Bag Teachers Babies

I had no intention to offend anyone. Can anyone help me out with this situation I am really dumbfounded?

I am a music eacher in a predominantly African American Coummunity.
I have been teaching the recorder to my current fourth graders for two years and I have a book in my collection called Nice N' Easy. The songs are not too hard and the kids can play along with a cd. Okay no big deal right? Wrong, I guess. Here is the song list:
Themes And Variations On Hot Cross Buns
Jungle Babies
Choo-Choo Boogie
Small Canoe
BAGEE Bug March
EGGS In A BAG
Neat Trick
Shortin' Bread
Double D Duet
"Lott-Za" D's
Mary's Mixmaster
Gabby's GAB Fest
By The Pale Moonlight
Plain Stars/Resting Stars
Peanut Butter Stars/Shooting Stars
Wayfarin' Stranger
Sakura
John's Boogie
HOT Stuff!
So I get to the song "Jungle Babies", and have been teaching to all my fourth grade, with no problem, except today, my principal pulls me aside and tells me to pull the song, that a teacher complained it was offensive. I am very embarassed as I was unaware if this as being negative to anyone.

Just say..."Woops! Sorry, I never thought of that and didn't mean to be offensive."

I'm also a music teacher on the Navajo Indian Reservation and that sort of thing happens all the time...We're not supposed to show pictures of snakes or sing songs about snakes. We can't tell stories about Cayotes or Wolves until winter time and the list of traditional taboos abound. I'm always pulling out songs and things and later get told that I shouldn't do that song.

Most amazing, the Navajo's aren't offended by the song 1 little, 2 little, 3 little Indians...and have even translated it into Navajo and the Navajo language teacher teaches that song in Navajo to teach the kids to count in their native language. Go figure. I thought that would be very insulting to them but NOT.

If someone is insulted, just apologize, wipe it off your list of songs to sing for the day and do some other song until someone tells you not to. There are millions of songs out there, if some culture is offended and wants to take 10 or so of them off the shelf, I'm not really offended. I just have to be told.

(My kids LOVE to play "THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT" and that is quite African but your kids might find it very appropriate during black history month. All the different parts going at the same time and its not really so difficult...very fun and the kids LOVE it. Try Lion Sleeps Tonight instead of Jungle Babies. Its in McGraw/Hill's Share the Music...I think 5th grade but it could be 4th...I'd have to look it up in the index. Cool song! I don't think it will offend anyone.)

I'd like to add that there is always some weird teacher in the bunch who is usually having a very bad day when they complain about something so trivial. You must be doing a very good job for some class room teacher to make such an issue of something so simple. When they complain about nonsense, its a sign you're doing very well. Just smile, appologize to the whining teacher and principal who thought it would be politically correct to stick up for the whiner. Just go along to get along on something as goofy as this.

Make sure you choose your battles wisely and this doesn't seem to be important enought to fight or fret over. Just delete the song.

Babies Tote Bag by CafePress $18 Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying. 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabricFull side and bot Babies Tote Bag Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying. 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric. Full side and bot

with Swan and her babies Babies Tote Bag by CafePress $21 A swan family on a family trip with one baby swan riding on the back of teh mother and a second trying to hitch a ride too Babies Tote Bag Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying. 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric. Full side and bot

Babies $6.99 Babies

TEACHERS ROCK Teachers Tote Bag by CafePress $18 TEACHERS ROCK Teachers Tote Bag Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying. 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric. Full side and bot

BuffyBag Babies Messenger Bag by CafePress $35 Take Buffy with you where ever you go and keep a smile all day Babies Messenger Bag From school, to carrying your laptop, to a hip alternative diaper bag, our versatile, spacious messenger bag is practically all you need to get you through every stage of your life -- and look hip doing it. One front adjustable clasp closure.

Notes on the Care of Babies and Young Children: For the Use of Teachers $13.46 No Synopsis Available

Power To The Babies Funny Messenger Bag by CafePress $35 Messenger bags are cool and versatile. They can be used for a variety of purposes. We recommend using them as baby carry bags for toting all your babies needs including Revo Baby's cool t-shirts. Funny Messenger Bag From school, to carrying your laptop, to a hip alternative diaper bag, our versatile, spacious messenger bag is practically all you need to get you through every stage of your life -- and look hip doing it. One front adjustable clasp closure.

