Families who celebrate “Mother’s Day” are stuck in a “binary world” as far as principal Janet Di Pilla of Brunswick East Primary School in Melbourne is concerned.
The Australian school opted to forego “Mother’s Day” this year in favor of “Acknowledgment Day” instead.
Kids were encouraged to bring money on Friday for “handmade & home-made gifts” for “any special person in your life.”
Parents were sent a letter by the principal explaining the move as an act of cultural prudence.
“We will be holding 2 of these days each year; one to coincide with the ’traditional’ Mother’s Day and the other to coincide with the ’traditional’ Father’s Day,” the letter read, Yahoo! News Australia reported May 8. “It is also very important that we make these occasions as inclusive as possible. I sincerely hope that this change in name will show that we as a community recognize that our families are not made up of any particular combination of people and that we no longer subscribe to a binary world.”
The principal then apologized for any families that may have been offended and “hurt” in the past by the recognition of Mother’s Day.
Australia’s Liberty Alliance Party responded by saying the “natural family” is a “core building block of human society” and should be protected, the Daily Mail reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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