Teacher tells kids Santa is 'make-believe'

DH feels that telling kids Santa is real is lying to them and I totally disagree.  Being told about Santa and believing in him was one of my best childhood memories of Christmas.  I think the holiday really would have been missing something without him.  When I finally came to the realization that he was not real, I was not upset, but rather considered it part of growing up--kind of like realizing that my mom did not know everything and that dogs do not talk.
 
If DH and I do have kids I have told him that I am deadly serious about the Santa thing.  If he tells them he is not real, he will be getting dog poo in his stocking, literally.
 
I haven't told the dogs about Santa yet.  Jack would be thrilled but Sally would be a bit freaked out that some large, bearded man in breaking into the house on Christmas, even if he is going to leave treats and a ginormous tug rope.

Just a bit of curiousity on my part here, what would be the right answer for a teacher to give to curious kids who ask if Santa is real? What if the teacher doesn't celebrate christmas, or anything at all, and doesn't believe in lying? I could tell the kids I don't know, but that technically would be a lie (but so would telling the kids he's completely make believe). Would it be alright to tell kids where Santa Claus comes from (St. Nicholas)? Can I just say that he doesn't come to my house? Since, I don't want to talk about it, won't work with most kids, what will most parents accept me telling the kids?

what would be the right answer for a teacher to give to curious kids who ask if Santa is real?
 
The only correct answer IMO is:
 
"That is something your parent(s) can answer for you....you can to ask them about it."
 
Then change the subject! []

I always ask them what they believe and whatever their answer, "yes" or "no" - I tell them that's all that matters.  For a "yes" answer, I'll say something like:  "If you believe in Santa, then he's very real to you, right?"  and for a "no" answer, I'll say something like:  "not everyone believes in Santa."   I find that's it's pretty easy to get out of actually because it's generally only very young kids who still ask. 

See that wouldn't cut it for me...still not a discussion for a teacher to even get into.
 
Kids that young are ALSO used to being told to "ask their parents"...so why not just tell them the same thing?
 
Why even delve?

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

See that wouldn't cut it for me...still not a discussion for a teacher to even get into.
 
Kids that young are ALSO used to being told to "ask their parents"...so why not just tell them the same thing?
 
Why even delve?

 
Oh, I don't see it as delving - just relaying that whatever they believe is fine.  Kids that young are also used to asking their teachers tons of questions and getting answers, no?   I'm merely suggesting that there is more than one way to respond. 

As I recall...yep I asked a ton of questions of my teachers as a wee nipper (I have clear memories from about age 3 onwards...more's the pity lmao).
 
I got a lot of 'ask your parents' back as well....when it didn't relate to the work we were doing.
 
Plenty of kids would ask where babies came from, and who God was, as well...to which we got "ask your parents".

a good teacher would avoid answering the question of whether santa claus was real by going into a discussion on the importance of forming your own opinions. also learning to respect and tolerate others opinions no matter how skewed one may think they are. i think only after he/she has established those principles would he/she have the right to state his/her opinion on the existance of santa claus. even further a lesson on the real saint nicholas would be very appropriate. IMO anyway.
 
 
also, i wanted to mention that fairy tales and make believe are an awesome part of being a child, my own girls will never be deprived of that magic. even if it isnt real, there is nothing like that feeling of absolute faith in something amazing, no matter how short-lived.

I'm 24 years old and I still leave cookies out for Santa every year. I was told by my cousin at age 7 that Santa wasn't real and I just refused to accept that. I love the whole Santa thing. My parents made it very magical for me and up to this day will leave presents for me "from Santa". I cannot imagine not having my child believe in Santa. As a child, I was up every year on Christmas Eve waiting for a glimpse of him and listening to every sound on the roof. It made Christmas morning that much more special. When I asked my mom if Santa was real or not she told me that he's real as long as I believe in him. I said, "But Nessa says you can't see him and that you are Santa." She said, "Can you see God? You believe in God don't you? You decide on your own whether you believe in Santa or not. I believe in Santa. Parents do help Santa, but that doesn't mean that he's not real. Only you can decide if you think he's real or not. If you don't believe in him, then he's not real. If you do, then he is. Same thing with God." 
 
I know he's not real, but I still take part in the fun of Santa and should I ever have children, I plan to pass that same fun on to them as well. To me, it's just not Christmas without Santa Claus!