Teacher Laid Off For Telling the Truth About Santa 26
Pfhorrest writes "The Times Online reports, "A supply teacher has been told not to return to one primary school after she told a class of seven-year-olds that Santa Claus did not exist. Children at Blackshaw Lane Primary School in Oldham were talking about Christmas when the teacher came out with the news. Father Christmas was not responsible for delivering their presents on Christmas Eve, the pupils were taught. The teacher, who had been drafted in for just the day, has now been told not to come back. Parents complained to the school after their children returned home to recount what they had learned in lessons that day." With all the contention about teaching religion (or the lack thereof) in schools these days, what do you all think about similar issues regarding more frivolous popular folklore like Santa Claus?" And what about Cthulhu? Should a 7-year-old be forewarned that he will eventually exist in a world of sublime madness at the whim of the ancient ones?
Supplies (Score:1)
"A supply teacher has been told not to return to one primary school ..."
"Supply" teacher? In what country/planet do they teach 7 year olds about supply chain management?
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In case this isn't a troll, it's UKian-English for "substitute teacher". As in, a fill-in from a generic supply, and not the main teacher. Also, the supply teacher wasn't laid off; just asked not to return to that school.
Glad she isn't coming back (Score:2)
I suppose you could make all sorts of legalistic, pedantic arguments about why what she did was justifiable. But at the end of the day, it's just a mean thing to do. Why would we want someone like this teaching seven year olds?
I dunno, if it happened to our 5 year old I probably wouldn't put up too much of a stink. I'm sure my wife and I would vent to each other about how stupid it was. I guess the subversive thing to do would be to just tell our son, "Oh she's just mean, you don't need to list to that
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
I suppose you could make all sorts of legalistic, pedantic arguments about why what she did was justifiable.
Because, you know... it's the truth?
Lying to your children is still lying, and it's a sin acording to the same bible where the christams celebration is _supposed_ to come from (putting aside the fact that originally was a pagan celebration).
Sorry, but christmas is not a celebration where "Santa brings you gifts", its the celebration of the event when hope came down to the damned humanity. Its the celebration of the freedom of the whole human race against their own sins.
I'm so sick of this thinkofthechildren
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You seem to think that allowing children to be ignorant of the harsh realities of the real world is a bad thing, which just means you're a selfish, spiteful person or more likely someone who hasn't had to face a lot of hardship. Apparently you are religious (because you proclaim Christmas is supposed to be a holy day) and you critique other people for raising their kids in a "world that would make Hello Kitty's Fantasy Island look like a cruel plac
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Now?
Christmas was non-Christian LONG before is was a Christian holiday. Moving it to a more inclusive 'winter holiday' is actually taking it BACK.
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I'm not hell bent of destroying children's childhood, but I think that lying to children is just plain wrong
You apparently don't have children, nor interact with them. You also don't interact much with women. Sometimes, things must be "oversimplified" to keep their illusory world up and running. Children are not yet developmentally ready for the psychological burdens of sexuality, disease, death, hatred, and the like. Their world is one where magic still exists, adult matters are unneccessary and boring, and the purpose of life is clear.
You think you are happier with your illusions dispelled, life crapped up
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Children are not yet developmentally ready for the psychological burdens of
I doubt that is the true reason (at least not for Santa in 2nd Grade). I suspect it is more that the parents are the ones not "ready", but that still doesn't change the truth in your post. (IE it is not a simple decision to be made in 5 minutes by a substitute teacher who doesn't have to live with the long term results.)
in my experience the shattering of these illusions is always harder on the parents, so they delay these concepts (like sex, drugs, death, etc) well beyond the needed developmental stage of
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I would actually go the other way and suggest that it is the forced innocence of children that is doing the harm.
Over the last few decades we have been shoving this innocence thing down children's throats, forcing them to have warped views of themselves, their abilities, and the world, LONG past when nature would have. The end result being a couple generations of people developing coping mechanisms far too late in life since they were not exposed to things in time.
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Children are supposed to remain children for as long as possible, and fucking assholes like you should die in a fire for being hell bent on cutting that time short.
And the way people raise kids these days that extends well into adulthood. Being a child doesn't mean protecting them from any evidence that the world can be an cruel and unfair place. It's called growing up. It should start shortly after birth. Having innocent dreams shattered is part of that growing up process.
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Stupid Parents (Score:2)
Being Jewish in this Christian country (Christmas is a "secular" holiday? Riiiight...), my wife and I had to solve the issue of what to tell our kids about Santa when they were young. On the one hand, we were not comfortable lying to them, but on the other hand, we did not think it was fair to their Christian friends' families for us to send them to school saying, "I know something you don't know! Santa Claus is fake. I have proof!"
While I'll never understand why Christians find it so damaging to a chil
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Actually, what teachers should teach, and I think you agree, would prevent seeing the nonexistence of holocaust as merely a myth rather than the falsehood it is. Teachers should teach that good thinking requires fact checking, coherent thaught and questioning statements. And
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Well yes, the holocaust happened, but that doesn't stop some teachers from teaching that it didn't and in some places it actually is considered controversial. There are plenty of people in both America and the UK who honestly believe it never happened and rail when they hear about such 'lies' being taught in school. It doesn't help things that over the last few decades schools have been caught teaching official lies (Gulf of Tonkin being an example) which gives a lot of ammunition to the holocaust deniers
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I remember when I was 7... (Score:1)
and we had our first Christmas at school. My peers in the class were all talking about this dude Santa... when I got home I asked my dad that my class mates got their presents from a dude called Santa... My dad replied... "Son you get you presents from me and your mom. End of story."
Yes as a catholic the whole St. Claus is VERY different if taught the right way.
In any event I for one like the truth approach rather than some mumbo jumbo wool over my eyes carp.
Lying is never good but it is even worse to lie t
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Maybe I should have a sticker on my car with flashy catchy font saying
"SANTA IS DEAD!!!"
fire the parents... (Score:2)