School Chaplin Ruins Christmas.

"Dad,is santa really you?" asked my 7yo the other night,not answering him directly, he says poor people dont get presents because their mums and dads cant afford them.Intrigued i ask where he got that idea.
My son does not attend the religious class's our small school offers thru the national school chaplaincy program.
But attending a small rural primary school, of course all the kids talk. The whole community talks.
After discussions with a concerned parent they revealed to me that her children 6 and 8 yo had been told by the school Chaplin that santa was not true and that poor people and orphans didnt get xmas presents because parents could not afford them.
The religious class caters for prep to grade six,and end's in lollies and chocolates for those that attend.
So for the few young ones that still believed in the magic of Santa,their magic has just been stripped from them.

The school Chaplin backed up this doozy with a request for xmas gifts, for the under privileged in the school news letter.
My children attend a Victorian STATE school.

I believe the parents rights have been troddon here,and this would classify as a breach of Duty under the school chaplaincy "code of conduct".

I will inform you of developments.

Related issue and reading.highcourtchallenge.com...

sorry..but I have to agree with the chaplain.. we have been lying to kids for too long about santa..and its time it stopped. Christmas can still be magical without the lies.

I know when I was a child it confused me to no end when Santa brought very expensive gifts for other families..and I wondered why he didn't like our family as much. I was devastated in a childs way to find out from my grandma that there was no santa..and my parents who had always drilled into all of us kids not to lie...had themselves been lying to us all along.

I decided to tell my kids at a very young age..preschool...that Santa was folklore, and he could have existed at sometime ..but really wasn't real now..same as the Easter bunny.

So..I ask you..should we expect a chaplain to lie to our children?

It is a parents decision to play the santa game,no one else's.
While iam not big on the santa fraud myself,it is a parents right.
Now all the children that DONT attend their religious preaching, know all about Santa as well, as it is only a school of 45 students,3 class rooms, about 25 students attend the religious class.
This is not about Santa its about the parents right to choose.
Personally a character created by capitalism to promote consumerism is how i see him.However the right of the parent has been compromised.

That's not the worst way to learn there's no Santa.

Case in point, when I was 4, my parents told me they were getting a divorce. Being near Christmas, I asked "How will Santa know where to bring the presents?"

My mom....."There is no Santa!"

WAH WAH WAH

We are not speaking of one child,where the issue comes from the parent.
We are talking the entire school student population.
If the parent has no right to choose, then what right does the religious educator have to think otherwise?Are they empowered to teach that santa is not true.

Originally posted by iceblue20-12
We are not speaking of one child,where the issue comes from the parent.
We are talking the entire school student population.
If the parent has no right to choose, then what right does the religious educator have to think otherwise?Are they empowered to teach that santa is not true.

Since when is it a parents right to lie to their kids?..

If I tell my children that fairies brought them from another planet..is that ok..because I am the parent?

Trust me..those kids will respect the chaplain much more later in life..when they realize he had enough respect for them NOT TO LIE to them.

I disagree. Telling the truth about santa was a class act.

reply to post by gabby2011

I totally agree with u i attended catholic school and didnt find out santa was a lie until i was 13! When there is so much truth regarding aliens and ghosts dont lie to your kids about something totally unreal it really affected me to learn my parents lied and kept up the easter bunny and santa lie to me for so long! It was my grandmother aswell who told me the truth.

How did the most sacred day in Christianity come to be associated with a magical elf, evergreen trees, and flying reindeer? The answer may surprise you...

Google

Tryptamines and God

Santa is no more fantasy than what the religious teacher preaches.
There is no room for religion in STATE schools,it is against our constitution.

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA CONSTITUTION ACT - SECT 116
Commonwealth not to legislate in respect of religion

The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.

The issue of religion in STATE schools is currently before the high court.
highcourtchallenge.com...

Originally posted by iceblue20-12

The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.

Sounds like having a religious studies class will not break any of those criteria.

reply to post by 547000


The State governments of Vic,NSW,QLD,SA,WA and Tas beg to differ and are supporting the action.

highcourtchallenge.com...

reply to post by iceblue20-12


I understand where you are coming from in general....Many things about religion can't really be proven..and yet they feel its ok to feed that to the children..but yet tell them santa is made up. Makes a parent feel like they don't have the choice in how to raise their kids.

I have some strong feelings about the "santa story" because it affected me as a child , and I was so sure my parents would never have lied to us about something like that..

Thinking on what the whole message of your post was about...I can most certainly see why you are upset. Its that scary feeling that the state has more rights on what they teach your flesh and blood, then you do.

Are you upset becuase he told your kids the truth?
Wanting your children to belive in santa (or god) is pretty pathetic.

I remember when I was like 10.. There was like a 7 or 8 year old around the neighborhood.. We played with water guns and what not..

eventually later in the year I told him Santa Clause wasn't real. You cannot believe how upset this kid was.. I wasn't a poor kid, but his family was probably a bit better off than my own.

His crying got so loud that I eventually told him that I was just joking.