SANTA CLAUS

Did you hear about the second grade teacher in New York who told her students that there was no Santa Claus? Not only that, she told them that the presents under the tree are put there by their parents. The parents and grandparents of the children are quite upset and are trying to reestablish Santa in their child’s mind. One grandmother said, "I think this is awful. If it happened to my granddaughter, I'd tell her [that] her teacher made a mistake, and there is a Santa."

Although we never told our kids there was a Santa, nor did we pretend there was, I still don’t think it is the teacher’s place to break the news. I’m not sure why we think it’s good to start a young child’s life out with a blatant lie perpetuated by parents, but most people go along with the Santa gig. Of course with religious symbols being increasingly banned and even Christmas trees now being called Holiday trees, I suppose it all fits to support the Santa Claus theme.

The article didn’t say what would happen to the teacher. The superintendent said it was being handled internally. I suppose that is the world we live in. It’s okay to teach homosexuality and such to second graders but don’t tell them that Santa isn’t real. In my view, neither subject is the job of a second grade teacher.