Father's Day caused a queer stir over in Scotland, where a number of schools put a moratorium on celebratory cards to protect kids with lesbian or single mothers:
The politically correct policy was quietly adopted at schools "in the interests of sensitivity" over the growing number of lone-parent and same-sex households.It only emerged after a large number of fathers failed to receive their traditional cards and handmade gifts.
Family rights campaigners last night condemned the policy as "absurd" and argued that it is marginalising fathers, but local authorities said teachers need to react to "the changing pattern of family life".
…
The making of Mother's Day cards and crafts, in the run-up to Mothering Sunday, remains generally permitted.
While we understand where the teachers and other educators are coming from, this seems to be taking it a bit far.
Couldn't the fatherless children make a card for another man in their life, like a really cool uncle, or something?
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Better still, keep corporately-contrived holidays out of the classroom.
I suppose I agree + disagree with Queerty on this one. I think the policy is a good idea, but I guess they could try to work something else out for the fatherless kids.
I agree with Darth Paul – Hallmark holidays should stay out of school.
However, I think this is the sort of stupid stunt that gets everyone all hotted up about how we're trying to destroy the family. It's an unnecessary vilification of fathers and a silly way to call attention to fatherless families.
Why not instead merge mothers' and father's days and just celebrate parents' day. Or, as Queerty suggests, just pick some other role model to make a card for. It shouldn't even need to be male.
(Or should we just change them to Parent A day in May, and Parent B day in June?)
I don't get how it's a "vilification" of fathers by just not having dad's day cards made in class.
so out of fear of some kid not having a fathers day card to make they end up not allowing everybody in the class to do something. I agree with Queerty. Tolorance is NOT about dissallowing ANYTHING that isn't all about you. If the worst thing that every happens to a child is not having a fathers day card to make then they will have a pretty sweet time of it. As for all of you that are saying keep the corporate holidays out of the classroom, give it a rest. Every holiday is saturated by corporation. If you don't believe me, just look around next time you are at an Earth Day festival.
As an American resident of Edinburgh for 2 and a half years, I heard nothing about this on the local news. I have friends who are teachers, though, and I don't sense a rejection of fathers in this society. They aren't depicted as buffoons as maybe on american sitcoms or whatever.
if this is a class by class issue, i'm sure it's done out of great sensitivity. i don't consider myself a politically correct person per se, but for a young child without a father, this would be devastating.
Maybe these's father's rights groups should focus on being as harsh on absentee fathers as other groups and they wouldn't have to deal with these issues in the first place.
My god. if they're concerned about kids with lesbian parents, then wait until Mother's day where they can doubly celebrate.