Wednesday, October 19, 2011

pilfering trifles

Today I discovered the latest in an ongoing series of minor thefts from my classroom: the toy cars I'd bought last year for the 8th graders to use in our physics unit. So far this year, I've "lost"

- Basher Science: Rocks and Minerals: A Gem of a Read

- FOR BIG MISTAKES ERASER

- a set of 4 fine-tipped dry erase markers... one at a time... from my desk

- a lovely brain coral specimen that was given to me by a student

- a gallon-size ziploc bag of more than two dozen Sharpies and other permanent markers

- 18 Matchbox cars

The bag of Sharpies was in one of my desk drawers, all the way in the back, behind a divider. The Matchbox cars were in a plastic lunchbox from Disneyland, in a closed cabinet by my desk.

Somehow, I made it through the school year last year without losing these things (well, not the dry erase markers).

Every time this happens, I get upset. It's not the money. I have these things so that my students can use them, and so they are just stealing from themselves. It makes me very sad.

I need to figure out how to let this kind of thing go, but I'm not there yet.

2 comments:

~Door~ said...

I dont think you should have to let go. The kids need to learn to stop. I think I would let them know what's missing and ask them to do the rigth thing and return what hasnt been destroyed-even if that means doing it when nobody else is watching...

J Willard Papercollector said...

I don't think you should let it go either. they are stealing...or someone is stealing and that needs to be addressed. they wouldn't like it if something was taken from them. what jerks!