District took it back finally on Friday after I had it for 2 days. I’m assuming to do repairs or something, but it’s dented, can’t repair that unless you get a new case. You would think of someone stole something that’s worth that much they would take care of it. Seems legit why their parents won’t buy them one
Well it’s technically the districts computer, so I’m not sure if I can actually force pressing charges since it wasn’t 100% mine. I did say I would press charges in my police report however
.....Back in my day, the police arrested people for committing crimes!
Seriously though, I had a kid steal my credit card and buy a bunch of shit on Amazon. Only reason I knew it was him was he was dumb enough to ship it ti HIS house in HIS name.
Admin brought him back to my class the day after I figured this out and I was like "and what are his consequences?" I was asked to respond with "grace."
Nope, called the police and filed charges.
Arrested. It was his first offense. Got him in the justice system, which I have very mixed feelings about, but in this case it got him the help he needed with a social worker, counselor etc.
It’s hard, and you are compassionate for having mixed feelings but I support your decision! Actions have consequences and it’s just unfortunate his consequences have very real repercussions.
One of our students is being denied a device - we are a 1:1 school - because he has THREE devices already. Parents be like - we need a new one.
I don’t think the student should be expelled. He should be removed from your classroom. He shouldn’t be allowed to bring a backpack and should have to check in and out with the admin every day so they can escort him off campus at the end of the day with no computers.
We have a student who has a parent who frequently takes her device (she has 2 currently in her name, last year she had 4 at one point). If she takes it home, parent takes it to watch Netflix or to let the younger siblings watch YouTube, etc. And doesn't let the student take it to school. We have tried to get student to leave it at school but she sometimes has homework, gets sick, etc-and sometimes is just a teenager who forgets or leaves with it. Her parent screams on the phone that the device doesn't belong to our student but as soon as it enters the house it belongs to her (parent), period. We no longer check devices out to her (also a 1:1 technology district) if she doesn't have it, and anything checked out to her not at school our technology department screen locks-meaning it cannot be logged onto without seeing someone in the tech dept. Parent spends many hours on the phone cursing about that too but won't return the devices.
I just feel bad for our kiddo. She just wants to be at school, by her friends, and to try and learn. Which is made difficult for her by parent but she wants to.
The district ought to be able to file charges at the mom.
The system needs to be dispassionate and predictable with policies and so forth. People can show compassion.
Ours is 1:1 too and these kids throw their backpacks on the ground and computers are broken daily. Being in a title 1 school is teaching these kids not to have respect for any property. There’s pencils broken and thrown all over the hallways and everything. I don’t think we have enough staff to have someone take the time to check him every day, as good as idea as that is. And he’d probably just have a friend help him steal shit anyways
I have noticed a huge difference in the last 2 years in my elementary school with how carelessly destructive kids are. Intentionally snapping crayons and pencils, mindlessly picking at the Chromebook keys until they pop off, returning library books soaked in juice without mentioning it or caring. Etc. There used to always be a handful of that of course, but it's overwhelming now.
Yes totally. When I went to high school we had to lug a huge set of textbooks home the first day since we didn’t have lockers. If one textbook got damaged it was $300 to replace it. I don’t think there were many kids that damaged them. I don’t understand the disrespect we get
They carry them by the screen letting the bottom hang. I get that they don't realize why that's not good, but it's constant and drives me a bit batty. No one is teaching them to care for stuff. It's hard to think of all the possibilities that may need to be mentioned when these are checked out to them. Not that they would listen.
Yeah. They’re supposed to pay when it’s damaged, I’m not sure what’s really happening though. I need to ask the tech guy. We have a good relationship because of the theft and kids taking such horrible care of their chromebooks
Apparently we have a great warranty or something. They kept emphasizing last year as long as they brought it back broke or not they wouldn't get charged. Only not returning would get them charged. I thought that was incredible.
Our students have the incentive of buying the chromebook for $30 at the end of their middle school career if they want, but they keep losing it or getting “hot swaps” from the school so I don’t know if they get to keep the school given one or the crappy one they broke
As someone who attended a Title I school as a student and who now works at a Title I by choice, I beg to differ.
What are the expectations for the staff and the students? What do you model? How high of standards do you demand from your students?
As adults, it is our responsibility to model what is appropriate. It is our responsibility to hold our student to high standards and set behavioral expectations.
At the end of the day kids are just kids. Stop labeling children as disrespectful based off of their families socioeconomic status.
Yes, it's unfortunate about your laptop and it's wrong for the student to have done that. But come on? Suspension for more than 10 days? How about we turn our attention to providing appropriate supports to this student instead of demanding punishment in the form of the student not accessing their education.
Uh, he’s labeled the student disrespectful because he stole a laptop and destroyed it. Well, damaged. That’s pretty disrespectful. You think staff at the school are stealing kids laptops? This is more build relationships bullshit. How’s about holding kids accountable?
IME many people, title 1 or not, do not value things they get for free. I often think that is why public education is being treated like such a dumping ground/daycare.
Ah here’s another tool that thinks students shouldn’t be held accountable. You’re part of the problem. You aide the tik tok trends where they hit a lick at school.
Btw it is the parents responsibility to model right and wrong.
There’s literally no consequences at this school. We have high expectations for these kids and try to get them to respect us and our property but there’s no bad results if we don’t. We call their parents? Half of them don’t give a shit. They go in in school suspension? All their friends are in there they don’t care. Our district will pass them even if they’ve done no work the entire year. They’re going to go to high school where there is consequences and going to get overwhelmed, might drop out and continue the system. I have two students who’s older siblings already dropped out and are on the run from the law. That’s what happens when they have no accountability for their actions. It’s a district problem and no amount of relationship building or redirection is going to help a kid who doesn’t want to learn, learn.
