Friday, December 20, 2013

WIRTW #301 (the “shattered dreams” edition)


When I was 9 years old, I ruined Christmas for a neighbor when I spilled the beans that Santa Claus wasn’t real. I still feel bad about it to this day.

Flash forward thirty years. Buzz Lightyear has played a huge role in my family. He’s my 5-year-old son’s hero. He helped get Donovan through some tough medical issues in his young life. To Donovan, Buzz is very real … or was very real until his Kindergarten teacher thought it was a good idea to share with the class that the characters at Disney World aren’t real, but just people wearing costumes.

I was stunned. Where the hell does anyone get the right to ruin my kid’s dream. If he wants to think Buzz Lightyear is as real as President Obama, who am I to say otherwise. What’s the harm in a little boy having a dream? When did kids stop having the right to be kids?

After talking to the teacher, I learned that it’s part of the “common core curriculum” to discuss the difference between real and imaginary, and some of the kids asked about Disney as an example. Could she have handled it differently? Absolutely. Should have softened the blow or deflected the question so that the kids who still want to believe in the Disney magic can do so? Yup. Regardless, I remain bummed that part of my child’s childhood has been taken away.

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Discrimination
Social Media & Workplace Technology
HR & Employee Relations
Wage & Hour
Labor Relations