![\"NY](\"\/ourteam777\/files\/2012\/06\/Greta-Hawkins.jpg\")
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\nIt was to be the rousing finale of their musical show at the June 20 commencement. The kids, dressed up for their big day, would wave tiny American flags \u2014 which, as the lyrics proclaim, \u201cstill stand for freedom.\u201d<\/p>\nBut Hawkins marched in on a recent rehearsal and ordered a CD playing the anthem to be shut off, staffers said.<\/p>\n
She told the teachers to drop the song from the program. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to offend other cultures,\u201d they quoted her as explaining.<\/p>\n
The curt edict stunned both staff and parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people fought to move to America to live freely, so that song should be sung with a whole lot of pride,\u201d said mom Luz Lozada, whose son, Daniel, is in kindergarten.<\/p>\n
The song has been sung at previous school events. Last year\u2019s fifth-graders, including another Lozada child, performed it at graduation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody applauded and whistled,\u201d<\/strong> the mom said. \u201cThey gave it a standing ovation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nParents \u2014 many immigrants from Pakistan, Mexico and Ecuador \u2014 \u201clove it,\u201d Lozada said.<\/p>\n
A teacher agreed: \u201cIt makes them a little goosebumpy and teary-eyed. I\u2019ve never come across anyone who felt it insulted their culture.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nDepartment of Education spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti gave The Post an explanation staffers said they never heard \u2014 that Hawkins found the lyrics \u201ctoo grown up\u201d for 5-year-olds.<\/p>\n
The song starts: \u201cIf tomorrow all the things were gone, I\u2019d worked for all my life. And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife, I\u2019d thank my lucky stars, to be livin\u2019 here today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scaperotti said the department supports the principal\u2019s decision. \u201cThe lyrics are not age-appropriate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But Justin Bieber\u2019s flirty song about teen romance, \u201cBaby,\u201d was deemed a fine selection for the show. Hawkins had no problem with 5-year-olds singing lines such as, \u201cAre we an item? Girl, quit playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other songs: \u201cWe\u2019re All Together Again,\u201d popular at Scout campfires; \u201cThe World is a Rainbow,\u201d which celebrates diversity; \u201cShake Your Sillies Out\u201d by Raffi; and \u201cYou\u2019ve Got a Friend in Me\u201d from \u201cToy Story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scaperotti noted PS 90 kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d each morning. Insiders say Hawkins tried to end that tradition a couple years ago but staff objected.<\/p>\n
The principal, a Jehovah\u2019s Witness, does not recite the pledge because her religion forbids followers to salute any nation\u2019s flag. Staffers gripe she doesn\u2019t stand in respect during the school-wide ritual.<\/p>\n
The song uproar comes amid tensions. Hawkins has been called a tyrant and bully by some staffers.<\/p>\n
The DOE reprimanded her in 2010 after teachers complained she called the school \u201cracist\u201d and declared: \u201cI\u2019m black. Your previous principal was white and Jewish. More of us are coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scaperotti said Hawkins is being targeted by the teachers union and has received hate mail, which is under investigation by the NYPD.<\/p>\n
My Comments:<\/h2>\n
Teachers and Parents from PS 90\u2026Don\u2019t let this un-American acting Principal take away
\nthe FREEDOM to sing this song. It\u2019s all about FREEDOM\u2026 and AMERICA\u2026the land of the
\nFREE.<\/p>\n
For God\u2019s sake, lady,\u2026why have so many people from other cultures<\/strong> immigrated to the USA? It\u2019s what the song is all about\u2026 Here are the Lyrics:<\/p>\n<\/p>\nIf you are offended by these lyrics\u2026you don\u2019t deserve to enjoy the
\nblessings and freedoms of living in\u00a0 America, in my opinion\u2026<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 ![\"God](\"\/ourteam777\/files\/2012\/06\/God-Bless-USA-e1339395097954.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"School pulls patriotic song \u201cGod Bless The USA\u201d at graduation. By SUSAN EDELMAN\u00a0\u00a0 NY Post A controversial Coney Island principal has pulled the plug on patriotism. Her refusal to let students sing \u201cGod Bless the USA\u201d at their graduation has sparked fireworks at a school filled with proud immigrants. Greta Hawkins, principal of PS 90, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2764,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,14],"tags":[15,16,17,18],"class_list":["post-6","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-empower-network","category-reposts","category-society","tag-god-bless-the-usa","tag-proud-immigrants","tag-proud-to-be-an-american","tag-the-9-11-attacks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/ourteam777\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/ourteam777\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/ourteam777\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/ourteam777\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2764"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/ourteam777\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/ourteam777\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/ourteam777\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/ourteam777\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/ourteam777\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}