Lies? Fibs? Tall Tales? Truth?
"Trying to protect his students' innocence he told them the Ice Age was really just the Chilly Age."
-Billy Collins
We were all told a lie at some point or another. During our childhood, we were told silly lies such as the magical Tooth Fairy or that eating carrots will give you night vision. However, there are more serious lies, such as telling your spouse that you did not have an affair when you have secretly been seeing someone else. The “lies” we were told as children were are all pretty harmless. In fact, they brought more joy to our childhoods. While some people believe you should never lie under any circumstance, I believe otherwise. I don’t know about you, but I can easily say that my childhood wouldn’t have been the same without Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny. On top of that, the world would probably not be a very pleasant place if people always told the truth.
Now, all of this raises a very intriguing question, when is a lie too much of a lie? In Billy Collins's poem, "The History Teacher, he discusses a teacher's intentions to protect his students’. However, towards the end of the poem, we begin to question if the teacher’s good intentions are really protecting the kids or hurting them. Ultimately, I believe children deserve protection from certain things until a certain age. However, as they become more mature, they will be able to handle more serious topics. Children should never be told false notions because it could give them an inaccurate outlook on the world. As George Santayana once said, "If we don't learn from history we are doomed to repeat it."
-Billy Collins
We were all told a lie at some point or another. During our childhood, we were told silly lies such as the magical Tooth Fairy or that eating carrots will give you night vision. However, there are more serious lies, such as telling your spouse that you did not have an affair when you have secretly been seeing someone else. The “lies” we were told as children were are all pretty harmless. In fact, they brought more joy to our childhoods. While some people believe you should never lie under any circumstance, I believe otherwise. I don’t know about you, but I can easily say that my childhood wouldn’t have been the same without Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny. On top of that, the world would probably not be a very pleasant place if people always told the truth.
Now, all of this raises a very intriguing question, when is a lie too much of a lie? In Billy Collins's poem, "The History Teacher, he discusses a teacher's intentions to protect his students’. However, towards the end of the poem, we begin to question if the teacher’s good intentions are really protecting the kids or hurting them. Ultimately, I believe children deserve protection from certain things until a certain age. However, as they become more mature, they will be able to handle more serious topics. Children should never be told false notions because it could give them an inaccurate outlook on the world. As George Santayana once said, "If we don't learn from history we are doomed to repeat it."
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