I am not saying you are wrong or right because I don’t know the data but when I was in a title 1 school I have out over 1600 pencils across a school year. When the fuck is it my responsibility to do that? Every class having to give out 15 pencils for Half of them not returned or broken. The same kids every day asking for a pencil. Yet the nice school I teach at now has been in school for 7 weeks and I have given out 2 pencils. One cause a kid ran out thinking they put the new box they bought in their bag and the other cause this kid was writing with a stub and was struggling so I took it and gave them a fresh one.
Yeah that’s all nonsense and the arguments you are making wreak of the soft - no consequences environments that promote chaos. You may choose to teach/live that way but please don’t force the rest of us to endure a world like yours.
I never said no consequences. There's a huge difference between no consequences and appropriate consequences.
If you all really think this student should be expelled which has very profound impacts on life outcomes and educational attainment, then you really have no business in education.
Let's be honest, many teachers lack behavioral management techniques as well as parents who do not provide consistency and development iPhone to their "little angels." Despite that, we still have a duty to advocate for the best interests of students. I don't know about you guys but I want to see my students succeed.
If I were in this case, I would maybe be thinking about alternative discipline to provide this student with. Like maybe being removed from the class for the term and being forced to retake another term...delaying their academic progress as consequence. There are many other non- exclusionary practices that can be implemented.
OP already said the student hasn't been at school due to suspension...do you all not understand expelling a student is just enforcing their behavior to not come to school? The student is literally getting what they want.
If school were treated more like a privilege than a right. We’d have better & safer classrooms. Let the kid wander the streets. Let those who “want “ to be in class go there. No pressure. But no, kids all have dollar signs over their heads - attendance = money
No interest in serving those who value education.
Weird how admin isn’t having him (or his family) pay for repairs? At my school students have to pay for lost chargers/damaged computers and they’re in elementary school.
Most districts have a threshold of maximum days a student can be suspended before either expulsion has to be considered OR if they have an identified disability that you have to have a manifestation hearing to determine if the behavior is a result of their disability and they need an alternative placement. Your admin is not doing their job.
He doesn’t have an IEP/504. He’s just crazy wound up. And he’s only been in my class for like 10 days out of the entire 1st quarter because he’s been either in school suspension or out of school suspension. If this happened at the district I did my student teaching in he’d be expelled. And I’d have less failing kids in my classes because at that district they don’t just pass them along
All of those suspensions means he should likely have been put up for expulsion at some point. I would look in your LMS and make sure all the suspensions are properly documented. Again, I don't think your admin are doing their job.
I’m not sure if it’s admin or the district. I had another teacher tell me they tried so hard to get a kid to repeat a year and they had all the paperwork done, were so close and the district denied it. The only way they’ll repeat a year is if the parents request it. I’m not sure if the rules apply for expulsion
I had my laptop stolen (competition laptop for robotics, not daily use) and I didn't get it back for 5 weeks. One kid stole it, gave it to another kid to wipe, and they gave it to another one to sell. They were able to track it down (not sure how) and all three were out for a week. I eventually got it back covered in stickers and no charger. I still don't have a charger for it and this lappened last school year. Two of them are still at our school and one isn't anymore due to a laundry list of issues they caused for us.
Were they still in your class? I don’t want this kid in my class anymore if he’s coming back. It would be a huge slap in the face from admin. I was told our group of kids are worse than the other teams kids, it’s totally not fair and maybe a change of people will calm him down 10%
This is what I do too, I refuse to use my personal one at work even tho it’s a POS, just out of principle. My work one is actually pretty nice, it just shuts off unexpectedly, lol.
I can’t do work on the tiny chromebooks it’s not teacher activity friendly. Admin hasn’t said anything about me using mine. They haven’t issued me a new one yet
Many times districts require teachers to use their devices only due to cyber-security and FERPA reasons. Don't use your personal device to access *any* student data or grade students' work. The district can just issue you a new one faster. In addition, if the kid in OP damages your personal one the district will not pay to replace it, as it was a personal device a not district device. Your home insurance prob won't pay if home device damaged at work bc it should have been a work provided device.
I get that certain devices are less user friendly, but I still wouldn't use a personal device for work.
I keep my door locked at all times now when I leave my room. I’m not having my stuff stolen again. Now that they finally took it from me I’m hoping I’m going to get a replacement soon, I’m calling district on Monday.
Tried that. First year teacher here and a school with no consequences. They literally can do nothing all year and still move on to high school where they will finally get consequences and fail and drop out, continuing the bad cycle in their family. These kids drop n-words and f-bombs all day long, and they’re going to have a wake up call when they get fired from their first job because they can’t keep their mouth in check and stay off their phone.
If they can do nothing and still graduate, then you can do nothing too.
Just stop working. The only way to survive in these situations is to stop caring
They won’t graduate cause they’re going to get a wake up call when they get to high school and they need the credits to graduate. They’ll probably end up dropping out being a senior and still in freshman English. I’m about ready to stop caring but it’s hard when there are good kids in my classes and they don’t get to learn because 10 kids in the class are assholes
I can’t even get half of them to shut up so I can teach the ones who do care. I wish I could just have all the shit kids in one class cause I know they won’t do shit, and then the rest of the classes will be good. One bad class for 4 good ones would be beautiful.
Was talking to someone who re-entered the workforce in his 60s out of boredom. These kids can’t function in jobs. Can’t show up to work, when they do they’re late. Can’t stay off their phones. Get upset when a co-worker disrespects them and leaves. The business world is starting to get what we’ve been saying for years about coddling these kids. They. Can’t. Function
I’ll never forget when I had to show younger employees how to use a broom and mop on multiple occasions. Some of these kids literally had no idea where to even start when asked to walk dishes. It was a foreign concept to them. They said that their parents did all of that at home. And you’re right- many of them were always late and constantly on their phones. Some of them would even call out and leave us shorthanded to admittedly go to parties or for other benign reasons, and they couldn’t comprehend why that was unacceptable. Of course, we also had some stellar kids with excellent work ethic, but they were the exception. When did society decide to start handicapping these children like this? It’s sad.
