There are good Santas and there are bad Santas. The good Santas all realize one thing: In the mind of a child, Santa Claus is perfect. That's difficult. And so they come from around the world to attend the Charles W. Howard School in Midland, Mich. The school offers a three-day, 40-hour course for Santas hoping to be excellent. A former Macy's Santa named Charles Howard founded the Michigan school in 1937. "Many people will think if you have a suit and you're a Santa," said Tom Valent, the school's current dean. "It's more than that."  The school teaches everything from breathing techniques for carol singing to the beard maintenance. There are lessons in child psychology, sign language and even media training for talk-show appearances and call-in shows. Santas also need to make sure they know all the names of the reindeer . What's harder to deal with, however, is children who ask for Christmas gifts like bringing daddy home or making mommy happy again. After spending time in the classroom, Weir went to the mall to test his training. However, at one point, his hat fell off, and he was unsure how to react. "You're the real Santa," Valent said. "Pick that hat up, slip it back on, keep smiling and do your job. You've got to stay on top of your game. Even the last one at night, when you're tired, you've got to remember: This one's forever, so do a good job." The Michigan school was founded by Charles Howard with the purpose to   _  .
train the pet reindeer for the Santas earned money from its students train perfect Santas for the world show the world's concern to the poor