It was only two nights after Christmas and both kids were tucked away in bed. Then the older of the two came from her bedroom and, doing all that she could to contain her tears, she sat on her mother’s lap.

“Mummy, I think I’m old enough to know and I want you to tell me the truth… is there really such a thing as Santa?”

The Discovery by Norman Rockwell

We already knew it was to be her last Christmas fully believing in the magic of Santa. Most of her friends were already non-believers and she would often ask us “Do you believe in Santa?”

“Well what do you think dear?”… “Yes, that sounds about right,” we would say… agreeing with her rather than outright admitting our view… Our way of making a BIG LIE into a small (innocent) lie… a way for us to keep the magic alive and the spirit in our hearts as much as in our children’s.

“I need to know, please just tell me the truth.”
It was not a conversation we had prepared for. Our little girl is growing up and just like when she finally said, “Daddy, you aren’t really taking your thumb off, are you?” after the 150th time that I showed her that silly little trick, it was time to be honest and strip a little more magic and wonder out of young child’s mind.

We told her the spirit of Christmas is true and real and that it exists in our love for each other, and in our joy in spending time together at Christmas time. We said that being able to give to others and the warm feelings we have when we do nice things for others, that is the spirit of Christmas but physically, no, there isn’t a Santa per say. We spoke openly and also cautiously, restoring what might have been feelings of betrayal, with some candy-coated honesty… attempting to keep the spirit of Santa alive, while killing the mystery of reindeer flying around the globe in a single night and fitting a portly, pear-shaped and jolly man through chimneys, keyholes and the smallest of cracks.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell my sister.”
An unsolicited comment that reminds us that yes, our daughter is truly growing up, and accepting the responsibility that comes with age… with being the oldest.

“I think I’ll feel better about this as time goes by.”
Yes you will.

I stayed with her until she fell asleep. Answering questions, and sharing some of my memories. I reminded her of how we answered her questions with questions, and that seemed to comfort her. She understood the intent behind our deflection of her questions… but now was a time for Truth. Her questions kept coming, her faith in us to tell her the truth, fully restored.

“So what about Rudolph?” – Created for a department store commercial.

“So what about the cookies we leave out?” – Why do you think your dad always insisted on your mom’s homemade chocolate chip?

“So what about the Tooth Fairy?” – Oh, did the conversation have to go there? Must she ask this as well tonight? So much innocence and magic lost in a single conversation!

Soon sleep prevailed for the young girl and it was time for two parents to gave each other a supportive hug.

And so where do we go now? How do we keep the magic alive?

It is time now to help our child grow up… but not with stories of sadness and heartache, there is plenty of time for her to discover those things… what we need to do now is to show her the beauty, the mystery and the magic that life has to offer:

* The beauty of a sunset over the ocean.

* The mystery of Fibonacci found in a shell, a leaf, or a sunflower.

* The magic of a single cell splitting again and again and becoming…us!

And let us not forget the spirit of giving… the joy that comes from believing… and the strength of love that bonds a family together.

Was it a night of lost innocence? Perhaps, but whose innocence? A young child’s on her way to adulthood, or two parents who want to hold on to the magic as much as they want their children to?

‘Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!’

Happy Holidays to everyone!

On Thursday our school held our Holiday Concert. Below I’ve highlighted 2 of the performance videos.

We called it our Holiday Concert, but in hindsight it was just a Christmas Concert. It wasn’t intentional, it was unintentional bias, but all of the songs performed were either Christmas songs, or songs that we tend to associate with Christmas. Next year I hope we can make it more of a world holiday affair, but for now enjoy my two favourite performances. Considering that all of the classes started practicing for this concert just 2 weeks earlier, it isn’t a surprise that the ones that I like are from teachers with music degrees. The first video is of two classes, Ms Shae & Yee’s class and my wife’s class, and includes my daughter Cassie. The second video is of Mr. Underhay’s class. Enjoy!

Christmas Comes from the Heart is wonderful! It sounds like a choir that practiced for months.

And this class combined their talents to perform a not-so-silent ska version of Silent Night.

Two other honourable mentions go to 4 year old Max’s Cello Solo and a fun version of Dancin’ on the Rooftop.

Enjoy the performances, and for those of you that celebrate Christmas, a very happy day to you. For those of you that celebrate other festivals and ceremonies this time of year, I’d love for you to link to some performances to help inspire our holiday concert next year.

This year I have been honoured with nominations in two categories for the 6th Annual Edublog Awards. I won’t ‘win’, nor do I deserve to, but that really doesn’t matter. I put a lot of time and effort, (and love) into this personal learning space of mine, and to be placed in categories with bloggers and friends that I both admire and respect is wonderful.

Two things come from these awards that I really value: First of all, (hopefully) a bigger audience. My thinking is often challenged by my readers and commenters, and so more readers means a greater personal value to me as a lifelong learner, and an educator who wants to make a difference. Secondly, these awards introduce me to amazing people doing interesting, thoughtful and compelling writing and sharing. I’ll be spending the next few months expanding my network thanks to these awards.

I would like to thank Bryan Jackson for his nomination for Best Individual Blog. Bryan is a fairly new blogger who deserves a bigger audience and could easily have fit into both the best teacher blog and best new blogger categories. Add him as one of your regular reads, you will enjoy his thoughtful, reflective posts.

I would also like to thank Jan Smith for her nomination for Best Teacher Blog. Being an Administrator, it is such an honour to have a teacher like Jan, (doing amazing work with her student bloggers and someone who belongs firmly in this category herself), include me in this category. In my heart I am and always will be a teacher first and I think there can be no better honour than to be nominated in this category.

So, if you are new to my blog, explore some posts and see if you are interested. There are a few popular posts, and some of my favourites highlighted in the right-hand sidebar… and be sure to Subsrcibe if you like what you see!

Also, here are 4 of my favourite categories to check out in the awards. As I said, it will be months before I get to all the reading and learning that these awards serve up to me.

Make a commitment to click on at least one new blog from each category and if you see something you like, don’t just subscribe, take the time to comment and participate in the learning of others. Thanks again to so many of you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, and for being my teacher and a co-learner.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

To the unshifted: Shift or retire… regardless of your age and number of years experience. We have the means to teach differently, now! It doesn’t start tomorrow, it starts today. Pick one thing you don’t like about your practice and change it. Find one thing that engages your students, and has them take over the learning that happens in the room, and do it. Empower, inspire, engage and be the lead learner in your classroom or your school.

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.

To the shifting: Do not go quietly into your classroom. It is an extremely exciting time to be in education. Do not be overwhelmed. A great waterfall begins with a single drop. Information flows too quickly to absorb all that we want to. Things will not flow for you if you try to do too much. If you try a new tool, ask yourself why am I using this? Do not confuse the pointing finger with the moon. What is the learning intention? Stay true to what you want to accomplish and take advantage of tools to help you and your students find your way. Find small successes on your path, let good work and engaged students be your reward.

What we think, we become.

To the shifted: You have an obligation to serve others. The students in your room are a priority, but so too are your colleagues. You are a leader by the default of knowing the way. Nurture your colleagues like you nurture your students in your class. Be the lead learner. Learn with them. Share your enthusiasm and accept your position of leadership with grace and humility.

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.

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Photo: “Behind Buddha” photographed by me, David Truss,

at the Famine Temple near Xi’an, China

Quotes: Attributed to Buddha

This is Part I of a 3 part series.

Part II: Shifting Learning

Part III: Shifting Attitudes

Related post: Statement of Educational Philosophy