http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/folksong-kookaburra-just-happy-definitely-not-gay-rules-school/story-e6frf7l6-1225913069742Folksong Kookaburra just happy, definitely not gay, rules school
A SCHOOL has banned the word "gay" from the classic Aussie song Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree.
Students at Cheltenham's Lepage Primary in Victoria have instead been told to sing "Fun your life must be", the Herald Sun reports.
Principal Garry Martin said yesterday he taught the lyrics to grade one pupils using an old tape of the famous song.
"It uses gay and I just suggested to kids, 'Nowadays that can mean different things, so let's just sing a fun old time'," he said.
"It was my decision to replace it. I guess that was hypersensitive of me."
Mr Martin said some children used "gay" to bully others without knowing the meaning of the expression.
"Political correctness is to the fore in schools - what's appropriate and what isn't - and sometimes we rightly or wrongly err on the side of caution," he said.
Crusader Hillis, from gay and lesbian advocacy group the Also Foundation, said the ban was absurd.
"Kids in schoolgrounds say 'That's so gay' and that's all fine. That's just the way that language is," he said.
Mr Hillis said banning words because they had multiple meanings was wrong.
"I don't think that's a very good message for kids to have, particularly when they've been working really hard to bring in respect and diversity into schools," he said.
"They're drawing attention to it and being a bit stupid."
Norman Laurie, managing director of the song's owner Larrikin Music, said the reasoning for changing the lyric was spurious.
"It's about as smart as banning Noddy books in libraries," he said.
Mr Laurie said the school's move was technically a copyright breach but he wouldn't be taking any action.
The Federal Court awarded Larrikin 5 per cent of the royalties from Down Under after ruling that Men at Work had breached copyright by including a riff from the Kookaburra song. The decision is under appeal.
Kookaburra was penned more than 75 years ago by Toorak teacher Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition.
you you can not have a Gay Kookaburra however with Baa, Baa, Black Sheep now is Baa, Baa, rainbow sheep
no wonder the kids are getting messed up with a "Happy Kookaburra" and a Poof sheep
how long before Fred Flinstone is stopped from having a "Gay Old Time"
just because some people think that it has negative connotations when used in a different context does not mean we should ban its use in the proper context.
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