In the last 24 hours I have realised how much our children are losing. In a piece about Philip Pullman's book "I was a Rat", it was stated that, although the story was enjoyed by children in New York, they missed the references to Cinderella. Since the book is predicated on the idea that the transformed rat fails to remogrify to rathood, and falls into dire situations until rescued by the Princess, those children missed a lot.

Today, I found that some references in our school play weren't understood. I have the shepherds turning up, and (to make, I thought, lines that were easy to learn) wrote:

Shepherd 1 We were watching our flocks by night.
Shepherd 2 All seated on the ground.
Shepherd 3 An angel of the Lord came down.
Shepherd 1 And glory shone around.

The innkeeper, being rather rude at the time, then makes some remarks about laundry and socks. The children know neither the original nor the parody. (Parents are already laughing, fortunately.) I feel I need to teach them the original carol (hymn?) simply in order for them to know the parody, that parody is both possible and permissible in the playground (heck, I thought it was compulsory). Mind you, the parody is a bit dated.

Has anyone else found unexpected absences of knowledge?

Penny