Sounds much more like the guy was teaching about the things surrounding the myths and stories. Sounds like TEACHING to me. Sounds like educating them. Sounds like what I can learn watching the December European shows that Rick Steves puts out, where his son "plays" sinter claus with some other local kids.
To me, the Santa isn't real part is just part of it, where the guy was discussing really interesting things.
It's really not a teacher's job to tell my kids things like that.
If he was teaching things, it just goes along with the lesson.
Perhaps they were starting to learn some traditional european December-time songs?
I can't either.
I would let it go. At that age he probably assumed the kids already knew Santa wasn't real.
Seriously.
The only 'line' that was crossed was the separation of church and state.
Except...what does Santa have to do with the church? Not much!
I agree, these years go by so fast, I love that DD believes in Santa, tooth fairy, Easter Bunny, and Disney characters. I love that she has a little imagination, I wouldn't want another adult to ruin that for her, they are only innocent for such a short period of time.
Um..those things defined as "innocent"...those are LIES adults make up and tell children. That's not "innocence", that's taking advantage of the trusting nature of children, just to make for cute adorable moments.
Just like when I told DS that Comcast turned the cable off from x to y hours during the day, telling kids that Santa knows when you are sleeping is something to take the pressure off of us adults, so that WE are not the ones blamed when Blues Clues can't be watched or we can't afford as many presents this year as last.
It's not innocence.
And trust me, if a kid WANTS to believe in these things, the kid will. I wasn't brought up with Santa being real (a strange man breaking into the house in the middle of the night, I don't think so, not for a little girl with a father who abused her mother!) and I hadn't made it real for DS, but during his year of being 4 he flat out told me that I'm wrong and Santa DOES exist. Then he turned 5 and told me that Santa was me. We've never called the Disney characters real...we've called them "characters", and he's gone back and forth on whether he believes in them as "real" or not. Even when he's on a "not" kick, he still LOVES them. Still hugs them, still smiles hugely when he sees them. Even when he comments on their zippers.
Innocence doesn't go out the window b/c there's no belief in things that aren't real. And in fact, when a parent has done the Santa/Disney character flat out lie for years, it's not belief in the characters that *can* crush a child, it's the fact that they can't really trust their parents to tell the truth that *can* mess with some kids' heads... That's the innocence-destroyer, IMO.
Just do NOT ask me about the tooth fairy. That's the one area that I'm really conflicted on, LOL. But DS says that I'm his tooth fairy, and he's already putting in tentative requests for when that is relevant, LOL. Hey, at least I'm honest with being back and forth!
And to the person who said librarians/teachers shouldn't tell kids that things at Disneyworld aren't true, turn that around? What if I as a teacher/librarian (which I am) told my students that EVERY character in the storybooks and at WDW WAS true? I'd be fired so fast my head would roll!
So true!
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