You said, in part: Do your children really believe that fairy tales are real?
I'm curious, because when I was a child, I loved fantasy stories and fairy tales, but I never, EVER actually thought they were real.
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No, my children don't (didn't, they are now almost 14) believe fairy tales are true, but neither did any teacher I know of go out of his or her way to tell them that. Our kids were believers in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny when they were younger. We didn't emphasize the truth/falsity issue of them, we just enjoyed the fantasy with them. They were young children. Santa was not God, and he was not part of any religious teaching. It was FUN. Kids should have a little fun. Our kids now believe in the "spirit of Santa Claus" which IS indirectly related to our Christian values of giving and thinking of others first. We have always thought of Santa as a harmless, fun diversion. Others may disagree. We only ask that others not interfere with how we raise our children. Anyone with a modicum of sense knows that Santa is dealt with differently in different households, and should be discreet enough not to get involved in what we see from this thread is a touchy subject.
I consider the Santa "issue" not too different from sex education in that regard. Parents make decisions on how to deal with the "where to babies come from" question based upon their religious and moral beliefs and their determination of the maturity of their children. Some parents lay it all out very early on. Some stick with the "stork brings them" story (or something similar) for a while. I would have been outraged if a teacher of one of my children decided to tell the "truth" about sex to my child before I thought he or she were ready. This truth can be expressed many ways however, ranging from: Babies come from the love of a mother and father to you take this part here and put it in here until...
The point for me is the teacher's inappropriate decision to usurp the position of the parent, not to argue that Santa Claus is or is not real.
I agree with you that the teacher became an activist and not just a teacher. Conservatives are opposed to inappropriate activism and rightly so. No matter how angry a person gets, they should still respect boundaries. There are many teachers who don't celebrate Christmas, and the vast majority of them are able to handle it.
However, I am calling out the hypocrisy and inconsistency on this thread. Santa is not viewed as a myth or a fairy tale, and it is disingenous for Santa-supporters to draw those comparisons.