Question: Am I too trusting?
Situation: Today, I was teaching about coins from around the world in my 9th grade World Studies class. I brought in some of my money from Europe to show my students what foreign money looks like since the majority of them have never seen money from Europe (I have euros and Pounds). I had scrapbooked two pages of my England/Northern Ireland/Ireland trip from the summer of 2004 in one of my books so I brought that in to show the students.
I passed around the pages to the students. Most kids were quite inquisitive about the money. I want to point out that this money for the most part has no value here in the United States. At one point, a 5 pound note was taken out of the little pocket on the scrapbook page. I had no idea who took it. There are 30 students in the class and not one of them would "fess up" to who took it. So, I told them that I would stand out in the hallway and let them figure out who took it. If the money was placed on my desk, there would be no questions asked. End of drama. No one would admit to taking it so I went down to the Assistant Principal's office(my co-teacher watched the class for me) and told him what happened and he came down to my classroom to get it straightened out. Still, not one kid admitted to taking the money. The AP told the students that no one would leave until the money was returned to me (it was the last block of the day). Finally, one student asked if she could go to the AP's office for "something". 10 minutes later, the AP returns with my money. The student that left told me she was covering up for someone else. I told the class that I can't trust them anymore and that they would have work hard to gain my trust again. They showed absolutely no remorse at all for the incident and that has me a little bit concerned. These are kids that have not been taught to be held accountable or responsible for their actions.
I am disappointed in them. And, I feel like I can no longer trust them. Add teaching not to steal to my list of responsibilities as a classroom high school teacher! Ughy!
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6 comments:
oh Lori I'm so sorry! I don't know what's wrong with those kids. You were just being the fantastic teacher that you are, and these kids took advantage of you and the situation. Keep doing what your doing, because you ARE making a difference in the kids lives, maybe not the kid that was the thief but to so many other students. I'm sorry you had to go through this, I know how upset you must be right now.
PS...i just re-read what I wrote. I don't mean that your not making a difference in that kid's (the thief)but you know what i mean. The thief just doesn't obviously "get it".
Oh Lori...How very dissapointing for you! Hopefully the thief will think long & hard about it tonight and apologize to you tomorrow. She was obviously embarrassed by the incident so that's a start. Just don't let this bring you down. (I know you won't!). You are a great teacher and the majority will benefit from your hard work and dedication. Besides, when they don't get the 'special treats' from you anymore - they might actually start to appreciate them!
Hang in there!
Holy Cow... that really stinks... but I guess some kids will just always take advantage of "situations"... and about not showing remorse... That is so typical... some kids feel like EVERYONE owe them... Don't let it get you down... but definitely make them WORK to gain your trust again. And don't feel bad, but there will probably always be a couple that you can't get to... Its not you, its their other surroundings. TAKE CARE!
thats too bad lori. all it takes is one person to mess things up for the rest.
in the end someone returned it - which is a positive sign. maybe they'll think about this & it will help them to think before acting in this behavior again.
they will all definitly have to work to gain your trust again, but hopefully they will appreciate you & the things you do for them more.
I know how you feel. As part of teaching grade 7 world history, a couple of years ago, I passed around a real medieval english silver penny, from the reign of Edward I, ( in a "protective" coin holder. Someone tried to fold it in half, which of course, would have damaged the coin. I know who did it, but could not prove it. It was a girl who was troublesome since she'd entered the district years ago.....who was later expelled for assulting various female students by biting their necks and shoulders while "hugging" them. A true mental case.....
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