Theresa Farrisi stood in for Schaeffer’s regular music teacher one day last week. One of her assignments was to read Clement C. Moore’s famous poem, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” to a first-grade class at Lickdale Elementary School.
“The poem has great literary value, but it goes against my conscience to teach something which I know to be false to children, who are impressionable,” said Farrisi, 43, of Myerstown. “It’s a story. I taught it as a story. There’s no real person called Santa Claus living at the North Pole.”
Farrisi doesn’t believe in Santa Claus, and she doesn’t think anyone else should, either. She made her feelings clear to the classroom full of 6- and 7-year-olds, some of whom went home crying.
Whoa! What the hell!
Okay kids listen to your Uncle Gryphen. Santa Claus is real! It is President Bush who is make believe! Okay!
You know I have worked with children my entire adult life and I know what an emotional minefield it can be to work with a room full of children with different beliefs when it comes to Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, whether or not Social Security will be there for them when they retire, etc., etc.. You have to be hyper sensitive to the needs of the children in your care. My basic rule is to never disagree with Mommy and Daddy. No matter how incredibly stupid the parents are you have to back them up.
"Well Johhny I guess if your Daddy told you that babies come from drinking too much beer then he probably knows what he is talking about."
Don't worry about them there are plenty of therapists and mind altering substances to get them through their adult years. You can't save the world. (Did this post just go to a dark place?)
I would like to point out that it looks like Santa died right before Bush took office. Coincidence ?
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