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!) First of all, I would take into account that this is another way of discriminating. Something we should be teaching students about every day. With that said, this is a mistake that has most likely been made by many. When money goes missing, many tend to look towards those we assume don't have any. I would have thought about how truthful all of the students were before making any assumptions. I would question every student in the class and not the one "poor" student.Since this incident did take place, I think the best way to start fixing it is with an apology. I would not announce it to the class or make it a bigger deal than it already has been made. The student is already embarassed enough and being called out in front of the class will not help the situation. I would take Steve to the side and sincerely appologize for jumping to conclusions. I would explain that when money goes missing, many details like a new jacket the next day are taking into account. I would question the other student, Greg, who had a new jacket too. As a teacher you have to treat all of your students the same no matter the background or the current situation. We are not a jury, nor do we have the right to make such a judgement call.                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: Rated On: March 3, 2013 8:13 pm Rated By: yTuGyd                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: I like this solution. Apologizing and then explaining to Steve your reasons why you questioned him will help him understand and not feel so victimized. I would also be sure to question Greg. I think this was a terrible thing to do to begin with though and definitely something that should have been carefully thought about before jumping to any conclusions. Rated On: October 19, 2014 1:33 pm Rated By: yjeNus                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No The suggested solution is relevant to the case No The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No The suggested solution is original No Comments: I disagree and assuming that Greg took the money because Steve said so, Is taking another students word for it and now you will have two students who do not trust the teacher. I do not feel this is effective. Rated On: March 2, 2016 5:29 am Rated By: uBybuz                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: This is a good solution Rated On: February 25, 2018 11:15 pm Rated By: uXysej