Rhyme and reason
By Norm(an) De Plume
They've fooled us enough for too long. We've taken them for granted with
unquestioning trust, and even though their falsity was painfully obvious,
we chose to ignore it. Never did we seek to discover the meaning behind
their words, possibly because we were exposed to them at a time we were
too naive to understand. Enough is enough. It is time to expose, question
and try to make some semblance of sense of them. It is time to come to
terms with the truth about....Nursery Rhymes.
Yes, Nursery Rhymes. Think about it. Did they make any sense at all?
And yet, did we not accept them without any hesitation? Oh yes, some have
stories behind them which make sense, but how often were they ever told?
In the end we just got the rhyme, which by itself was apt to cause quite
some damage. It is no wonder that people complain that modern youth don't
think critically; our brains were permanently addled by them. This is an
attempt to expose these nefarious rhymes for what they really are.
01. They promote violence - take for example 'Jack and Jill'. The pair
obviously went to do a good deed, going all that way uphill to fetch water.
But, that is not even touched on. Instead it's a gory tale of how poor
Jack fell down and cracked his nut. It's almost as if it's trying to say,
do a good deed and you'll get your head split open for the effort. Then
you also have "Goosie Goosie Gander" which describes how an old man gets
thrown down the stairs, just because he didn't say his prayers.
02. They are hostile towards animal rights. You get plenty of examples
for this. Take for instance, "Sing a Song of Sixpence".
Twenty-four blackbirds to make one single pie! If this isn't insensitivity
towards animals, I don't know what is. And the nerve to call it a 'dainty
dish' - how come animal-rights activists don't protest about this desensitizing
of children? Some nursery rhymes also breed irrational fear of certain
animals - so what if Miss Muffet was scared by the spider? The poor thing
( I refer to the spider) probably had no ill-will at all. Besides, most
species of spiders are quite harmless.
03. They are sexist! The unimaginable cheek to refer to us guys as being
made of 'snips and snails and puppy dog tails' and the girls being of 'sugar
and spice and all things nice'! Some feminist no doubt concocted this particular
rhyme. Net result- the branding of the sexes. And this of course, is in
addition to the Storks who are supposed to deliver the babies, as we were
made to believe.
04. They promote bad habits. Take for instance Little Jack Horner, who
comes across as the champion of several bad habits.
a) he was NOT eating at the table.
b) he was playing with his food.
The list goes on. As a general comment, it can be said that they made
very little sense anyway. Three men sailing in a tub, people living inside
shoes (just think of the ghastly pong!) and Old Ma Hubbard's dog dying,
laughing, smoking, feeding the cat and dancing a jig in that order provide
fine examples. Come to think of it, it's amazing that we have survived
this long, given what was poured into our heads; its not just nursery rhymes
you know.
What about the stories? When the Three Little Pigs said "not by the
hair on my chinny-chin-chin" what on EARTH were they talking about? Unless
they were some mutant pigs who had chins or something - beats me.
United concert for a cause
By Nilika de Silva
A concert presented by the Centre for Education of Hearing Impaired Children
(CEHIC) goes on the boards at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on Sunday, October
28 at 6.30 p.m. and Monday 29 at 11 a.m.(a schools' show), to raise funds
for the centre.
The children will perform dance, drama and song items including a specially
composed ballet "Khedhawali" carrying a message of peace in our troubled
times. Produced by Damayanthi Fonseka the script is written by Champika,
a teacher of the school. Many popular artistes will perform free of charge
alongside the children, including Channa Wijewar-dene's dance troupe, Rukantha
and Chandralekha, Sunil Perera of Gypsies, Rohana Baddege, Rodney Warnakula,
Gamini Ambalangoda and Deepika Priyadarshani Peiris.
CEHIC located in Dalugama, Kelaniya is a community educational centre
which is neither a government nor a private institution. It runs a pre-school,
afternoon and holiday classes for integrated children and a full range
of extra-curricular and vocational classes. A registered charity, all services
are provided free of charge so that even the poorest child can benefit
from the comprehensive range of training and education programmes.
The classrooms were perhaps the brightest I have seen, walls plastered
with pictures, toys neatly stacked up to be used to give meaning to the
teaching experience. And most remarkable of all was one ingredient seldom
found in a classroom, parental presence. One parent was required to attend
and follow the learning process with the child to ensure the teaching process
continued even after the child went home, in effect a process sustained
24 hrs each day seven days each week, said Rev. Sr. Greta Nawalawatta,
Foundress and Directress of the Centre.
Some words of my favourite poet stir in my mind as I struggle to put
into words the hope and contentment I experienced while touring CEHIC-
the Centre for Education of Hearing Impaired Children.
There is health in the halls of learning
There is hope in the house of the mind
That they who were deaf shall listen ......
(W.S. Senior) |
