Teacher "ruins" lives of first graders by saying Santa is illogical

by Gopher 63 Replies latest social current

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  Yerusalyim

  That means the belief is a falsehood. It folows that this false belief offers no real benefit to those who cling to it.

  This statement is not true...there's no logic in it. The memories I have from my childish belief in Santa are treasured...and part of what grounds me to my home, my parents, and my innocence (long since lost).

  There's no reason to NOT let kids believe in Santa...though I told me kids about St Nicholas (bishop, Armenia, nice guy...patron of sailors).

  The teacher was wrong...this is an issue for parents, not teachers. I knew kids who were in 4th grade and still believed in Santa.

  I ruined one kid's belief in Santa by accident. A few years ago I played Santa at the company Christmas party. One of my friends kids came and sat on my lap...She speaks Spanish and English both. I started speaking to her in Spanish and she jumped off my lap...ran to her mom and said "Mommy, that's not really Santa...Santa doesn't speak Spanish".
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  bigboi

  The teacher was wrong...this is an issue for parents, not teachers. I knew kids who were in 4th grade and still believed in Santa.

  I think teachers who expose children to alternative viewpoints are treasures. There is nothing like stoking the fires of a young mind with a new, diffferent point of view. Whenever teachers would do that it was always so refreshing.
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  amac

  This is obviously a matter of opinion and there is no right answer, again, it has to be decided by the parents.

  The teacher was wrong...this is an issue for parents, not teachers.

  I agree with the latter part of your statement Yeru, but not the first. The school does not have a policy on the teaching of Santa Claus. She was faced with a question on his reality. Her choice is to tell them he is real and lie to the children who know otherwise, to tell the truth, or to avoid the situation. I agree it would be best for her to have avoided the situation, but when you have a classfull of 1st graders, it's probably easier said than done. She made a judgement call, it was and is a matter of opinion, not wrong or right.

  Again, because of this, I think holidays should be left out of the schools and left up to the families. It should be school policy that if it is brought up in discussion to direct the children to discuss it with their family.
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  Sara Annie

  The opinions about Santa Claus from those who never participated in Christmas, period, are interesting. I suppose, like most things, something relatively innocuous and joyful is seen as alien and wrong by someone who was denied the experience. You could discuss anything from Santa Claus to Oral Sex with the same experiential parameters and you'd find little changed about the conversation other than the subject. But I digress...

  As someone who grew up with yearly visits from Santa, I can relay that in my own experience there was no giant sense of 'betrayal' at being *gasp* lied to. It was fun while it lasted, it was an interesting experience finding out that it was my parents who bought and gave those wonderful gifts, and is now quite fun for my husband and myself to take our turn at playing Santa. I don't even object to the disucssion Santa in class, but I do think that such discussions take care and diplomacy. My father, for instance, never actually 'lied' to us about Santa. He told me that Santa was a myth. As a very young child, I just assumed a myth was a fat guy in a red suit who lived to give kids gifts.

  Our eight year old has been in the big questioning phase the two seasons now. He has friends that believe, and those that don't. When he tells us what his friends say, or he asks questions, my husband and I just ask him what he thinks about it. He responded to that question a few weeks ago by saying "Oh, I know there's a Santa, because last year I got a GameCube, and I know you guys couldn't afford THAT." I think this is our last true-believer Santa year with him, and I'll miss the joy that it has brought him--but he'll continue to get yearly presents from Santa, his toddler sister won't be his age for some time. And even then, I don't think Santa will ever go away. Heck, I'm 32 years old and I still get a present marked "From Santa" under my parent's tree every year.
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  heathen

  I would like to commend the teacher for being honest with the kids . I think kids are lied to about so many things as they grow older so it doesn't surprise me there are so many lying thieving basturds in the world. The whole holiday stinks . blech.
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  Yerusalyim

  I think teachers who expose children to alternative viewpoints are treasures. There is nothing like stoking the fires of a young mind with a new, diffferent point of view. Whenever teachers would do that it was always so refreshing.

  This was NOT a matter for the teacher to handle...the parents should be allowed to tell their kids the truth when they decide...By the same token I don't want the teacher telling my 1st grader about sex...that's my business too.
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  Princess

  The teacher should have avoided the topic. Why was she reading a story about the tooth fairy? I was just discussing the tooth fairy with six first graders an hour ago. They ALL believe in her. I didn't ask about Santa because I don't want to open that can o'worms! She knew where it was leading. I would have sent them to their parents to discuss it. It seems cruel. She was probably a dub.

  My son is seven and extremely bright. He still believes. It surprises me that he believes because it is so illogical and he should figure that out. He believes it's magic and he's seen the proof under the tree Christmas morning. I doubt he'll believe it next year. The hard part will be getting him to keep it quiet around his sister. I don't think he'll be able to and that makes me sad. I really don't think he'll be mad at "THE LIE" either. I plan to tell him it's just a fun game parents get to play at Christmas. He'll respect that and I will point out all the gifts "from Santa" that he would not have gotten otherwise.
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  amac

  This was NOT a matter for the teacher to handle...the parents should be allowed to tell their kids the truth when they decide...By the same token I don't want the teacher telling my 1st grader about sex...that's my business too.

  So if it is NOT a matter for the teacher to handle, than it should be school policy to not incorporate holidays into the school curriculum. Do you agree?
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  Mulan

  I doubt he'll believe it next year. The hard part will be getting him to keep it quiet around his sister.

  This will be interesting to see how it turns out.

  I still believed in Santa Claus when I was 9 years old. And we were JW's. I got baptized that year too. I thought he just didn't come to our house anymore. I remember vividly getting up Christmas Eve and looking out over the city (we lived on a hill overlooking downtown Seattle) to see if I could see Santa and the reindeer. I know I was 9.
  
  
  
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  Simon

  Excellent, a teacher who is not just teaching facts but trying to teach them logic and reasoning and how to think.

  That is far more use to the kids than a silly story and too be honest, I doubt it 'ruins' Christmas ... most kids are more concerned with what they are getting and not whether it's delivered by Santa or whoever.