Grinchy remark sends kids home in tears

[Graham]

Much ado about nothing, it seems to me.

If the teacher found it against her beliefs to teach fairy stories and lies to children, then why should she not have that freedom?
Teachers are supposed to teach what is true, so if the poor little kids have been brought up on a diet of untruths, they are set up for dissappointment.

The school seems very keen to promote the non-sense that surrounds this time of year, I wonder how the school would react to the teaching of the birth of Christ? Many schools are removing the Chistian elements of Christmas from schools for fear of offending other religions.

So they replace Christ with santa and elves and get upset when someone won't go along with it.

Sounds like a lot of foolishness, if I read it right.

There was a documentary on TV here recently about the person of St.Nicholas, I didn't hear of local schoolchildren rushing for counselling the next day.

[Shay]

The school seems very keen to promote the non-sense that surrounds this time of year, I wonder how the school would react to the teaching of the birth of Christ? Many schools are removing the Chistian elements of Christmas from schools for fear of offending other religions.

So they replace Christ with santa and elves and get upset when someone won't go along with it.

Sort of- there's a difference between 'offending other religions' and 'offending people who believe the public shools should not be teaching religion." Which encompasses Christians, too.

[GlassMan]

The bigger issue here is not religion or religious freedom. The issue is about parenting.

There is a little white-lie that the vast majority of Americans tell their children which helps make the dull winter days more enjoyable and brings a bit of joy to their lives. This is especially important for children whose lives aren't that great most of the year.

The little white lie doesn't cause them any harm. It doesn't stunt their growth, or give them cancer. It's just something they outgrow one day - like the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny.

And it should be up to the parents to decide when and where those white lies are told and for how long.

Far too many families have decided to abdicate their role as parents and expect schools to do all the work. And too many educators have decided that parenting IS their job and believe that their decisions are more important than those made by the actual parents.

If that teacher disagreed with the little white lie known as Santa Clause she should have just skipped the lesson instead of intruding on the relationship between parent and child and causing the child emotional pain during what is supposed to be a happy time of the year.

Sounds to me like she needs a good lecture on differences between a parent and a teacher.

[Bob C]

The reading of "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" does not constitute teaching that Santa is real, any more than reading the hundreds of other storybooks teaches that The Cat in the Hat or a thousand other characters are real.

This teacher reveals herself in the last line of her letter - she is a christian extremist who feels the need to impose her beliefs on others, and cannot bear the thought that someone could enjoy a winter holiday without paying homage to her particular superstitions.

[Graham]

well as I said, I don't know the real circumstances...we've all seen how media reports get it wrong, misconstrue the facts etc, so I'm reluctant to believe all I read.

What I do know is that my wife is a wonderful, caring Christian woman who has been a teacher for nearly 30 years in both Christian and secular schools, in BOTH she has had her challenges with what is taught in schools and what she believes.

It's not always easy, especially when dealing with sacred cows!

[Shay]

Graham, I don't think anybody's saying anything against Christianity, or Christian people, this is more against someone pushing their relgious beliefs with no consideration for time and place.

If this were a story about a Wiccan teacher who told her class that Christmas's celebrated date was stolen from a midwinter Mithras celebration and they'd been lied to, or a Jewish teacher who took the time to explain the 'slaughter of the innocents' to show that the Christmas story is not all sweetness and light, we'd still be up in arms.

[Nick]

My mother absolutely HATES Santa Claus. She goes to all the trouble, and the old codger gets all the credit. I didn't find that out until after I realized that it wasn't a large man in a red suit that brought all the presents. But Mom never told me Santa wasn't real. She let me figure it out for myself. Since she's an early childhood development specialist, I've come to trust what she says about raising kids. Even my aunt, who's a professor of philosophy and ethics, calls her up to get advice on raising her daughter.

On a slightly off topic, apparently St. Nick is also the patron saint of theives, but I don't know if it's the same St. Nick. There's way to many saints to keep track of.

[Iolaus]

...On a slightly off topic, apparently St. Nick is also the patron saint of theives, but I don't know if it's the same St. Nick. There's way to many saints to keep track of.

That would make sense, after all, he does sneak in and out of houses in the middle of the night! ;)

[Iolaus]

The bigger issue here is not religion or religious freedom. The issue is about parenting...

Thankyou GlassMan, I couldn't have expressed it better.

[bikercelt1]

If the teacher found it against her beliefs to teach fairy stories and lies to children, then why should she not have that freedom?
Teachers are supposed to teach what is true, so if the poor little kids have been brought up on a diet of untruths, they are set up for dissappointment.

So they replace Christ with santa and elves and get upset when someone won't go along with it.

The problem as I see it is that the teacher should not be given the latitude to teach six and seven year-olds that their parents have "lied" to them and she is going to impart the "truth" of Santa Claus. Santa Claus is an Ideal that we have anthropomorhised into a lovable character so that we can express to our children certain values. Who is this woman, or anyone, who says that the character of Santa Claus isn't physically real so therefore she is justified in calling those of us who believe in the concept liars? There are many characters that we use to teach our children good and valuable lessons, Santa is just one of them. I don't hear about "teachers" like this who tell children that the "boogie man" isn't real and therefore they should feel free to wander around after dark on thier own. This is a case of a sanctimonius woman imposing her own reality on children against the wishes of their parents. In my opinion she was out of line and should not be teaching children of this age.

Jamie