Cotton Tale Arctic Babies Toy Bag $51.45 Create an inviting nursery for your newborn with this adorable toy bagNursery accessory features a mother and baby penguin framed on the white with black dot fabricArctic Babies toy storage is inspired by the role of arctic mothers and babies in this changing worldAccent cord in tundra red velvetBias ties and lining in black with small white dotsToy bag can be hung on the wall, side of the crib, or changing tablePart of the Cotton Tale Arctic Baby crib bedding collectionMeasures 15 inches long x 27 inches wide100-percent cotton

The Best Teachers Are French Teachers Messenger Ba Cute Messenger Bag by CafePress $35 The Best Teachers Are French Teachers...Great gift idea for any French teacher for Christmas or Back To School. Check out our complete line of French Teacher shirts and gifts. Cute Messenger Bag From school, to carrying your laptop, to a hip alternative diaper bag, our versatile, spacious messenger bag is practically all you need to get you through every stage of your life -- and look hip doing it. One front adjustable clasp closure.

Cotton Tale ABTB Arctic Babies Toy Bag $34.23 A quality baby bedding set is essential in making your nursery warm and inviting. All Cotton Tale patterns are made using quality materials and are uniquely designed to create your perfect nursery. The Arctic Babies toy bag features the mother and baby penguin framed on the white with black dot fabric. The accent cord in tundra red velvet , bias ties and lining in small black dot. This toy bag can be hung on the wall, side of the crib or changing table. Dimensions: 13" L x 26" W x 1" H.

quot;babies for changequot; tote bag Humor Tote Bag by CafePress $21 This quot;babies for changequot; logo tote is as cute as it is powerful -- with its retro pastels amp; signature babies, and all profits from its sale going to help the orphans of Africa Humor Tote Bag Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying. 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric. Full side and bot

Dance Teachers Rock Cool Messenger Bag by CafePress $35 Let your dance teachers know what you think of them this holiday season with a gift from our exclusive Dance Teachers Rock collection. Cool Messenger Bag From school, to carrying your laptop, to a hip alternative diaper bag, our versatile, spacious messenger bag is practically all you need to get you through every stage of your life -- and look hip doing it. One front adjustable clasp closure.

The Best Teachers Are French Teachers Cute Tote Bag by CafePress $21 The Best Teachers Are French Teachers...Great gift idea for any French teacher for Christmas or Back To School. Check out our complete line of French Teacher shirts and gifts. Cute Tote Bag Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying. 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric. Full side and bot

The Best Teachers Are Pre-School Teachers Cute Tote Bag by CafePress $21 The Best Teachers Are Pre-School Teachers...Great gift idea for any Pre-School teacher for Christmas or Back To School. Check out our complete line of Pre-School Teacher shirts and gifts. Cute Tote Bag Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying. 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric. Full side and bot

The Best Teachers Are Religion Teachers Cute Tote Bag by CafePress $21 The Best Teachers Are Religion Teachers...Great gift idea for any Religion teacher for Christmas or Back To School. Check out our complete line of Religion Teacher shirts and gifts. Cute Tote Bag Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying. 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric. Full side and bot

DUFLE BAG RIDDIM MIX dj untuchable

Six Steps To Becoming A Super Parent

We all know what a bad parent looks like: intolerant, constantly critical, more interested in their own affairs (in both senses of the word) than in the needs of their children. But what does it take to be a good parent? What does it take to give your children the very best start to life that you possibly can?

In the 1960's John Bowlby did a lot of work looking into the effects of parenting on children. In those days he coined the term "good-enough parenting". His thesis was that provided you avoided the sins of "bad" parenting, you were doing okay, and your children, with their own natural resilience, would also do okay. So is that all there is to it? Or are there things that you, as a parent, can do to be more than just a "good enough" parent. Can you, indeed, be a "super parent", even the "ultimate" parent? Or is that just a myth of the feminist movement?

Well, let's get one thing straight once and for all: No one is perfect. Try as you might, you will never be a "perfect" parent. You will never get it right every moment of every day for every year of your children's growing lives. Nor do you need to. In that sense, Bowlby's concept of "good enough" is very true. You do not need to be perfect. Your kids WILL survive. "Good enough" is good enough.

But, I suspect that you probably want more for your kids than just average. I strongly believe that there are things you can do, and attitudes you can adopt, that will give your children the very best start to life they could possibly have. And, at the same time, will actually make life easier and more fulfilling for yourself too. It is not a long list, but if you can manage the following, then I believe you have every right to call yourself the "ultimate" parent:

1) Recognise you are human. You cannot do everything, you cannot be everywhere, you cannot know everything. You will make mistakes. You also have your own issues, problems and hang-ups from your own past. That is all okay. The key to this game is not being perfect, but having the right attitude.

