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Ho-Ho-Hogwash

A teacher at George W. Miller Elementary School in Nanuet, N.Y., has apologized after an incident while teaching geography. As she was teaching about the Arctic, her second-graders said they knew about the north pole because that’s where Santa Claus lived. In response, teacher Leatrice Ann Eng told the 7-year-olds there was no Santa Claus, and Christmas gifts just came from their parents. The uproar hit newspaper front pages, and school officials just don’t want to talk about it. “This matter is being discussed internally, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further,” said Superintendent Mark McNeill. “The people who live in this town are sick and tired of hearing about it,” claims Maureen Nicolich of the local PTA, telling a reporter to “Drop it.” (RC/White Plains Journal) ...School teachers should know the importance of maintaining fictions — such as the efficacy of standardized testing.
Original Publication Date: 25 December 2011
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 18.

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