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."

[abigailsmybaby]

Bravo!!

[jwalsh07]

There's a difference. The average parent, when he sees that his kid is playing with dolls or action figures or whatever, doesn't pick one up, hold them up to his kid, and say, "This is a real person."

I have two children, five grandchildren and I am the oldes of 5 kids. Never in my life have I seen an adult in my family pick up Santa, hold him up to a child and say "This is a real person".

Go figure!

[dalereed]

I figured out that there wasn't a Santa Claus before I started kintergarden.

When other kids started talking about Santa Claus I told them there wasn't any such thing, it was their parents and to wise up.

[FLAMING DEATH]

"Lying by omission" is when you intentionally leave out facts to deceive a person.

For example, if I tell you that I can run at a top speed for over 10 miles, you might get the impression that I am quite an athlete, which I allow you to believe.

But, I will conveniently neglect to tell you that I do it by running 10 feet a day for 5200 days.

You come away with a false impression. I know this, and I do nothing to let you in on the truth.

Saying "I can't tell you that right now, because you're not ready for that responsibility" is not deliberately setting out to deceive or mislead.

Therefore, withholding truth is different from lying by omission.

[Junior_G]

I figured out that there wasn't a Santa Claus before I started kintergarden. When other kids started talking about Santa Claus I told them there wasn't any such thing, it was their parents and to wise up.

That's impressive. Most people don't become that annoying until much later in life.

[TomB]

Oh, there is nothing wrong with play, and 'pretend'. But when adults cross the line and make 'pretend' seem 'real', that is a lie.

So when I allow my daughter to believe her makebelieve friends are real, by talking to them and encouraging her to interact with them, I'm lying to her?

No adult tries to pass off dolls as living entities.

Whenever I talk to my daughter's dolls, I'm passing them off as living entities. What else is it?

That's a pretty big difference.

If you sit down with your daughter and allow and encourage her to believe her makebelieve friends are real, how is that any different from allowing and encouraging her to believe in Santa?

[FLAMING DEATH]

To the letter of what you said, I agree.

But, I have seen them say that Santa was a real person.

[stands2reason]

"If you let silliness like this fester in kids' minds, that Santa pulls entitlements out of his sack as opposed to them coming from their parents who are working to pay for it, eventually they're going to expect that magic Santa to show up with government cheese & a welfare check."

Wow. That's got to be the stupidest thing I ever read on FR.

[jwalsh07]

Therefore, withholding truth is different from lying by omission.

LOL, how's Broom Hillary, Bill?

[TomB]

There's a difference. The average parent, when he sees that his kid is playing with dolls or action figures or whatever, doesn't pick one up, hold them up to his kid, and say, "This is a real person."

And I've never done that with Santa either.

Either it is a lie, or it isn't. Which is it?

[ShadowDancer]

Yeah, God forbid this idiot should actually be focused on teaching reading and math. Her real focus should be on telling children something that is none of her damned business in the first place. If she were my daughter's teacher I would love to knock her right in the mouth. I wouldn't do it but damn would I love to.

[stands2reason]

I believed in Santa, my parents played along until I learned the truth.

I got over it.

[TomB]

They're done now. ;-)

[Ladytotheright]

Well, I had a teacher that told me there was no Santa, and my mother went over to the school and told the teacher there was a Santa and Santa didn't like her--that's why he never came...lol

[Hodar]

So when I allow my daughter ...

No, you are pretending and she knows this. This is play, and I doubt anyone would say that this is wrong.

But, when you tell her that someone is watching her, you show her pictures of him; you have her write letters to him, you have her visit him in the mall; you then buy presents and tell her that they are from Santa, you have crossed the boundary between 'pretend' and 'reality'. She gets presents from Mommy and Daddy, Uncle Bob and Aunt Lou, and Santa. Now Mommy and Daddy and her uncle and aunt are real .... so Santa must be real too, right.

Or to simplify it, have you ever insisted that her dolls are alive? Do you tell her that Santa is alive?

[lonestar]

So, instead of telling the boy the true story of Christmas; his parents instead decided to abuse the trust and love of their son by telling him a lie.

I'm glad I had both Santa and the true story of Christmas in my childhood. Even in my public school.

I've never had any emotional or long term psycological problems. I got off with "temporary insanity" when I killed the person who told me there was no Santa. The courts killed the Christ part. Does that make them insane?

[Hodar]

I got over it.

And that is your defense for a lie? Makes Clinton's lies seem fine too; I mean, we all survived. Either a lie is right, or it is wrong.

[Eaker]

You certainly floated the self-righteous jerks on FR to the top on this thread.

I read to the third page before I gave up.

I had no idea that there were so many people on FR that would give ALL the grisly details of a parents death to a kid. I think some of these people would show the bloody photos to the 5 and 6 year olds and detail the agony that they suffered rather than tell a lie about a quick death.

I am sure that every father, mother, husband, wife and kids of a dead Veteran would want to know every horrible detail of said death because some of the perfect people here don't want to soften the blow with a lie that hurts no one.

Signing off for the night in utter disgust.

[FLAMING DEATH]

"So when I allow my daughter to believe her makebelieve friends are real, by talking to them and encouraging her to interact with them, I'm lying to her?"

If your kid is under the impression that it is no longer make-believe and that the imaginary friend is real, you most certainly are lying to them. Are you saying this is what your daughter believes?

"Whenever I talk to my daughter's dolls, I'm passing them off as living entities. What else is it?"

Do you honestly beleive they are? Does your daughter honestly believe they are? I think you need to give your daughter more credit than that. When play time is over and you say, "Okay, time to put the toys away,", I suspect she realizes how "real" her dolls are in the overall scheme of things.

"If you sit down with your daughter and allow and encourage her to believe her makebelieve friends are real, how is that any different from allowing and encouraging her to believe in Santa?"

It isn't, if you do that. But, I doubt you do. You might encourage her to play with imaginary friends, but I'm sure you've made it clear that they are imaginary. If your daughter believes that imaginary friends are real, you need to have a long talk with her immediately, because most kids can recognize the difference between reality and make believe, as long as their reality isn't clouded by falsehoods they've heard from people they trust.

[TomB]

No, you are pretending and she knows this. This is play, and I doubt anyone would say that this is wrong.

A four year old knows that her makebelieve friends are makebelieve? When she talks to her dolls, she knows they aren't real freinds? Do you have ANY IDEA of the imagination of a child?

Never mind, you obviously don't.