Question about a KS2 Play with antisemitic language
Hi There
A question for KS2 teachers here. There is a particular play on a website called scriptstostage that is aimed for KS2 and 3 children called “read all about it”. It’s a musical about world war 2.
In a local school, 8 and 9 year olds are being taught to perform it. Within the production is a song and within that song are lyrics such as:
“Heil Hitler, Sing it with pride”.
The students are not being taught about what heil Hitler means, that it is antisemitic (and banned in many countries), or the reasons why. The play is focused on the British impact of WW2 and not the horrors of Hitler himself (there is no role of Hitler in the play).
My questions here are:
- As a teacher, does this feel appropriate to be doing with 8 year olds?
- should the play be reported somehow to education authorities
- How should teachers approach this situation?
This is a sensitive topic I realise but it’s good to get independent views on this. Maybe it is highly subjective, or maybe it’s more obvious.
Thank you!