What is the right attitude? Being humble. Recognising that you have much to learn (we all do) and being willing to be teachable and to learn from your mistakes. A sign of genuine maturity is being able to look back at your past, recognise the mistakes you made, and say "this is what I have learnt about myself, and what I need to work on changing in myself".

But there is a flip side to this. Constantly putting yourself down with an "I'm no good" attitude is just as bad as the "I have nothing to learn" attitude. Forgive yourself for your mistakes. Celebrate your successes. Look back to the past only long enough to learn from it, then set your sights forward, and press on in the directions YOU want to go. If you have any serious issues from the past, be brave enough to seek help and get over them.

2) Recognise you are playing a percentage game. We have all heard of them: the kids from the most abusive, deprived backgrounds who somehow manage to make huge successes of themselves. And the kids from the very best of families (as demonstrated by their siblings) who somehow go off the rails into drugs and crime.

The reality is that you, the parent, are only one factor in your children's upbringing. They are also subject to influence from the friends, other relatives, teachers, shop keepers, TV, magazines and, of course, their own genetic makeup. You cannot control all the variables. You might be the very best, the ultimate parent, and yet your kids turn out as failures. You might be the very worst, alcoholic and abusive parent, and yet your kids do fine. Nothing in life is guaranteed.

So you play the percentages. You know that if you beat your kids, they are more likely to turn out bad than good. So, on average, beating your kids is probably not a good idea. Using fair and consistent discipline probably produces better odds for a successful outcome - so do that instead.

You success as a parent is NOT determined by how well your children turn out. It IS determined by whether you did all you reasonably could to do the right things and make the right decisions for them, WITH THE KNOWLEDGE YOU HAD AT THE TIME. Maybe those decisions turn out to be the wrong ones. So be it. That does not mean you failed as a parent. But, if you were too lazy to get the facts, if you just took the easiest decision without thinking about the impact on your children, then, I believe, you have failed - even if it turns out that the decision was the right one!

3) Recognise your children are not the only things in your life. In this day and age we seem to be obsessed with the idea that the interests of the children come first, before anything else. I strongly disagree with that concept. Yes, me must consider the best interests of the child, but there are other things to consider too.

It may be, for instance, that taking a new job in a different city might be the best thing for your family - even if it means taking your child away from his school and friends.

By putting children first in everything we run the danger of creating a selfish, "me first" generation where they grow up believing that the world owes them a living. Sometimes children have to take second place - and that in itself is an important lesson about life. Yes, before making any decision consider its impact on the children. But, in the end, make up your own mind as to what would be best for the family as a whole.

4) Look to the long term. Raising children is a long drawn- out process. Have your long-term goals in mind. How do you want them to turn out as adults? What qualities and skills do they need to learn? What experiences do they need, along the way, to learn those skills and character traits?

Many times as parents we are faced with the choice of taking an easy, short-term quick fix, or a harder approach that will bear much more fruit in the long term. The TV is such a classic example of this. How easy is it, when the kids are playing up, to just switch on the TV as the electronic babysitter? A quick fix for the immediate hassle or rowdy kids. But how much better, in the long run, to spend a bit of time teaching them how to build a model, or sew a soft toy, or put together a jigsaw?

5) Look for the positives. Like you, your children will make mistakes. Forgive them. Correct them gently and move on. Always be looking for what they did right, not what they did wrong. Children crave their parents' attention. Pay attention to what they do wrong, and they will do more of it. Pay attention to what they do right, and they will be eager to please you more.

6) Stick to your guns. Believe in yourself. If you are doing all the above, then you are well on the right track. There will be times when you make decisions and you get challenged on them, either by your children, or by others (such as interfering relatives). Unless there genuinely are new facts that you weren't aware of before, don't be swayed.

And don't be afraid to say no - to your children and your relatives - if that is the right thing to say.

Sure, your decision may turn out to be a bad one. That happens. Hindsight is 20-20. But far better to stick to your decision, than to be a plastic bag blowing about in the breeze. You children are watching you; watching how you deal with life, how you make decisions, how you cope with adversity, how you believe in yourself and stand up for yourself and your family. Be a good example for them.

About the Author

Want to find out about cough remedies, <a href="http://www.healthandnutritiontips.net/chesty_cough/chesty_cough.html">chesty cough</a>, coughing at night, removing ear hair, <a href="http://www.healthandnutritiontips.net/ear_hair_removal/ear_hair_removal.html">ear hair removal</a> , ear pressure relief and other information? Get tips from the <a href="http://www.healthandnutritiontips.net">Health And Nutrition Tips</a> website.