thief

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Home : 2006 : August : 15

thief
By bamateach

Keep everything of value locked up. If the event should iccur I would really make it an issue. I know every child is different, but this is what happened to me last year. I had a little girl that came from a rotten home life.
She was also known to be a theif and I had been warned. I am not one to assume anything about anyone. I like to hear these things so that I can be on my guard, but I also give them a clean slate. Anyhow, I noticed little things going missing - markers from writing center, books, etc... Then my cell phone. Stole it and broke it. Had it for over a week. Noone acted like it was a big deal.

I felt like I needed to let her know that she had lost my trust and that she would have to work very hard to earn it back. I also subtly let her know that if she continued to do things like that she would end up in the same place as her mom or dad (jail and dead from drugs). She lost her locker, all items were removed from her desk (minimal math book, reading book, pencil.) She was removed from the crowd and placed in the center of the room alone. She was not allowed to leave her seat at all. If we had freetime in room she had to sit there. I connected a value to the item stolen ($100). She had to work the money off. During freeplay she picked up trash, washed desks, cleaned boards, etc..... Eventually she did earn my trust back and everything was fine. I did not have any other problems out of her at all. I would like to think that this was a life lesson that she would have not gotten anywhere else.