Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Capt. Pork on December 06, 2003, 12:46:43 PM
-
MIRAMAR, Fla., Dec. 4 — As far as some Florida parents are concerned, first-grade teacher Geneta Codner is a true grinch after she told her class that Santa Claus was “make-believe.”
SANDRA JOLLY said her 6-year-old son’s Christmas was spoiled when the substitute teacher made the statement in class on Monday.
“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.”
D.J.’s teacher was reading a story about the Tooth Fairy when the class started discussing what was real and what was not, said district spokesman Joe Donzelli.
When the subject of Santa came up, the teacher started questioning parts of his story — How could a fat jolly man fit down a chimney? How could reindeer fly around the world in one night? — and told the children that wasn’t possible.
“It’s all been blown out of proportion,” Codner said. “I’m sorry (parents) think I meant it that way. We were just having a discussion. I don’t know where all this hurt came from.”
The teacher said none of the children acted upset or sad during class.
But Jolly and others disagree.
“How do you destroy a 6-year-old like that?” said Pam Sturt, whose son Bradley is in D.J.’s class.
Donzelli said the school’s principal “had a real stern conversation” with the teacher. But there will be no written reprimand because she did not violate any school district policy.
“We have no Santa clause,” Donzelli said. “We would think that teachers would use better judgment.”
I'm kinda on the fence about this one. I grew up in an agnostic/ Jewish household, and never believed in any fat guys, rabbits or fairies. Gifts were always from family members, even when my friends assured me they were from magical entities. I never minded that and things turned out fine. Now, however, I have two nephews, age 4 and 7, who are growing in very different surroundings. I think that they too will be fine but I soemtimes wonder how and when they're going to come upon the truth about childhood myths. Most kids, I hope, figure things out on their own. Many do get the bad news from older children or adults... Is there any inherent trauma to be associated with this dawning of reality? Can that mother that was quoted honestly believe that prematurely letting a young child in on the harsh truth actually damage that child in some way? Seems a bit overzealous to me. Perhaps the trauma in this case is felt more by the parents because they weren't the ones spilling the beans about Santa.
Thoughts?
-
It would have been nice of the teacher to understand that kids these ages still believe in Santa because that is usually what their parents want them to believe.
The Teacher should have been diplomatic and sidestepped the Santa issue.
However, in this 'lets sue everything and everybody to get rich' day and age, kids learning about Santa not being real is not going to traumatize them.
Seems the parents crying about "destroying" their kids are just looking for some excuse probably to sue.
LOL, I haven't seen any cases where criminals blame their childhood on when they found out about Santa being fake as being the reason they turned to criminal activity.
-
The whole Santa issue should be left to the parents. I'm not surprised that parents are upset by this teacher's actions. But it sure isn't a legal issue...if anyone goes to court over this I will :rolleyes: a whole lot.
-
what.... no santa
-
there should be magic in childhood.
otherwise you end up a liberal and posting in this BBS.
:(
-
Or you end up being a gun lobbyist and you shoot him as he comes down the chimney 'cos you think he's a burglar ;)
Ravs
-
LOL, she was having a "discussion" with first graders?
-
Originally posted by GScholz
Santa is a product of the Coca-Cola Company.
lol:lol
-
Originally posted by OIO
there should be magic in childhood.
otherwise you end up a liberal and posting in this BBS.
:(
Who's the liberal?
-
Good heavens! Imagine a teacher telling the truth and promoting rational thought!
Burn her! Pretty soon her work, if it continues, will make religious and political indoctrination so much harder. We might have to abuse our kids excessively to mold them into what we want them to be if she continues this work!
And I'm real. It's doable coz I got a FW-190D9 and I break a lot of chimneys.
-
Originally posted by StSanta
Good heavens! Imagine a teacher telling the truth and promoting rational thought!
THEY WERE 6 YEARS OLD.
wtf is wrong with you? This is clearly something that is up to a parent to decide, not some dumb ****ing teacher.
-
If he comes down the chimney you won't have to shoot him cause he won't be able to get past the damper.
lazs
-
Originally posted by StSanta
Good heavens! Imagine a teacher telling the truth and promoting rational thought!
Burn her! Pretty soon her work, if it continues, will make religious and political indoctrination so much harder. We might have to abuse our kids excessively to mold them into what we want them to be if she continues this work!
And I'm real. It's doable coz I got a FW-190D9 and I break a lot of chimneys.
I have a 6 year old. I would have had her a**. You are an a**. This has nothing to do with religion, this has to do with the mindset of a young mind, in the idea of fanciful belief.
