A play about the Stolen Generation put on by a Sydney primary school last week has sparked off a massive controversy. The school, Forestville Public, came under attack for using children as “political pawns”.
There have been calls for the school’s principal to be sacked. The New South Wales education minister has apologised to anyone who was offended.
But parents of some of the children in the play were not offended.
Melody Jackson, whose Year Six son played a police officer dragging Indigenous children away, says she felt “immensely proud” when she was watching the play.
“I was moved,” Jackson tells Mamamia.
“I was crying. I don’t know whether I was crying because of the smoke machine and my sensitive eyes, but I was incredibly moved. I thought that it was a very brave and stark truth, and I was proud that my children were part of that.”
Jackson says there was nothing really shocking in it.
“They portrayed a simple scene where children were taken from their homes, they were put in religious-based institutions, men and women cried about the loss of their children, and, for the most part, we’ve stood by and done nothing.”
Jackson, 42, says she knew nothing about Indigenous history when she was in primary school.
“It wasn’t until I was in Year 8 that we did A.B. Facey’s A Fortunate Life. That was my entire education around the Australian colonisation.
Top Comments
I am a parent at this school. The play was so broadly about Australian history and not purely on this topic. It showed kindy kids as Fairy Penguins, had Yr 1 as lifesavers etc. They touched on so many facets of our wonderful and diverse country and didn't gloss over facts in our history that I never learnt when I was at school. I am so sad that this has become a media shit storm. The school and kids did an awesome job and aside from the small handful of parents revving up right wing narrow minded twits like Ray Hadley everyone I know has been singing its praises and continue to rally together proudly as a community. This is our history Australia! - it isn't full of unicorns and rainbows.
Bravo! Seeing a school doing something like this would make me want to send my child there. This is something that needs to be taught in schools and what a great way to do it. It's engaging for the children to do a play, far more likely they will take in what they're learning and having to act it out may actually breed empathy.