Teacher tells kids Santa is 'make-believe' (1st graders)

AP ^ | Thursday, December 4, 2003

[presidio9]

Sandra Jolly said her 6-year-old son's Christmas was spoiled when his teacher told the first-grade class Monday that "Santa Claus is make-believe."

"He had this sad, lost puppy dog look on his face. This unhappy, empty look," Jolly said. "He said his teacher informed the entire class that Santa is make-believe."

[Iowegian]

Should the teacher tell them the truth about sex. If a 6 year old asks how babies are made, should the teacher tell them. Or should the teacher say "talk to your parents".

At last. A logical, well reasoned argument. But sex is, in fact, taught in school to children (even though I don't agree with it) and is a serious matter that has serious ramifications in the children's lives. The same cannot be said for the Santa issue.

[Lunatic Fringe]

"How do you destroy a 6-year-old like that?" said Pam Sturt

If your child's whole world is built around the myth of Santa Claus, you are not preparing him for healthy growth. Get a grip.

[FLAMING DEATH]

Oh, yeah.

From the fact that I don't believe that it is right to delibertately mislead kids and undermine your own moral authority by perpetuating something that you know to be false, you conclude that my children will be shameless Libertines.

Just for your information, my parents never dumped the "Santa" thing on me, and I wasn't promiscuous either.

I don't understand why I have to say it, but there's a BIG difference between waiting until a child is mature enough to absorb information before revealing it to them, and making fools out of your kids and a hypocrite out of yourself by telling them a mythical figure is in fact, real.

[Junior_G]

But sex is, in fact, taught in school to children (even though I don't agree with it) and is a serious matter that has serious ramifications in the children's lives. The same cannot be said for the Santa issue.

Sex isn't taught in first grade.

[zlala]

With a group of youngsters, that approach won't solve much, I don't think.

Kids that age usually aren't satisfied until they get an answer, especially if two or more disagree.

To a point I agree. However my experience has taught me that children have short attention spans and a teacher can re-direct the topic at hand.

[usadave]

But, seriously, isn't is hypocritical to punish a child when he tells a lie; but convincing him that Santa is real is ok. Looks like a pretty one sided morality to me.

Do you habitually over-analyze things?

[presidio9]

Santa Claus is a Democrat

That would explain the red suit I guess.

[Iowegian]

Yeah OK you think that telling our kids the truth about Santa is the same as telling them about fisting? Am I getting warm on your point? Is there one, that is a good point?

[zlala]

The same answer should also be given to questions about Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Allah and Buddah (et. al.).

I totally agree.

[jwalsh07]

Another emotional outburst in place of a logical argument.

Try this for a logical argument. Speaking as a father and grandfather who has been around a bit, I have found that many adults can not handle lifes everyday "burdens" without laying them on the heads of their children, kind of like misery loves company.

So instead of allowing kids to be kids, they insist on an adult to adult relationship with their kids. These are generally the folks in the super market who argue logically with their kids while the kid is launching canned beets at the other customers.

Logical?

[usadave]

So you think it is OK to lie to your kids, just for fun, eh?

If you have any children, have you EVER told them a lie, eh?

[VermiciousKnid]

The teacher is a boob. THE PARENTS are the ones who should let the Santa cat out of the bag and NO ONE else.

That being said, I know that many FReepers disapprove of the Santa fable. I don't agree with their assessment, but here is how my parents handled it:

They took the opportunity to tell me the true story of a REAL person: Saint Nicholas. They gave me a brief overview of his life, and then gave me the job of researching just how, exactly, this real person morphed into the figure we now know as "Santa Claus."

AT NO TIME were we EVER under any impression other than that Christmas was a holiday which celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ. Our celebrations were always extremely religious, beginning of course with the lighting of the Advent Wreath, and continuing all the way till Epiphany.

Regards,

[trussell]

She may be right, but it is not her "right" to inform our children that Santa doesn't exist. If I want my children to believe in Santa, that is for me to decide.

[don-o]

It looks pretty black and white to me. Either you lie to your child, or you do not.

Ditto.

There is nothing more valuable in raising children than love. And love does not include lying.

Children have an inate sense of fairness, and usually cut to the chase when parents have stepped outside the lines that the parents have laid down.

[breakem]

Clark is my other ego, the one with the glasses

[presidio9]

We took a picture of "Santa" to convince our 7 year old that there was Santa. He's 9 now and figured it out.

Hold on a sec... Nine's a bit old to be figuring it out about Santa. Do you live in a log cabin?

[Amelia]

If I were your mom, I'd make sure you got plenty of stocking stuffers, especially since it's been so long since you've been home! I bought a couple the other day for the thirty-something child! ;-)

[Smogger]

Santa Claus is a fable, yes, and such a human being does not in fact exist with such extraordinary powers as knowing who's been good and evil, and posesses magical flying animals able to circumnavigate the globe in hours. We all know that. On the otherhand, the fable of Santa Claus is a construct that has been used for centuries in the Christian world to inspire children within their world view to consider such intangibles as love, charity, honesty, giving, and humility. Most well adjusted children look back at their younger years of the belief in Santa with a certain nostalgic reverence, and value the simplicity of the tale and the enormity of the humanistic lessons that were instilled by the contrived story of the kindhearted old man who did good things for people out of the goodness of his heart. I have yet to read a story about a psychopath or mass murderer who committed vile acts because of the mental anguish of being the target of a well planned and systematic campaign to feed them childhood lies of a nonexistant philanthropist. So all you black-and-white do-gooders who think the fable of Santa Claus is worthless rubbish, may your children grow up to be as cynical, cold, and spiritually dead as yourselves.

Kudos on your excellent post. I couldn't agree more.

[luckystarmom]

Well, actually the point is that there is an age to tell the truth and an age to refer to the parent.

At 6 your refer a lot to the parent.

If a 15 year old asked the same question, I think it is reasonable for a teacher to tell the truth.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

sex is, in fact, taught in school to children (even though I don't agree with it) and is a serious matter that has serious ramifications in the children's lives. The same cannot be said for the Santa issue.

Ah. In other words, then -- minus all the equivocating and rhetorical bunting -- it IS, in plain, unvarnished fact, defensible and right NOT to burden children with "the truth," under some select circumstances.

You just want to be the one to set the parameters of said circumstances, is all.

There's an old joke, in which a man at a party offers a sweet young thing one million dollars to sleep with him; and she agrees, readily. He then asks her if she'd be willing to do so for fifty cents, instead.

"Fifty cents?" she shrills, outraged. "What sort of girl do you think I am, anyway...?"

"We've already established what sort of girl you are," the man responds, evenly. "Now we're just quibbling over the price."

We've already established that you champion withholding "the truth" from children. Therefore: you can drop the ringing, self-aggrandizing pledgings to the notion of Absolute Truth anytime, now.