You know, children grow up into cynical adults faster and faster. The time that they have as innocents is so short, made even shorter by some of the cruelty in the world. I love seeing my son get excited about a cheap Mall Santa. To him he represents the spirit of the season. If it wasn't for Danny I probably would be just as cynical and depressing as you are. There wouldn't be lights on the home, there wouldn't be stockings on the mantle, heck I probably wouldn't put up a tree.
I hope you don't have young children. I would hate to see what kind of cynical adults they will turn into.
-
Originally posted by wklink
I have a 6 year old. I would have had her a**. You are an a**. This has nothing to do with religion, this has to do with the mindset of a young mind, in the idea of fanciful belief.
You know, children grow up into cynical adults faster and faster. The time that they have as innocents is so short, made even shorter by some of the cruelty in the world. I love seeing my son get excited about a cheap Mall Santa. To him he represents the spirit of the season. If it wasn't for Danny I probably would be just as cynical and depressing as you are. There wouldn't be lights on the home, there wouldn't be stockings on the mantle, heck I probably wouldn't put up a tree.
I hope you don't have young children. I would hate to see what kind of cynical adults they will turn into.
Don't answer idiocy with more idiocy, Klink. You thank your young son for a fresh new perspective. Good. Maybe a child is exactly what this other dude needs to lose some of that alleged cynicism. Personally, I think that the holidays don't require all the ritualistic hoopla. Understanding the concepts of giving and gratitude and the wealth of family is just enough, no matter what age you are.
-
Originally posted by SOB
LOL, she was having a "discussion" with first graders?
kinda like hanging around this bbs!
-
Originally posted by Animal
kinda like hanging around this bbs!
so who are you??? the weird kid in the corner who pisses his pants twice a day?
:p :p :D
it probably didnt destroy the kid...he would have stopped beleiveing in santa in a couple years anyway...
as has been said...its up to the parents
-
I'm the kid who eats glue and bent his wookie.
-
Originally posted by Animal
I'm the kid who eats glue and bent his wookie.
I don't know about everyone else, but I nominate Animal to start coming down chimneys and depositing whatever he wants, wherever he wants, as often as he wants, with the exception of my house. Thanks.
-
Pork, I don't think my thread was idiocy. Children go through some developmental changes, one of them is where kids have fanciful or 'magical' thinking. It has been a while since some of my child development classes but I remember that things like imaginary friends, the tooth fairy, Santa, and believing Michael Jackson is a normal heterosexual male is very common to these small children.
They grow out of it quickly. Most 8 year olds don't believe in Santa anymore. By 10 I doubt that any really do. This isn't like some disease that won't get better over time. There is no pressing NEED to tell 6 year olds that Santa isn't a real live human being. What good is gained from it?
Your right, they don't need all the ritualistic hoopla, it's not as important as the concepts of giving and gratitude. Santa teaches that IMHO. It certainly teaches that there is love in this world that transends borders and races, at least that is what I teach. I guess that is a bad thing, it must be stopped in the schools before it spreads to the world.
-
Lol, like i would believe you!
If there is no Santa then tell me who in the hell puts all those presents under x-mas tree while my parents and i am asleep huh!!!!1
-
Originally posted by wklink
Pork, I don't think my thread was idiocy. Children go through some developmental changes, one of them is where kids have fanciful or 'magical' thinking. It has been a while since some of my child development classes but I remember that things like imaginary friends, the tooth fairy, Santa, and believing Michael Jackson is a normal heterosexual male is very common to these small children.
They grow out of it quickly. Most 8 year olds don't believe in Santa anymore. By 10 I doubt that any really do. This isn't like some disease that won't get better over time. There is no pressing NEED to tell 6 year olds that Santa isn't a real live human being. What good is gained from it?
Your right, they don't need all the ritualistic hoopla, it's not as important as the concepts of giving and gratitude. Santa teaches that IMHO. It certainly teaches that there is love in this world that transends borders and races, at least that is what I teach. I guess that is a bad thing, it must be stopped in the schools before it spreads to the world.
Klink, I was only refering to the sentence where you said that you hope he doesn't have kids. I do agree with you, fundamentally. But if your child has taught you something valuable then I think the same should opportunity should be afforded to others as well. True, there is no pressing need to blow the cover story and if Santa does a better job of instilling some inherent goodness in young children then the fable deserves to be repeated. Furthermore, I know many adults who, despite many years of reality, still enjoy the symbols of Christmas, albeit more as environmental elements. Santa to them goes right along with the other sites, smells and sounds of the season, just like the short days, the snow(geographically allowing), the singing and the tree. I understand that it's all in good fun and even though I'm Jewish and never had the benefit of Santa in my home as a child, I do admit that seeing the icons of Christmas popping up all around makes me feel good inside.
