale tune. That is part of being a proud Canadian as well as instilling a solid sense of nationalism. I fear we are losing this as a country.
I understand the reasoning behind the removal of the Lord's Prayer, but quite honestly see no reason why the anthem shouldn't be played every morning so that our kids can grow up with respect and pride for the great country we come from. It's a sad thing when B.C. hosts these Olympic Games with the whole world watching, and there are kids in the corridor who no doubt will stumble over the words to our signature song. I am in support of Susan Boyd from New Brunswick who wants to see the daily playing of the anthem made mandatory in all Canadian Schools.
Laura Modray
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