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Tammy Scott-Wallace
Telegraph-Journal

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SPRINGFIELD - Every time Susan Boyd hears the Canadian national anthem she thinks of her nephew, Pte. David Greenslade of Saint John, who was killed two years ago in Afghanistan.

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Kâté LEBLanc/tELEgraph-JoUrnaL

Singing the national anthem every day is important to the Boyd family, who lost a loved one, Pte. David Greenslade of Saint John, in Afghanistan. Susan Boyd and her daughter, Kara, do not agree with Belleisle Elementary School getting rid of the singing of 'O Canada' every morning.

And it devastates her that her youngest daughter doesn't start each morning at Belleisle Elementary School paying tribute to her home and native land. The school eliminated the morning ritual in September 2007 after complaints by two families who took issue with the anthem. But Boyd is speaking up to defend what is a generally accepted tradition in schools across the country.

"Respect for your country is something that should be instilled at a very young age," she said. "For years, elementary school students have stopped and stood where they were when they heard O Canada and I'm afraid that will be lost."

Erik Millett is principal of the small school of 214 students in Springfield, west of Sussex, and has heard from only a few people who oppose the decision to drop the anthem.

Boyd is convinced very few parents are aware of the cut.

It was last year, as her daughter Julia prepared to sing O Canada for Canada Day celebrations in Sussex, that she realized her youngster needed help with the lyrics.

"She said, 'I have to practise, we don't sing it at school anymore,' " Boyd said. "I was completely shocked. This is a personal thing for me and my family."

In an attempt to reinstate the anthem, Boyd has spoken with School District 6 superintendent Zoë Watson, Millett, the Home and School Association and, on Tuesday night, attended the Parent School Support Committee to voice her concern that the elimination will hurt the respect children feel for their country.

Millett said that the elimination of O Canada was not intended to "ruffle feathers" but rather accommodate all families in his school, and was one of several changes made to make for a more productive day. He said the anthem, along with morning announcements over the PA system, was distracting as students attempted to start their day by 8:35 a.m.

He consulted the teachers and decided the singing of O Canada would be reserved for monthly assemblies during which it could be sung by a large number of students and students whose parents do not want them participating could be easily be excused.

"We thought we could give more prominence, more importance, to the anthem than playing a taped version over a crackling PA system," he said. "I want to be very clear our decision to change the time, location and frequency is to provide an enhanced experience for the student."

He said that now, when O Canada is sung in the school, it is done with "meaning and purpose."

As a school administrator, he attempts to juggle the interests of a diverse population, Millett said.

"Whether it's for religious or family value reasons, this is a public education system, it's secular and we're serving the public," he said. "Is it right or is it fair for children who are not allowed to sing the anthem to be forced to?

"Different families have different beliefs. There are people of particular faiths who would say the Lord's Prayer should be brought back. Other people of particular faiths or beliefs say they don't want their child to sing the anthem. It's not up to me as a school administrator to subject kids to something their parents don't want them exposed to. I have to protect the minority rights as well as the majority rights."

"We're not living in a bubble in the Belleisle - there's cultural diversity everywhere," he said.

He feels it is important to embrace the gray areas and find a middle ground, which is exactly what he thinks he has done on this issue.

"I think diversity is wonderful. I think it should be faced and not feared, and I think we need more understanding in this world and respect for differences, not less," Millett said. "I'm not here to disrupt anyone's culture, that's not my purpose. I'm here to prepare the children to the best of my ability for the world out there, and that involves listening and understanding others."

Superintendent Watson, who has only heard from one concerned parent on the issue, said of elementary schools in the 26-school district, Belleisle is the only one not singing O Canada in the morning in either French or English, except for Macdonald Consolidated School, a kindergarten to Grade 8 school, in Kingston, where the anthem is reserved for assemblies and special events such as Remembrance Day.

Grade 9 student Kara Boyd, who prompted the media attention after writing a letter to the Telegraph-Journal this week, believes future students of her schools, like her sister Julia now in Grade 5, will be met with some confusion when they go on to high school and a new set of values where O Canada is allowed daily.

"We are Canadians and I think we should be proud of that," she said. "I think the religious issue should be taken out of it."

Millett said while parents complained about O Canada, he didn't ask specifically if their issue was with the anthem and its tribute to Canada, or if it is the inclusion of God in the words.

Watson said neither the school district, nor the province, has a policy outlining when or where the anthem should be played and said it is up to the discretion of school principals.

She said communication on these types of issues is "critical" and has asked Millett to write an article for the school's newsletter outlining to parents when and where O Canada will be sung, and invite parents to offer feedback.

"In hindsight, this should have been better communicated," the superintendent said. "I don't want to see this issue be one that is upsetting for the parent community.

"We are seeking feedback and continuing to have discussions. I'm aware of this situation now," she added.

"I have become involved and I will continue to stay involved in this discussion."

Boyd understands there is diversity in the school, but believes there also has to be consideration for the majority.

"The principal tells us he doesn't want to see children have to sit it out," Boyd said. "How about every other religion that has to sit things out like school dances, or there are books some parents don't like their children reading.

"We have Baptists and Catholics and Pentecostals and Jehovah's Witnesses and there are many different values and beliefs out there but we are all Canadians."