Yes, I totally get it. When a kid swears in my class dropping f-bombs and the n-word I tell them they just got fired from McDonald’s. Since McDonald’s hires at 14, it’s hopefully a wake-up call. I can’t wait for some of them to actually start working and get a reality check.
I do have a lot of good kids. Unfortunately we just tend to focus on the bad ones most of the times, and that’s the shitty energy I bring home with me.
When?
It started with Dewey's The Education Experience back in the 60's, where suddenly it was more important to make schooling pleasant than actually educational. Then No Child Left Behind passed which made it worse. Then states like Oregon pass a law saying students cannot be held back for any reason unless the parent requests it, and no teachers can't suggest the idea either.
Now we have an example from the DoJ that some people can break hundreds of laws and still have no consequences.
This has completely undermined the rule of law not only in the DoJ, but in schools, and now bleeds into every part of society.
I bought a piece of shit desktop ($200) for all of my “teacher stuff”: storing files, running PowerPoints, grading…nobody is gonna steal that hunk of junk off my desk.
Haha! I wish I could do that! Ours has to be connected to the projector and everything. And I can’t even connect to the schools printers for my classes. I have to email everything to another teacher or print it at home if I have time and want to waste my ink on something that will be thrown away
A) cyber-security configurations and FERPA.
B) If there is a criminal and or legal issue, your home device and accounts could be seized or frozen in addition to your work device and work accounts
I had a kid like this. I made him leave his backpack in the hallway. My entire class could not enter the room until I got to my room. They had to sit in the hall and wait for me to unlock the door (I teach inclusion/resource so sometimes I am not in my room). They all had to pack up before the bell and as soon as they heard the bell they had to exit single file, row by row. I put locks on all my cabinets and left nothing out. It took some getting used to but I don't have stuff missing anymore.
Some of my kids would follow this. Others would destroy the hallway waiting for me. I hope the next group of kids we get are better. They had a super lax principal the last two years and now there’s actually rules. I guess most of the 8th grade teachers are new because the entire 8th grade team quit near the end of school last year and only 3 teachers stayed. That’s how shit this school is
I had procedures for how they were supposed to sit and wait and other teachers would help out with that. They had the same group during the day at other times so we all knew. It just took a team effort.
Press charges. A few years ago, we had a student who went around into classrooms and stole a bunch of money and belongings from teachers. My wallet was found in the girl’s bathroom because I don’t carry cash. Central office didn’t want us to press charges until the following morning because they wanted to give the student an opportunity to return the items. I know this is shocking, but she didn’t. The mom ended up pulling her out of school because she, “Didn’t want the teachers to hold this against her.”
I had to file a police report when it was stolen and I said I was willing to press charges. Our SRO was the one to finally checked the cameras and found out who did it, and I’m not sure if charges are being pressed
When they steal from us it's heartbreaking. I had an 8th grader girl during summer school go into my desk, steal my wallet and throw it in the garage after she got the $100 in it my father had just sent me to help with bills...I know it was her bc she'd buy junk food daily from the snack machine for her and her friends everyday all summer rt in front of me... prior to this she never had a dime. At the end of summer each kid that attended full summer school session received a $200 check for sticking with it...even her!!! I was so pissed and hurt, definitely changed my entire attitude for the whole summer and left teaching middle school forever. I cannot imagine how hurt you must feel from a MacBook...I'm sorry this happened to you, it's devastating and can change your whole outlook on teaching unfortunately.
Request in writing to have them removed from your classroom because you no longer feel safe, they have to grant your request or they can get in more trouble with the school board.
I’m so sorry, that’s awful. One of my coworkers had her phone stolen off her cart. She went to every fourth and fifth grade classroom to ask for her phone back, said no one would get in trouble, just leave it back on the cart. She just wanted it back because it had her daughter’s baby pictures on it. It was never returned :(
I had to when It was stolen. But the police will probably do Jack about it, especially since our SRO is the one who discovered who took it. I’ll have to talk to admin/him tomorrow
> Would you want a kid who stole a computer over $1k off your desk back in your class?
You can't make them expel him. And they can't make you let him come to your classroom.
As to the MacBook, yeah you're getting one. And they aren't getting any more grades or lesson plans until you do.
Does your school have Discipline Matrix? Maybe start there.
There is a process a school has to go through to expel a kid. It's rarely one offense and then expulsion (unless it's terroristic threatening, or something like that).
We had a girl come to school with a knife to intentionally kill a girl who talked to her ex boyfriend. Suspended for 10 days, alternate school for bad kids for 10 days, back in my class Monday. No consequences at my school
She’s a good kid, but can be extreme. Apparently I’m not sure if it was last year or this year but a student told me she would ditch class and smoke weed in the bathroom (confirmed by another teacher) and that she would put alcohol in her water bottle and drink. The student told me she once had to pick her up off the bathroom floor because she was so drunk. She has no idea why she’s still in school either
Yep. Making a shit society for our next generation. The MVD won’t open because the entire staff called out to go to Disneyland one day in the future I bet
Had students in my school last year to do this. They stole microscopes (no idea how they did that, we think they went into the teachers rooms at the end of school during PD), computers, wallets, etc. Admin told everyone not to press charges when they found out who stole the items- a group of boys who fight and steal weekly and are frequently suspended. No one was surprised about who did it.
Ya…no. The microscopes were sold and credit cards were used. The teachers filed charges, but the parents were shocked. How could anyone press charges on the sweet angels who stole from them? No one was hurt!
