Australian primary school drops Mother's Day to make celebration 'as inclusive as possible'

This makes a lot of sense to me. There are plenty of people, even kids, without moms.

redleghunter said:

Australian primary school drops Mother's Day to make celebration 'as inclusive as possible'

Families who celebrate “Mother’s Day” are stuck in a “binary world” as far as principal Janet Di Pilla of Brunswick East Primary School in Melbourne is concerned.

The Australian school opted to forego “Mother’s Day” this year in favor of “Acknowledgment Day” instead.

Kids were encouraged to bring money on Friday for “handmade & home-made gifts” for “any special person in your life.”

Parents were sent a letter by the principal explaining the move as an act of cultural prudence.

“We will be holding 2 of these days each year; one to coincide with the ‘traditional’ Mother’s Day and the other to coincide with the ‘traditional’ Father’s Day,” the letter read, Yahoo! News Australia reported May 8. “It is also very important that we make these occasions as inclusive as possible. I sincerely hope that this change in name will show that we as a community recognize that our families are not made up of any particular combination of people and that we no longer subscribe to a binary world.”

More at link: Mother’s Day dropped by Australian school for ‘inclusive’ event; principal rips ‘binary world’

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Acknowledgment Day, how rich. A sort of Family Rainbow Day, because ... well ...rainbows are inclusive.

Oh good grief, it never ends.

Arcangl86 said:

This makes a lot of sense to me. There are plenty of people, even kids, without moms.

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A lot of people who have lost their mother still consider mother's day important and part of their comfort/healing. This change isn't because of that - it's trying to again say that we shouldn't designate a mother by gender or a father by gender is how I'm reading it.

JCFantasy23 said:

A lot of people who have lost their mother still consider mother's day important and part of their comfort/healing. This change isn't because of that - it's trying to again say that we shouldn't designate a mother by gender or a father by gender is how I'm reading it.

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Not all people have lost their mother. There's plenty of children raised in the system or by a single father who have never had their mother in their life at all. For them Mother's Day can be painful just as it is for those without fathers on Father's Day.

But honestly, I agree, there's no good reason to change Mother's Day. It's a day that honors the unique role of motherhood. Moms don't get enough credit and support as it is.

redleghunter said:

It’s a direct attack on traditional marriage and parents.

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Yes, because only a married man and woman ever have children, and they never die or give thier child up for adoption.

derpytia said:

Not all people have lost their mother. There's plenty of children raised in the system or by a single father who have never had their mother in their life at all. For them Mother's Day can be painful just as it is for those without fathers on Father's Day.

But honestly, I agree, there's no good reason to change Mother's Day. It's a day that honors the unique role of motherhood. Moms don't get enough credit and support as it is.

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My nephew never had a mother in his life because she passed away when he was six weeks old. Yes, in some ways it was painful. It's also part of their reality they do have to learn to live with. It can't change - she died. Yet, he would use that time to celebrate other caregivers or women in his life. One example was my mother - his grandmother. I realize he would MUCH rather have mom back, but in life it is much healthier to work with the cards life handed you. He was still as proud as a peacock that grandma had his special gifts littering her home.

It's NOT inclusive if people wish to celebrate it the way they want to, and stripping the day in this fashion for others that want to celebrate their mother's if they are lucky enough to have one. It would be inclusive if students had a choice to use "Mother's day' or 'Acknowledgment Day'. It would open up the same conversations, and children already realize that families aren't always traditional in this sense. It seems the teachers/administrators just haven't caught up to that reality yet. Heck, I'm old and knew it as a child. YES, We even talked then.

It's all part of the political correctness garbage that is so much a part of modern day Australia. I think God is going to hit us pretty hard in the not too distant future, and we won't handle it very well, having been raised in a nanny state.

Having said that, while Mother's Day has been a part of the cultural landscape for years, I think I have a vague memory of my father saying that "Father's Day" was actually an American import brought in by commercial interests so they could sell more stuff. It was probably before my time.

There's been a push over the last few years to get Halloween in for the same reason - it's never been a part of Australian culture, but commercial interests are promoting it to make money. A few years ago, we didn't even see Halloween rubbish on sale. Now every major shopping centre has shelves of it as the season approached.

The Easter Bunny gets more air time than the crucified and risen Christ these days. Easter eggs and Hot Cross buns go on sale months before the event.

Ditto at Christmas - apart from Carols nights, Santa Claus is the big deal - not Christ's birth.

Guy Fawkes night used to be a big deal, mainly for kids, as we could let off crackers and other fire works. But it got banned as there was too much fall out from the fireworks - fires starting, pets scared to hell, rockets deliberately aimed at other people and properties and so on. But hardly one Australian would have had an awareness that it celebrated an attack on the British parliament centuries ago.

All these celebrations get distorted in the end. Even Mother's Day has a huge commercial import.

redleghunter said:

It’s a direct attack on traditional marriage and parents.

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Are you surprised?