Story 2

Ok so we’re back for Story Time! This is another school story. I’m not going to lie, I thought about mixing the stories up to try to get one that’s a little more spicy, but I guess we’re just going to get spicier as we go. 

Today’s story is the Tale of the Great Santa Claus Debate. I tell this story often, because it still blows my mind. 

The year was 2015. It was December. I was a first year teacher at my school and I had the best class ever!!! No lie guys, 2015 was a great year for your girl. My favorite story of all time took place in this year, as well. LOL I’m not going to retell it, but you can find it here. 

Anyway, I had to use the bathroom so I called to see if anyone was available to watch my kids for a minute. I turned on these color word songs  for the kids to sing and dance to while I took a potty break. 

It was a standard routine- I gotta pee, call someone to cover, busy the kids, come back and continue the lesson. Nothing can go wrong from a simple routine potty break, right? WRONG!

I came back and couldn’t believe my eyes. My class was split down the middle. A group on one side and a group on the other with the poor teacher- who was new- standing at the front of the room with panic in her eyes. Before I could ask her what happened, the kids started yelling. I was about to stop them, but a kid said “Santa is real, he brings me presents!” More arguing ensued. The groups of kids started yelling back and forth across the room. It was actually a thing of beauty. While they were still going, I asked the teacher how they ended up like this. She said the color song for “black” said something about Santa’s black boots and the rest is history.

At this time, my school was mostly Turkish. A lot of the Turkish families do not celebrate Christmas and do not believe in Santa Claus. My class at this time was ⅓ Turkish, ⅓ White, and ⅓ black and hispanic. 

I returned my attention to the students just in time to hear one of my favorite students utter something I will never forget, “Santa isn’t even fat. He’s a skinny guy that puts a pillow in his shirt and takes pictures with kids at the mall.” I had to shut it down. Students were looking at me. I said Santa comes to your house if you believe he does. End of Discussion. 

I tried to get them to settle back down, but my mind was still stuck on what just happened. The level of skills I witnessed was astonishing. Presenting arguments, presenting rebuttals, conversational turn taking...from 5 year olds!!!! 

I am scarred, though. Anytime Santa Claus is mentioned in my room, I shut it down right away. Santa comes to your house if you believe he will. The end!

Two stories down, three stories to go! If you missed yesterday's story, you can read it here.