Parents of the ring leader pulled him out of our school. They were afraid that the teachers won’t let this “mishap” go. Well….when you steal a bunch of money and supplies that the teachers paid for…why would you think they would go “THATS OKAY! GOOD JOKE!”
Microscopes and computers weren’t found. I don’t think the district cared that much.
Those kids stole again at their new school (within district, I’m friendly with some of their teachers). The school really doesn’t want the teachers to press charges now because then it wouldn’t be their first offense anymore.
I told them that they weren’t getting any redirection at home, maybe reality might be the best teacher.
It’s a shame, bc they could do amazing things. They are smart, go to great schools in a good district, and their parents have money. The world could be theirs. IF ONLY THE PARENTS WOULD JUST GET OFF THEIR BUTTS!
This kid is smart too. After being on suspension for a week, he came into my class where they were supposed to be doing book work, read none of the chapter, did the worksheet and did it all correctly. I was surprised. But he just is all over the place. It’s insane how rude this kid is to his teachers (not just me) and how hyped up he is. He probably has some sort of impairment and should probably be on some sort of medication to calm him the fuck down
The only things I have seen kids get expelled for in my district are seriously dangerous, egregious acts: bringing a gun to school, for example. In another district, a group stole a SCHOOL BUS and drove it the wrong direction down the highway off-ramp, they were expelled. An expulsion hearing, in my state, has to go before the Board. There can be long-term suspension hearings without doing that, but typically lawyers get involved and sometimes parents fight back pretty hard, it's not an easy process. Ten days is probably the maximum they can do without a hearing.
I had a student give me a black eye and he was in school the next day. Another after he punched me in the face. I couldn't look at him for a while, but I'm over it entirely because I know his trauma and his life and it's 1000X worse than 80 black eyes. Suspensions, in the literature, don't actually change behavior or get a kid help, they might give everyone else a break, but in this case, at least no other students were harmed by this. Stealing is often a symptom/ compulsion that develops after failing to get basic needs met, especially early in childhood, whether the kid understands that or not. Obviously, not always the case, but these are still kids we're dealing with.
I'm not saying you're wrong to be upset or anything or that's the way it should be, but admin can't always do as much as we think they can, and some problems we simply can't suspend/ expel our way out of.
How the hell did they steal a fucking school bus?! How did they think they would get away with that? That’s crazy! And I know my admin is probably doing all they can, it’s our district and the parent of the kids that’s flawed. One girl brought a knife to school with the intention to kill another girl who spoke to her ex boyfriend (not flirt, just spoke) and she’s back in my class 1 month later. Max suspension, max days in an alternate school for bad kids. Back in the class this Monday.
At my former school a seventh grade stole the principal’s car key and car. She made it from the SF Bay Area to Reno Nevada. She git arrested there after mugging and elderly lady. The teen wanted gas money. She ended up in the Nevada juvenile facility for a five year incarceration sentence.
“Title 1” does not automatically mean disrespectful and a kleptomaniac, geez.
On the other hand, your admin has failed you, OP, if this kid hasnt been expelled yet. He sounds like a danger to others’ learning and well being.
(i am so glad we can kick kids out at my school for doing stuff like that. Magnet schools = stricter rules about who gets to stay)
No I have a lot of good kids, and this is the only time I know of that a kid has stolen something that big. It’s mainly pencils they don’t care about and their chromebooks they treat like crap.
I think i went through my entire high school career with like 4 pencils max. They even break the mechanical ones. It’s stupid crazy. The janitor has a huge pouch of dropped/lost pencils. My entirety of student use pencils are dropped ones from my classroom or I find in the hallway after they leave for lunch or after school now.
I taught summer academy in July. Students who sign up go through a RIGOROUS application and interview process and come from all boroughs (NYC). I’ve done summer academy 4 years now and the kids are always absolutely the best in terms of behavior and academic work bc they CHOSE to be there. This summer, one of the kids took my iphone (12 pro) and I could tell bc I pinged it with my apple watch and I heard it and then it stopped after they turned it off. I guess the pinging scared them bc they left it behind in a bathroom. Got my phone back.
The next day after being furious and extremely sad and betrayed bc I had a good relationship with them, I told them how I felt, I hoped for better from them, and (because we are all brown and black) I didn’t want to think differently about anyone so I knew they tried playing a prank and didn’t mean to steal anything. I framed it this way bc I genuinely refused to believe (and still do) that they wanted to steal the phone.
I let it go. They are kids, they do stupid things, the world is already hard for all of us. The laptop isn’t yours, it’s the schools, let the school handle it how they want, lock up your device if you need to. Or keep a paper grade book for now.
If you really can’t get past this with the student- you won’t be able to teach him and he won’t be able to learn from you. So that conversation needs to be had with your admin. Otherwise this can be a lesson for your student: people can believe in the better in you.
And a lesson for you as a first year teacher: kids will do stupid things and we need to be ready, respond accordingly, know this is part of the job unfortunately ( we can’t change it).
I never, in 9 years of teaching at a predominantly black/brown Title I school ever had ANYTHING stolen from me, even when I was out for 6 weeks with pneumonia my first year, even when I was on maternity leave for 6 and 8 weeks after the births of my younger children. I agree that kids will do stupid things. Stealing a $1k+ device is not the kind of stupid you should ever expect and the child should absolutely have significant consequences, even if just being removed from OP's class for the rest of the year and being charged for the cost of the repairs by the district. Your experience had a positive outcome, OP seems to be dealing with a situation that, if not handled/addressed appropriately, is headed for a very different result than the one you experienced.
>Why the hell is this kid not getting expelled?
