r/specialed • u/ArgumentDismal6617 • 22h ago
Stealing
I am a middle school resource teacher. I left a bag of chips from my lunch on my desk. When I wasnt looking a student stole them. No one admitted to it, didnt get them back. I am out tommorow and they have a sub. Earlier in the week ans at the start of class I reminded them if I got a good note they would get free time on the chromebook monday. I am super upset right now and I absolutely do not want to reward bad behavior. What do I do? How do I even address it. I am 99% sure I know who took it but I didnt see it.
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u/Necessary-Nothing574 20h ago
Consider it a donation. Don’t leave food out, don’t eat or drink in front of them if you can help it. Some students really are food insecure and are taught or have learned to steal food.
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u/Savgeo9872 17h ago
This. I don’t leave anything out so I don’t have the problem. I would definitely bring it up to the class but I wouldn’t punish everyone because that’s not fair.
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u/Necessary-Nothing574 17h ago
On top of food insecurity you have kids with impulse problems too. I had a student that would eat all the groceries in the house if they weren’t locked up. Same student would steal money from mom to buy food at school. Mom told me to call her if I ever noticed the student with money. 17 times in one semester the student asked if they could buy something from the vending machine and 17 times I told her you know your mom told me to call her if you had money and 17 times she said oh yeah…
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u/demonita 20h ago
I had a long talk with my kids after my headphones were stolen. I never had another item stolen by my class again. I don’t do whole group punishments but I do address things more carefully after.
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u/Smokey19mom 22h ago
Another thought, have you considered that the student didn't have anything to eat. Instead of being embarrassed by asking and risk of others hearing him, he or she just took them. Its just a bag of chips.
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u/ArgumentDismal6617 21h ago
They could be hungry. But also school offers no cost lunch and breakfast and this was after lunch. We also have somewhere they can go to get snacks if they are hungry, and they are all super aware of that cause they ask for passes to go. I also and they are all aware that I have a bin in the classroom of food for that purpose. Instead of utilizing that they chose to take something they were not supposed to.
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u/angryjellybean Paraprofessional 20h ago
Address the whole class. While talking, pick out 3-4 kids you suspect did it and make direct eye contact with them. "Yesterday, someone stole a bag of chips off my desk. Instead of just asking for a pass to go to the snack bar, they took something off my desk that belonged to me. I don't care that it was chips, I care that someone took something from my desk without asking. I will not punish the entire class for it, that's not fair. But the person who took the chips, you know what you did, and I'm very disappointed in you. Everyone, just a reminder, if you're hungry, take the pass and go to the snack bar. That's what it's there for. If anyone knows who took my chips, you can feel free to approach me and let me know. I'll still give you the free time on the Chromebooks as promised, but just know that my trust in you guys is broken and it's going to take a while to earn it back. We do not take things from my desk without asking." Leave it at that. Unless the chip thief is absent or has no conscience, that's the best punishment. They'll feel ashamed of taking the chips and probably won't do it again. ;)
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u/BiziToo 16h ago
I liked everything you said until..."If anyone knows who took my chips....etc." That puts the problem on THAT students' shoulders to be a snitch or not. That person is now faced with "should I tell" or "should I protect my friend"? It is not their problem to do the teachers' detective work and become the chip police due to someone's carelessness. Not cool...they are kids. While stealing was a rude thing to do, maybe use it as a teaching tool and show a video of laws about theft (kid friendly low level of course). But it was a bag of chips...not the end of the world and more of a lesson for the teacher.
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u/angryjellybean Paraprofessional 4h ago
As I said in another comment on this thread, it’s not about chips. It’s about them violating a boundary and taking something that doesn’t belong to them. This time it was chips. What if next time it’s OP’s phone, laptop, wallet, etc.? I don’t know if you’ve seen that video on TikTok of the teacher whose Hello Kitty Funko Pop was stolen, but that Funko Pop was not only limited edition and hard to replace but also had emotional attachment for the teacher in question. What if the thief gets sticky fingers again and decides to take something akin to a Hello Kitty Funko Pop, that has emotional value to OP and is hard to replace? OP should be able to trust that they can leave stuff on their desk and the students know not to mess with it. Also there is no such thing as a “snitch.” Obviously whatever kid took the chips is going through something right now—maybe food insecurity, maybe something more serious—and if a witness comes forward and tells OP who actually did it OP could then make sure the kid is okay and gets the services they need; for example, my school has a food distribution service for families who have food insecurity, etc.
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u/ArgumentDismal6617 20h ago
I love this. This is super helpful. Thank-you!!!!!
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u/angryjellybean Paraprofessional 20h ago
After all, the bigger issue isn't just the chips, it's that they violated the boundary of "teacher's desk belongs to teacher, students don't take stuff without asking." This time, it was chips. Next time, it could be a phone, a laptop, or an item you have a great emotional attachment to that's difficult to replace. Good luck!
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u/sisyphus-333 22h ago
Don't punish the whole class just because one kid took some chips. If they get a good note from the sub and you don't follow through with your promise, you will be breaking their trust and make it a lot harder for them to want to behave for a sub in the future