Anyway, I think the true issue here is that a teacher of 1st graders has no right to make the decision for the parents, and that's been the consensus here for the most part. And no, by no means can we allow the image of Michael Jackson into the collective subconscious as an example of a normal adult male.
-
The schoolboard has reached a desision in the Teacher Santa issue last week.
There will be no punishment for the teacher because after looking over the teachers contract, There was no Santa "Clause" in the contract.
IKON
-
SANTA's REAL DAM*IT
-
Children should be allowed to be children for as long as possible. All too soon they'll find their way into the so-called "adult" world. Adults should endeavor to preserve the magic of childhood.
As far as the teacher is concerned, a simple "I don't know" would have sufficed to any question about the authenticity of Santa. The dimwit.
Shuckins
-
WKlink; Pork:
I haven't posted much here lately and haven't flown Ah for longer. As such you're probably not familiar with my posting style or personality.
The post was a quick jab meant to spur thought or even emotions. It does contain a grain of truth underneath its crooked smile. When I do posts like this, the intent is usually "ok, let's flip the coin around and take a look, let's see what we can say about that". In this particular case i also meant to say "dudes: the sky isn't falling. This is a minor thing. We know we have good, decent lives when Santa's existence become a matter of great importance worth notice in newspapers. Let's count our blessings for a bit".
I believe it should be the parents task to let their kids know that Santa is make believe (unless the kids work it out themselves) - much like you believe. However, I cannot be angry at the teacher. her example with Santa might not have been the most perfect one, but her intent is good.
Incidentally I believe it is possible to foster rational thought while at the same time retaining a vivid imagination.
My apologies for the misunderstandings my post created.
Ah, and little chance of me getting kids. Am 28 and kids sort of scare me - my brother has 4. Maybe it'll be different if they were my own. However, I must feel mature enough for such a great task before I take it upon me. And then there's the fact that I'm a bum - a pretty ugly one - so the procreation part of the equation must also be solved :D
Oh yeah; thanks for sticking out for me Pork: warms my heart that someone took my side. And yes, I can be way too cynical at times. I'm working very hard to combat it though. Not easy, always.
-
Don't be so hard on yourself StSanta. You seem pretty eloquent for a self-proclaimed bum. Can't say much about your looks as I've never seen you before but I what I have seen are some pretty nasty looking motherf***ers with nice families. As for the not being ready for parenthood part, well, I'm there with you. I'm physically younger than you by a couple years and probably even more so when it comes to mental maturity. My personal belief, which comes only from observing and talking to others, is that being 'ready' for parenthood is a fallacy. First off, pregnancy still takes many by surprise. And even when planned, people who claim to be ready to be a mom or a dad can claim, with equal validity, that they're ready to grow a third leg, or perhaps to take up a new life underwater, or in the air with the birds. It's an all-encompassing shift in reality and although plenty people out there may be ready for certain elements of parenthood, I doubt anybody can truly understand the extent of the situation if they've never entered into it before. There are simply too many variables.
Anyway, don't want to belabor this whole sub-topic. Take it easy y'all, and take it easy on the stupid teacher too. She may have been wrong but something tells me she just hadn't prepared herself for the conversation and couldn't bring herself to lie to the children's faces, even if it was a kind-hearted, good-natured lie that so many of us perpetrate for the sake of conserving childhood innocence for just a little bit longer.
-
I told my daughter at 8 there was no Santa. It crushed her for weeks, not because there was no Santa, but because, in her words, "there was no magic in the world". No unicorns, no mermaids, no talking dogs.
We worked through it by my explaining that there was magic, actually, but it was up to each person to make it so. Once she realized what I was saying, she was fine, and still "believes" in magic. She makes it true through drawing and story writing, and would never dream of telling her little sister any different.
It was a hard thing, but it worked out for the best. She was just too smart for me to lie to her anymore about anything. My youngest at 7 is also approaching the day and I will handle it the same way.
-
Originally posted by Capt. Pork
I don't know about everyone else, but I nominate Animal to start coming down chimneys and depositing whatever he wants, wherever he wants, as often as he wants, with the exception of my house. Thanks.
:lol :rofl :lol classic:aok
-
I think some of you are blowing this WAY UP. From what it sounds like the teacher (who was a sub to begin with) was reading a book and the kids started asking questions.
I HAVE KIDS.....WITH THEM EVERYTHING IS A DISCUSSION UNTILL I THROW IN "BECAUSE I SAID SO"
What if half the class allready knows santa is "alegedly" fake....how are you gonna protect the other half....
I agree with letting kids be kids but come on this aint gonna destroy anyone.