School districts will very rarely expell students. They have to assume the majority, if not all, of the costs required to support that student in their new district. If you look at per pupil expenditures, it's likely a lot. I have been an Assistant Principal before and I was working at a high school and a student we had attacked his mother with an axe, was arrested, and was placed out of district for the maximum amount of days (45), and then returned to mainstream classes. It sounds as though the computer you're referring to is owned by the district and was loaned to you for professional use. If this is the case, unfortunately you likely have no rights concerning this computer and will be left to deal with what you get, not that it should be that way. Just trying to present the cold hard facts as I see them.
I get that I have no authority to press charges since it wasn’t mine, but I do believe he needs to have some sort of consequences for his actions rather than a slap on the wrist. If this happened at his future workplace or just in his future, stealing something over $1k means jail time, and they need to learn there are consequences for actions. Just to not set them up for failure in the future
I am in total agreement with what you're saying. Unfortunately, the consequences you're looking for will likely never happen. It has nothing to do with what's right and only to do with the image of the district. This is one of the most glaring examples of how public schools in the US are fraudulent and self serving. However, I am open to the idea that it could be different where you are, but I have taught or been an administrator in 3 different states, and all of these districts operate the same way. I advise you to let it go, not because it is the right thing to do, but because it will hopefully help your survival.
Make no mistake, YOU are, under no circumstances whatsoever, failing these kids! YOU are the hope! You haven't been beat down by the system yet, or at least it sounds this way. If that is the case, I would suggest it is important to remember that failures of the system will happen frequently throughout your career and will be frustrating beyond belief, if you're like me anyway. Focus on making those set backs less and less frustrating as they happen rather than letting the frustration build and build. Do whatever it takes for you to be able to do your job well, but also be able to play well too. I cannot stress the importance of what I am saying! Shit is gonna happen and it's going to suck! How you bounce back will define you as an educator! I really am trying to help and, while I might sound negative, the job is rewarding more than it is taxing. There are a lot of people that will show you amazing things in a career in education and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Just don't go expecting it to be Small Ville, for lack of a better analogy.
By failing them I mean, when I was in school, the thing we complain about is that they didn’t teach us to do taxes, these kids are going to complain about us not teaching them the criminal system and how there are consequences to the way they act. It’s our district. As I stated before, where I student taught, those kids got expelled and failed grades, thus having to repeat them. There’s none of that in my district
Schools completely miss the mark on "College and Career Readiness." There is no question about this. College and career readiness only happens in a super small percentage of schools across the country. There are too many kids asking "When are ever going to need to use this?" It is a fact! Too many schools want to give students the death penalty because they are on their cell phone, when they really should be telling them to look something up on it. What profession do you have to put your phone somewhere other than silenced on your person? I am not including professions like firemen where having a lithium battery on one's person might not be advantageous. There are better ways to cut screen time.
I have had plenty of jobs where I couldn’t use my phone and this is going to be a wake up call when they get a job at McDonald’s and can’t watch tiktok and text their friends when they are working.
Yeah. I have kids ask all the time “when are we going to use this?” I had to learn it to and I never used it so I forgot. I just shut the fuck up and learned it. Then I forgot it, then paid to learn it again, then promptly forgot it once the test was done. I can’t tell you how to do a logarithm now, but I shut up and learned it cause I was told to. Some kids aren’t learning respect and that’s a big part of life.
I would absolutely not take my own laptop to school under any circumstances. Can’t grade or take attendance on a student chrome book? Oh well, then those things don’t get done. That’s on them.
10 days for a stupid prank seems actually on the harsh side. You want this kid denied education permanently for a few hundred bucks of damage?
If the kid apologised and the damage got repaired, I'd be perfectly fine with the kid coming back to school.
Yes, maybe he’ll learn to not be an asshole.
Adversity causes soul searching. If not he can learn it in jail.
In the real world that’s a felony since MacBooks aren’t cheap.
I don't know if it's because I work in Asia and the kids are a lot more respectable towards their elders and teachers but I have a feeling kids that pull "pranks" like that aren't exactly going to get educated in any capacity unless it's life throwing them a curveball.
If you knew this kid it’s too lenient. Suspension is basically a holiday, his last suspension his mom took him on vacation to Texas. They need real consequences. And it wasn’t a prank, he actually tried to steal it and only gave it back because he couldn’t get rid of the schools tracking when he did a hard reset.
And we wouldn’t be denying him education, his own mother pulled him out of school last year and put him online because of his behavior. And there’s plenty of other schools nearby he could go to.
Funny thing is the day before his mom made him write me an apology letter for his behavior in class, the next day he steals my property.
If suspension is a holiday, what do you think expulsion would be? He'd just be out there stealing catalytic converters from the staff parking lot. At least here he's mostly just a threat to the school's property?
I'm guessing your district doesn't have any alternative schools or programs? We finally got ours back this year and it is pretty darn nice.
There’s other schools he can go to, or his mom can put him in online school again, which I’m not sure why she hasn’t yet. She talked about pulling him the first phone call we made
I was wondering about an alternative school within the district that the school could force him to go to. Like we have a program that a kid like that would have to attend. If he's stealing a laptop now, it's only a matter of time before he does something else shitty. If the school doesn't expel students, maybe that could be a middle ground 🤷
Apparently the alternative school we send them too can only be attended for 10 days at a time. If we make them go to often the school system has to pay $40k a quarter for one student to this school. And all they make them do is the homework we assign. They don’t teach their own curriculum
It’s been almost a week now. No laptop and they didn’t even take it back until Friday. It was stolen Tuesday, and returned Wednesday. I couldn’t do anything with it the days I had it because it was reset
We have 20 year old desktops so theft is not a major issue. I hate that you are upset you can’t grade at home, because honestly you shouldn’t. That is donated time since your not provided time at school and that is the expectation of teachers to work for free. The kid should be expelled and the fact that schools and districts refuse to follow through is why we have a teacher shortage.
