A Coney Island, New York Principal is under scrutiny after she refused to let her kindergartners sing the famous song ‘God Bless The USA’ in their graduation ceremony.
Greta Hawkins, principal of PS 90 in Coney Island has rejected the student’s requests to perform the patriotic song also known as ‘Proud To Be An American’ despite their pleas that the school is made of proud immigrants that are grateful for their country.
Aiming to make the song the grand finale of their coming up ceremony, five classes spent months learning the patriotic song to perform for friends and family members. In spite of that, all it took was one word from the principal to shut it down.
“We don’t want to offend other cultures,” said the principal.
However, according to parents at the school, the undeniably patriotic song doesn’t offend them at all.
“A lot of people fought to move to America to live freely, so that song should be sung with a whole lot of pride,” said Luz Lozada, whose son, Daniel, is in kindergarten.
Adding that parents — many immigrants from Pakistan, Mexico and Ecuador — “love it,” she said.
The principal also cited reasons that the song was “too grown up” for the children when it states:
“If tomorrow all the things were gone, I’d worked for all my life. And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife, I’d thank my lucky stars, to be livin’ here today.”
The school board has stated that they fully support Ms. Hawkins and agree that the song does indeed seem too grown up for these young children.
The song that will be replacing ‘God Bless America’? None other than pop-star Justin Bieber’s “Baby” that has these five year-old’s singing:
“Are we an item? Girl, quit playing.”
Hawkins is no stranger to complaints from parents and teachers as she has been ridiculed for her refusal to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance. The principal is a practicing Jehovah’s Witness and her faith states in their beliefs that followers should not salute any nation’s flag.
As reported by the New York Post , Hawkins has also been at the center of heated exchanges as she proclaimed that the school is “racist”, saying that: “I’m black. Your previous principal was white and Jewish. More of us are coming.”
Greta Hawkins has recently been the recipient of hate mail from an unknown source that is currently under investigation by the NYPD.