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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 may not be truthful to the student, but I feel it would be the best thing to try to recover from your mistake : After you had already determined that Steve was telling the truth and had not stolen the money, I would then respond to Steve's question of whether I had questioned Greg by saying, "I did also noticed Greg had a new jacket the next day and he is coming to the principal's office next. We are asking all of the students one-at-a-time." I think it would be best to try to convince Steve that he was not the only one targeted in the questioning and act as if it was a routine thing that he was just another person coming to the office. I would then say, "I am glad you are not the person who stole the money and thank you for being honest with us. I am sorry that the person who stole the money has not been honest and upfront from the beginning, which has caused us to question everyone individually." This way you are apologizing, without drawing too much attention to his socio-economic status. I would then proceed to follow through with asking Greg and then the remainder of the class until someone confesses to stealing the money. |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
No
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
No
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
No
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
No
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| The suggested solution is original |
No
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| Comments: I believe this solution is dishonest. Steve will leave the principal's office with doubts and questions as to why he was brought to the principal's office. It's too late to say that it wasn't because of his socio-economic status. Yes it puts you in an awkward position to admit your error, but it is the best way to rebuild your relationship with Steve. |
| Rated On: October 14, 2014 12:06 am |
| Rated By: ySaryN |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: This is a great solution and one that I would use in my classroom! |
| Rated On: March 2, 2016 5:30 am |
| Rated By: uBybuz |
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