Daoust

I'm a public school elementary teacher and I've noticed a disturbing trend during the playing of O Canada at our schools in recent years.

1. Nobody sings. I have to include myself in that, largely because I'm not a great singer and would feel awkward singing the anthem all by myself. If I just started singing out of the blue, I'm sure I would shock my students because they probably have NEVER had to sing the national anthem. Isn't that sad? At a hockey game, when they sing the anthem you can hear people all around the arena singing, especially towards the end. In schools, O Canada plays like a song at a funeral procession; it's deathly quiet, the kids are fidgety, just waiting for the 40 seconds to finish so they can sit down again.

2. I have to constantly nag at my students to stand at attention. My routine is stand up straight, no leaning on the desks, and tuck your chairs in and stand behind them. Not overly difficult. And yet these students have such disrespect it seems for our national anthem. It really doesn't mean that much to them.

I know that I may be making a big deal out of nothing here, but isn't it worth discussing, at least? Are we losing our love for our national anthem, barely 30 years old? Is singing our national anthem, or knowing the words at least, important? Should we make singing it in schools mandatory???

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