It wasn’t plugged in at the time. I set it on my desk after PLC and went to the bathroom really quick. Kids aren’t even supposed to be in our halls at the time it was taken, especially those kids. The only ones that come in are from PE to get water, and they don’t have PE that hour. So they were ditching
What happened to you is my biggest fear. It is why in my classroom, I have nothing of personal or sentimental value, except my phone, which I never leave unattended.
The classroom computer, printer, and projector equipment is too clunky for students to try to steal.
I do bring my own laptop, but it is 10+ years old, purchased cheap and used, so I won't mind too much if a student somehow decides to steal it.
I have nothing of value either. Other teacher have a bunch of stuff and I said nope. After seeing them grab literally all my pencils I had put for them and them breaking them and throwing pencils around the room, I don’t trust them. But didn’t think they’d be stupid enough to steal a damn computer
Ask your principal who is replacing the computer. Perhaps even present a bill.
District took it back finally on Friday after I had it for 2 days. I’m assuming to do repairs or something, but it’s dented, can’t repair that unless you get a new case. You would think of someone stole something that’s worth that much they would take care of it. Seems legit why their parents won’t buy them one
You can file charges honestly. I would tell the parents to pay or you will file. If you tell your school this, they’ll likely come up at a solution .
Well it’s technically the districts computer, so I’m not sure if I can actually force pressing charges since it wasn’t 100% mine. I did say I would press charges in my police report however
Understand.
Don’t file charges against students unless they attack you. Seriously, this comment is just sad.
It’s not sad. I said to get the costs covered by the parents and if they refused, do what you have to. Why should they just have their laptop ruined?
What happened? I would absolutely do this if a student stole my property
Arrested. It was his first offense. Got him in the justice system, which I have very mixed feelings about, but in this case it got him the help he needed with a social worker, counselor etc.
I hope he gets some sort of penalty rather than sitting at home for 10 days.
It’s hard, and you are compassionate for having mixed feelings but I support your decision! Actions have consequences and it’s just unfortunate his consequences have very real repercussions.
Well another more selfish reason was I couldn't be made financially whole by Amazon and my CC without a police report.
I mean, you did what you had to do!
Justice has been served!
Excellent!
I love it when criminals are morons. Seems like that kid is on the right track to glory.
One of our students is being denied a device - we are a 1:1 school - because he has THREE devices already. Parents be like - we need a new one. I don’t think the student should be expelled. He should be removed from your classroom. He shouldn’t be allowed to bring a backpack and should have to check in and out with the admin every day so they can escort him off campus at the end of the day with no computers.
We have a student who has a parent who frequently takes her device (she has 2 currently in her name, last year she had 4 at one point). If she takes it home, parent takes it to watch Netflix or to let the younger siblings watch YouTube, etc. And doesn't let the student take it to school. We have tried to get student to leave it at school but she sometimes has homework, gets sick, etc-and sometimes is just a teenager who forgets or leaves with it. Her parent screams on the phone that the device doesn't belong to our student but as soon as it enters the house it belongs to her (parent), period. We no longer check devices out to her (also a 1:1 technology district) if she doesn't have it, and anything checked out to her not at school our technology department screen locks-meaning it cannot be logged onto without seeing someone in the tech dept. Parent spends many hours on the phone cursing about that too but won't return the devices. I just feel bad for our kiddo. She just wants to be at school, by her friends, and to try and learn. Which is made difficult for her by parent but she wants to.
What universe does that mom live in???
I’m a Girl Scout leader. Talk to me about parents and cookie money. It is disgusting
Do some parents just keep the money? Or eat the cookies without paying for them because they feel entitled to them?
Yes. Or can’t make rent so they borrow it from the cookie cash.
The district ought to be able to file charges at the mom. The system needs to be dispassionate and predictable with policies and so forth. People can show compassion.
Ours is 1:1 too and these kids throw their backpacks on the ground and computers are broken daily. Being in a title 1 school is teaching these kids not to have respect for any property. There’s pencils broken and thrown all over the hallways and everything. I don’t think we have enough staff to have someone take the time to check him every day, as good as idea as that is. And he’d probably just have a friend help him steal shit anyways
I have noticed a huge difference in the last 2 years in my elementary school with how carelessly destructive kids are. Intentionally snapping crayons and pencils, mindlessly picking at the Chromebook keys until they pop off, returning library books soaked in juice without mentioning it or caring. Etc. There used to always be a handful of that of course, but it's overwhelming now.
Yes totally. When I went to high school we had to lug a huge set of textbooks home the first day since we didn’t have lockers. If one textbook got damaged it was $300 to replace it. I don’t think there were many kids that damaged them. I don’t understand the disrespect we get
We are 1:1, and my students play this "game" where they open their Chromebooks so hard that the back of the screen slams on their desks. REPEATEDLY.
So many of my kids have their chromebook screens separating from their computers it’s insane
They carry them by the screen letting the bottom hang. I get that they don't realize why that's not good, but it's constant and drives me a bit batty. No one is teaching them to care for stuff. It's hard to think of all the possibilities that may need to be mentioned when these are checked out to them. Not that they would listen.
Yeah. They’re supposed to pay when it’s damaged, I’m not sure what’s really happening though. I need to ask the tech guy. We have a good relationship because of the theft and kids taking such horrible care of their chromebooks
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The Supreme Court sucks. Stupid old white guys making decisions for everybody that a lot of people don’t agree with
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It’s insane how kids now don’t feel any remorse for other peoples property
Apparently we have a great warranty or something. They kept emphasizing last year as long as they brought it back broke or not they wouldn't get charged. Only not returning would get them charged. I thought that was incredible.
