Ba Ba Black Sheep?

Ba Ba Black Sheep?

by: Lil Miss Purple - 09-02-13 14:52

Are you allowed to sing Ba Ba Black Sheep at your setting or do you have to adapt it to Ba Ba Wooly Sheep? I've worked at many Nurseries (being the old timer I am lol) and in more than a couple I have had to adapt the song. I mean no offence when I post this topic, but it can seem a shame that a classic that I even sang when I was small can be deemed inappropriate. A lot of old Nursery Rhymes have now bit the dust. Two little dicky birds, To market to market, Hey diddle diddle, Jack and Jill to name a few are rarely sang these days (plus I cannot remember the beginning, or the name of the one that ends "Down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose", sad, as I always sang it as a child) Is Ba Ba going to go the same way? What are your thoughts on this song? To adapt or not to adapt?

by: Eejay

We don't adapt any of them. The "blackbird" song is "Sing a Song of Sixpence" :) Often I get stuck singing the same songs but only because I forget when the time comes to sing. We used to have a song bag which was a bit like a lucky dip, and we'd sing whichever song was on the card that was pulled out - might have to start that again at some point!

by: Kandy Flip

'Baa baa black sheep' is not offensive. Saying that 'black' is offensive is not exactly inclusive is it?

by: Lil Miss Purple

I totally agree! At one place we were not allowed to say things like blackboard (chalkboard) White tea/coffee (tea/coffee with/without milk) fire/snow/police man (fire/snow/police person) It seemed to take it too far. I am all for equality, but as you say, it doesn't promote an inclusive enviroment.

by: CJ

if the sheep are black- they are black

if they are white, they are white

if someone had fun with a marker pen, then they might be green

a whiteboard is a white board, whilst a black board is a black board..or one is dry wipe board and the other a chalk board

we have fire fighters, police officers.... and snow blobs!!

by: purepurple

I thought PC had died a death.

We have no guidelines on what we can and cant sing.

I do hate baa baa pink sheep though- it makes my teeth itch

by: Kandy Flip

The history of the banning of 'baa baa black sheep' is this:

- in the 1980s, right-wing tabloid newspapers tried to discredit Labour councils by branding them as being run by the 'Looney Left'.

- stories, such as the banning of 'baa baa black sheep' and Christmas, were run in papers such as The Sun to discredit those councils. Later fact-checking by the Media Research Group of Goldsmiths' College from the University of London found these stories were without foundation. Most were complete fabrications.

- however, some teachers, upon hearing these stories, started to implement these bogus policies.

by: kaz (the first one!)

If you go to the bookstart homepage you can find lots of rhymes in their rhyme challenge, some of the really traditional! We now introduce 10 new rhymes a term and send them home to parents to share with the children.