It's such a shame that people nowadays have such twisted values upon matters, and this special piece of news, it's the religion that causes the debate. To be honest, I don't remember every word in the national anthem yet, but I know there are absolutely no mention about God in the anthem.
However, there's an alternate version of Advance Australian Fair circulating among Christian and Catholic schools in which the second verse of the lyrics has changed into "With Christ our head and cornerstone, we'll build our nation's might" replacing the original and forcing schoolchildren to sing that. Is that even legal to do that?
The contentious version was penned 23 years ago by Sri Lankan immigrant Ruth Ponniah, 75, who now lives in Sydney, as part of her local church's bicentennial celebrations and is now sung in schools including the Penrith Christian School, St George Christian School, Westmead Christian Grammar School and Bethel Christian School in Mt Druitt.
Of course, parents are outraged with such forced change to the children in those schools and Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett is not amused at all.
[...] under national protocols the anthem should not be modified and that the alternative verse had no place in the state's educational institutions - regardless of their religious affiliations.
As a free country, we are allowed to choose our religion, and we can choose to be non-religious as well. Changing the lyrics of the anthem not only disrespect the national value of the anthem, it's a kind of bad influence towards children as well: why add religious standards into something that doesn't meant to be religious? The Australian anthem is not only for Christianity, but for every Australian regardless of religion.
I didn't realise the UK hasn't implemented this while many advanced countries are already teaching kids foreign language as young as five. The article stated that Britain has a "perverse pride" on knowing only English but not other languages, and I don't really see why this concept still persists in the modern society. Are the Britons really see themselves as a more prestigious country and try to avoid any foreign influences that makes them multicultural, or in other words, being "supremacist"?
Seeing kids losing their chances from learning foreign languages because of the misconception, Education Secretary Michael Grove believes that UK should get moving and implement language lessons for children from age 5 and up.
"Learning a foreign language, and the culture that goes with it, is one of the most useful things we can do to broaden the empathy and imaginative sympathy and cultural outlook of children."
As globalisation is getting its own colour, we get to meet many other people from all over the world as well as the cultures they are living in. People should look further than only recognise their pride within their own circle, have acceptance towards other cultures and appreciate their norms and values. That's what multicultural is all about.
D.
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