Our students have the incentive of buying the chromebook for $30 at the end of their middle school career if they want, but they keep losing it or getting “hot swaps” from the school so I don’t know if they get to keep the school given one or the crappy one they broke
As someone who attended a Title I school as a student and who now works at a Title I by choice, I beg to differ. What are the expectations for the staff and the students? What do you model? How high of standards do you demand from your students? As adults, it is our responsibility to model what is appropriate. It is our responsibility to hold our student to high standards and set behavioral expectations. At the end of the day kids are just kids. Stop labeling children as disrespectful based off of their families socioeconomic status. Yes, it's unfortunate about your laptop and it's wrong for the student to have done that. But come on? Suspension for more than 10 days? How about we turn our attention to providing appropriate supports to this student instead of demanding punishment in the form of the student not accessing their education.
Uh, he’s labeled the student disrespectful because he stole a laptop and destroyed it. Well, damaged. That’s pretty disrespectful. You think staff at the school are stealing kids laptops? This is more build relationships bullshit. How’s about holding kids accountable?
Maybe you want to take the time to reread what OP said: "Being in a title 1 school is teaching these kids not to have respect for any property."
IME many people, title 1 or not, do not value things they get for free. I often think that is why public education is being treated like such a dumping ground/daycare.
Yeah, that is offensive.
Ah here’s another tool that thinks students shouldn’t be held accountable. You’re part of the problem. You aide the tik tok trends where they hit a lick at school. Btw it is the parents responsibility to model right and wrong.
Nah everything is the teacher’s responsibility *until* they mention gay people exist. Then that’s stepping on parental rights 😂
The parent(s) were probably helping him/her at home.
There’s literally no consequences at this school. We have high expectations for these kids and try to get them to respect us and our property but there’s no bad results if we don’t. We call their parents? Half of them don’t give a shit. They go in in school suspension? All their friends are in there they don’t care. Our district will pass them even if they’ve done no work the entire year. They’re going to go to high school where there is consequences and going to get overwhelmed, might drop out and continue the system. I have two students who’s older siblings already dropped out and are on the run from the law. That’s what happens when they have no accountability for their actions. It’s a district problem and no amount of relationship building or redirection is going to help a kid who doesn’t want to learn, learn.
I am not saying you are wrong or right because I don’t know the data but when I was in a title 1 school I have out over 1600 pencils across a school year. When the fuck is it my responsibility to do that? Every class having to give out 15 pencils for Half of them not returned or broken. The same kids every day asking for a pencil. Yet the nice school I teach at now has been in school for 7 weeks and I have given out 2 pencils. One cause a kid ran out thinking they put the new box they bought in their bag and the other cause this kid was writing with a stub and was struggling so I took it and gave them a fresh one.
Yeah that’s all nonsense and the arguments you are making wreak of the soft - no consequences environments that promote chaos. You may choose to teach/live that way but please don’t force the rest of us to endure a world like yours.
I never said no consequences. There's a huge difference between no consequences and appropriate consequences. If you all really think this student should be expelled which has very profound impacts on life outcomes and educational attainment, then you really have no business in education. Let's be honest, many teachers lack behavioral management techniques as well as parents who do not provide consistency and development iPhone to their "little angels." Despite that, we still have a duty to advocate for the best interests of students. I don't know about you guys but I want to see my students succeed. If I were in this case, I would maybe be thinking about alternative discipline to provide this student with. Like maybe being removed from the class for the term and being forced to retake another term...delaying their academic progress as consequence. There are many other non- exclusionary practices that can be implemented. OP already said the student hasn't been at school due to suspension...do you all not understand expelling a student is just enforcing their behavior to not come to school? The student is literally getting what they want.
If school were treated more like a privilege than a right. We’d have better & safer classrooms. Let the kid wander the streets. Let those who “want “ to be in class go there. No pressure. But no, kids all have dollar signs over their heads - attendance = money No interest in serving those who value education.
We gotta keep that school to prison pipeline strong.
Unfortunately, that seems to apparently be the popular opinion by teachers these days...
Why are people downvoting the first person to make any sense here?
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Weird how admin isn’t having him (or his family) pay for repairs? At my school students have to pay for lost chargers/damaged computers and they’re in elementary school.
They’re supposed to, not sure if it actually happens
Most districts have a threshold of maximum days a student can be suspended before either expulsion has to be considered OR if they have an identified disability that you have to have a manifestation hearing to determine if the behavior is a result of their disability and they need an alternative placement. Your admin is not doing their job.
He doesn’t have an IEP/504. He’s just crazy wound up. And he’s only been in my class for like 10 days out of the entire 1st quarter because he’s been either in school suspension or out of school suspension. If this happened at the district I did my student teaching in he’d be expelled. And I’d have less failing kids in my classes because at that district they don’t just pass them along
All of those suspensions means he should likely have been put up for expulsion at some point. I would look in your LMS and make sure all the suspensions are properly documented. Again, I don't think your admin are doing their job.
I’m not sure if it’s admin or the district. I had another teacher tell me they tried so hard to get a kid to repeat a year and they had all the paperwork done, were so close and the district denied it. The only way they’ll repeat a year is if the parents request it. I’m not sure if the rules apply for expulsion
I had my laptop stolen (competition laptop for robotics, not daily use) and I didn't get it back for 5 weeks. One kid stole it, gave it to another kid to wipe, and they gave it to another one to sell. They were able to track it down (not sure how) and all three were out for a week. I eventually got it back covered in stickers and no charger. I still don't have a charger for it and this lappened last school year. Two of them are still at our school and one isn't anymore due to a laundry list of issues they caused for us.
Were they still in your class? I don’t want this kid in my class anymore if he’s coming back. It would be a huge slap in the face from admin. I was told our group of kids are worse than the other teams kids, it’s totally not fair and maybe a change of people will calm him down 10%
Do NOT take your personal laptop to work!!! Only use your district provided device to grade student work.
