A UK nursery school is under fire for teaching children BSL rather than letting them make their own gestures to go along with the song
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Both parents and the media have criticized the Sure Start nursery school in York. Teachers decided that the gestures for "like a diamond in the sky" might "offend deaf people" because the diamond or triangle shape is similar to the British Sign Language gesture indicating the female genitalia. They taught the toddlers to use Makaton signs along with the song. Makaton is a gesture based method of communication used in the UK, which borrows from BSL. Not everyone is happy with the arrangement. Britain's
Campaign Against Political Correctness is quoted in the
Daily Mail as saying "This is ridiculous example of political correctness where adults are trying to put their views into the minds of children who would not have known there was anything wrong with what they are doing."
