What is Santa Like?

Children all over the world stay up late on Christmas Eve, trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive Santa.  They write letters to him, they sing songs about him, they put out cookies and milk to bait him closer, and in one TV show (Doctor Who) a little girl even prays to him.  

Every year, Macy's has a Letter to Santa campaign, and for every letter they collect they donate $1 to the Make a Wish Foundation.  Therefore, every year my students and I band together to write hundreds of letters.  They write them by the dozens themselves, they recruit little brothers and sisters to write letters, they take them to family Christmas parties, Mutual activities, and even have former teachers have their classes write letters.  Last year my students wrote 1746 letters, donating $1,746 to charity.  This year my students are determined to beat the record.  

So, in order to have them practice their argument-writing skills and get more letters to Santa, I had them write to Santa again today, presenting arguments about why they should receive presents.  They needed to include at least one emotional and one ethical appeal.  As they were working, one student raised his hand for help.  As i was giving him an example argument he could use to convince Santa, he listened carefully.  When I was done, he said in all seriousness, "That doesn't sound much like Santa...Santa sounds more like...Al Gore."

Then he looked at me like I'd gone crazy while I walked away shaking my head and cackling like the Wicked Witch of the West.