Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Poor and Innocent I made one of the biggest mistakes in my professional life as a teacher about a week ago. I teach middle school English. We collected money for a breast cancer awareness event, and I put the cash and the checks in separate envelopes. After lunch time, I could not locate the envelope with the cash. I looked everywhere, but I could not find it. I asked my students if anyone took the envelope by mistake but nobody came forward. So, the cash was lost. Apparently, someone stole it, I thought. I have a good mix of students in my classroom; different religions, races, cultures, and rich and poor. Steve is the poorest student. Sometimes students make fun of Steve for wearing the same pair of shoes or the same pants all the time. The day after the money had been lost Steve came to school wearing a new jacket. Automatically, everyone, including me, started thinking he stole the cash. I took Steve to the principal's office to have a conference with him about the lost cash and his new jacket. We told him why we were having the meeting and asked him to be truthful. He said he had nothing to do with the lost cash. When we asked him about the new jacket, he said he had worked in his uncle's mechanic shop past weekend and made some money. Then, his father gave him some money to make up the difference for him to buy the jacket. We called his father and he confirmed everything Steve had told us. At that moment I thought I had never been so embarrassed in my life. But the more embarrassing moment came when Steve asked me if I had questioned Greg, a student from a middle class background, because he happened to come to school wearing a new jacket that day also. How can I fix the broken trust between me and Steve? How would you react to this situation—lost money and a poor student wearing a new jacket the next day? What would be the most appropriate way to respond to this situation? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) This is a tough one! It is easy to think that the poorest child should have never been accused in the first place, however that does not help solve the problem. I would apologize profusely to the child. Tell them that you were wrong to accused him based on how much money his family has. When adults show humility and apologize, children can be forgiving. The trust between you and Steve will not bounce back immediately but it can be repaired and apologizing and accepting responsibility is the first step. I think the most appropriate way to approach the situation is to talk to the students and find out if they have any information that might help you find the money. A lot of times, students will tell on each other to help the teacher. I feel like someone must have seen the student take the envelope. I might even tell the class that we may have to look at videos to see who took the money, if they are not aware that video cameras aren't in the classroom. I would also discuss this matter with administration. They can provide helpful advice to control the situation. They may even be able to interview students to find out information. Each students must be seen as a possible suspect, not a single student.