Author: ojlowe

Mr. Lowe, we have a question for you! Every year, as a fourth and fifth grade teacher, the same question would inevitably come up in a class discussion. There truly was no way to avoid it as circumstances always led us down the same road. In the weeks after Thanksgiving, there were too many projects and problems that needed to mention all of the holidays- especially Christmas. Inevitably, it would come up amongst friends, or in a small discussion amongst a group hanging out at recess- Is Santa Real?

With this one question came great responsibility- the hopes, dreams, and innocence of not just my students, but also their parents, who were able to keep the innocence their child up to this point. I also had to keep my reputation as a teacher with whom every student could trust. With that being said, here is what I would always tell my students:

Is Santa Real? My answer to that is a simple YES! I know there are some of you that will disagree, but let me explain. Almost each and every one of you want to discuss this question as if Santa is classified as 1 person, but what if he is not? I honestly believe in Santa, because there are many things that happen that have no other explanation other than there IS a Santa Claus.

Let’s first look at the history of Christmas- As a holiday, it is one of a few that is celebrated around the world! It is not like the Fourth of July, or Thanksgiving, where it is only celebrated in the United States. It is celebrated like New Year’s Eve, which means that it is something that places all over the world relate to. There is something special about Christmas that has touched people on every Continent. This was not done through television, radio, or the internet. Somehow every continent has been touched enough to celebrate Santa.

Next, can any of you tell me another time during the year where everyone seems to be more giving? People are willing to give to the poor, donate toys to the less fortunate, and even sacrifice for others at the cost for themselves. When else do you see so many people go out of their way to be cheerful and helpful?  Notice people holding doors more of others? Notice folks saying Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, etc…?  Why? There is no requirement for any of us to be kinder, or even to donate. So why does this happen at this time of year? Especially when they say that the winter season is a time where many people are depressed and the cold season brings about negative feelings?

Lastly, while everyone is concerned about the presents that will appear under your tree, let us think about presents that will be under trees around the world. There are presents that appear under trees that are unexplained. Even under your own tree, you have or will experience presents from which no one has any idea where they came from. Around the world, there will definitely be presents that will appear under trees from which the family members to not know where they came. Yes, it will be because of those who donated toys and gifts, but remember, without the willingness to give in the first place, these presents would not be there.

So- Why do I believe in Santa? Because I do believe that there was a person who was able to spread the love of giving and compassion. This person was so influential that his spirit continued to live on and spread throughout the world. Today, there are people who continue to spread this love and we are all the recipients of it every year at this time. I hope each and every one of you will continue to spread the same type of love as you grow up- but don’t just do so during the Holiday Season, but throughout the year! So Is there a Santa? Yes, but I don’t believe he is a person today, but even better, a Spirit that lives in all of us!

Throughout my years of teaching, I never received a complaint from any parents, and received a lot of love from my students about this view. I am a true believer and hope that every kid can have the magical dream of Santa for as long as they live!

Feel free to Share, Like, or Comment!

This past weekend had an interesting conversation brought up by my son about events that are taking place in the classroom. Mind you that he is in 6th Grade, and we all know what the Middle School atmosphere is like with all of the hormones and maturity changes the students are going through. So it was no surprise as I heard him talk about books being picked up from students’ desks and being dropped onto the floor for no particular reason. For him to add that there are mood swings where individuals are nice one minute, then raising their voice in accusation of students doing wrong the next minute is also not alarming. However, if you learned that these among other actions were perpetrated by the teacher, would this surprise you?

Surprisingly, I don’t believe that most of us would be surprised to learn this, and as a matter of fact, we would all be able to flood our memories of teachers from our past who felt the need to incorporate these tactics into their own classrooms. Is it simply the position of power that allows for these teachers to get away with such action? If a student in the room was to walk around and dump another student’s books onto the floor would this be tolerated? Would it be tolerated for a fellow classmate to voice derogatory remarks and accusations towards students in the class? So why is it tolerated that a teacher be allowed to do so?

There is nothing wrong with having high standards and expectations from students in terms of proper behavior, and I for one, support and encourage it. However, we should not lose sight on the fact that we are talking about kids, and kids are not perfect. There should be an expectation that kids will test the boundaries of the rules, and will also simply make a mistake and break rules at some point. This is an expectation that all teachers, administrators, and parents should have regarding their kids. They should also expect that students who do break the rules need to have consequences for their actions! I believe we all agree with this point.

If you have ever had to present or speak in front of a group of teachers, you have definitely experienced the lack of respect they show upon themselves. Ironically, teachers will be disrespectful, as if imitating their students, by displaying the same behavior they despise from their own students within their own classrooms. If a presenter walked around the room taking the teacher belongings from the tables and dumping them on the floor, how do you think the audience would react? What if the presenter called out an audience member for not paying attention, or for talking during his or her presentation?

So then WHY is a teacher allowed to behave inappropriately without the same expectations? Even as the responsible adult in the room, it can be expected that he or she will make a mistake in judgement when dealing with the classroom environment every day of the school year. Should a lapse in judgement happen, everyone would agree that there would be consequences to be accepted. Why does this lapse in judgement have to be a major incident? Why do we consider actions like: Dumping books on the floor, throwing erasers, name calling, false accusations, crumpling up a student’s work, kicking book bags, etc- to be acceptable behavior from our teachers? Teachers are to be the leaders of the classroom and school environment. Teachers are to be held to a higher level of respect. Allowing such petty behavior to be displayed by a teacher in the classroom should never be tolerated. The classroom should be a safe haven for each and every student to learn and pursue their education! Don’t just leave it up to the students to speak up, if you know of a colleague that is tarnishing the reputation of being an educator, speak up!

Please, Feel Free to Like, Share, and Comment