Teaching Profession

Teacher’s Santa Faux Pas

By Francesca Duffy — December 14, 2011 1 min read
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A teacher in Nanuet, N.Y., recently made headlines after she told her 2nd grade class that there is no Santa Claus. Much to the chagrin of parents, Leatrice Ann Eng broke the news while referencing the North Pole during a geography lesson.

According to the New York Post, the district superintendent said the matter is being handled internally. Several papers also report that Eng has called each of the students’ parents to apologize.

Irene Hoffman, whose three kids attend the school, told the Post that while Eng’s actions were in the wrong, the community should put the whole thing behind them. “I think we should focus on our children’s education, and just move on,” says Hoffman.

In an opinion piece for Fox News Latino, reporter Roxana Soto lashed out against the teacher’s “audacity":

First of all, no teacher has the right to tell my daughter in what or in whom she can believe. The primary role of a teacher is to educate my daughter and although this means more than just teaching a subject such as history or math, it does not mean that she has permission to get into a business that only concerns me.

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Teaching Now blog.