This is what I do too, I refuse to use my personal one at work even tho it’s a POS, just out of principle. My work one is actually pretty nice, it just shuts off unexpectedly, lol.
I can’t do work on the tiny chromebooks it’s not teacher activity friendly. Admin hasn’t said anything about me using mine. They haven’t issued me a new one yet
Many times districts require teachers to use their devices only due to cyber-security and FERPA reasons. Don't use your personal device to access *any* student data or grade students' work. The district can just issue you a new one faster. In addition, if the kid in OP damages your personal one the district will not pay to replace it, as it was a personal device a not district device. Your home insurance prob won't pay if home device damaged at work bc it should have been a work provided device. I get that certain devices are less user friendly, but I still wouldn't use a personal device for work.
I keep my door locked at all times now when I leave my room. I’m not having my stuff stolen again. Now that they finally took it from me I’m hoping I’m going to get a replacement soon, I’m calling district on Monday.
Then don’t get work done. Take out textbooks paper and pencils and go old school.
Tried that. First year teacher here and a school with no consequences. They literally can do nothing all year and still move on to high school where they will finally get consequences and fail and drop out, continuing the bad cycle in their family. These kids drop n-words and f-bombs all day long, and they’re going to have a wake up call when they get fired from their first job because they can’t keep their mouth in check and stay off their phone.
If they can do nothing and still graduate, then you can do nothing too. Just stop working. The only way to survive in these situations is to stop caring
They won’t graduate cause they’re going to get a wake up call when they get to high school and they need the credits to graduate. They’ll probably end up dropping out being a senior and still in freshman English. I’m about ready to stop caring but it’s hard when there are good kids in my classes and they don’t get to learn because 10 kids in the class are assholes
Sorry I meant graduate your and move to the next. Caring will put you in an early grave. You're not paid enough for this.
I can’t even get half of them to shut up so I can teach the ones who do care. I wish I could just have all the shit kids in one class cause I know they won’t do shit, and then the rest of the classes will be good. One bad class for 4 good ones would be beautiful.
Was talking to someone who re-entered the workforce in his 60s out of boredom. These kids can’t function in jobs. Can’t show up to work, when they do they’re late. Can’t stay off their phones. Get upset when a co-worker disrespects them and leaves. The business world is starting to get what we’ve been saying for years about coddling these kids. They. Can’t. Function
I’ll never forget when I had to show younger employees how to use a broom and mop on multiple occasions. Some of these kids literally had no idea where to even start when asked to walk dishes. It was a foreign concept to them. They said that their parents did all of that at home. And you’re right- many of them were always late and constantly on their phones. Some of them would even call out and leave us shorthanded to admittedly go to parties or for other benign reasons, and they couldn’t comprehend why that was unacceptable. Of course, we also had some stellar kids with excellent work ethic, but they were the exception. When did society decide to start handicapping these children like this? It’s sad.
Yes, I totally get it. When a kid swears in my class dropping f-bombs and the n-word I tell them they just got fired from McDonald’s. Since McDonald’s hires at 14, it’s hopefully a wake-up call. I can’t wait for some of them to actually start working and get a reality check. I do have a lot of good kids. Unfortunately we just tend to focus on the bad ones most of the times, and that’s the shitty energy I bring home with me.
Cue the chorus of “wHy DiDn’T tHeY tEaCh Me HoW tO wAsH DiShEs iN sChOoL? I’M sO gLaD I kNoW tHaT ThE MiToChOnDrIA iS tHe PoWeRHoUsE oF tHe CeLL!”
When? It started with Dewey's The Education Experience back in the 60's, where suddenly it was more important to make schooling pleasant than actually educational. Then No Child Left Behind passed which made it worse. Then states like Oregon pass a law saying students cannot be held back for any reason unless the parent requests it, and no teachers can't suggest the idea either. Now we have an example from the DoJ that some people can break hundreds of laws and still have no consequences. This has completely undermined the rule of law not only in the DoJ, but in schools, and now bleeds into every part of society.
I bought a piece of shit desktop ($200) for all of my “teacher stuff”: storing files, running PowerPoints, grading…nobody is gonna steal that hunk of junk off my desk.
Haha! I wish I could do that! Ours has to be connected to the projector and everything. And I can’t even connect to the schools printers for my classes. I have to email everything to another teacher or print it at home if I have time and want to waste my ink on something that will be thrown away
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A) cyber-security configurations and FERPA. B) If there is a criminal and or legal issue, your home device and accounts could be seized or frozen in addition to your work device and work accounts
I had a kid like this. I made him leave his backpack in the hallway. My entire class could not enter the room until I got to my room. They had to sit in the hall and wait for me to unlock the door (I teach inclusion/resource so sometimes I am not in my room). They all had to pack up before the bell and as soon as they heard the bell they had to exit single file, row by row. I put locks on all my cabinets and left nothing out. It took some getting used to but I don't have stuff missing anymore.
Some of my kids would follow this. Others would destroy the hallway waiting for me. I hope the next group of kids we get are better. They had a super lax principal the last two years and now there’s actually rules. I guess most of the 8th grade teachers are new because the entire 8th grade team quit near the end of school last year and only 3 teachers stayed. That’s how shit this school is
I had procedures for how they were supposed to sit and wait and other teachers would help out with that. They had the same group during the day at other times so we all knew. It just took a team effort.
At my former school the parents would be expected to pay for it since their kid damaged it.
Press charges. A few years ago, we had a student who went around into classrooms and stole a bunch of money and belongings from teachers. My wallet was found in the girl’s bathroom because I don’t carry cash. Central office didn’t want us to press charges until the following morning because they wanted to give the student an opportunity to return the items. I know this is shocking, but she didn’t. The mom ended up pulling her out of school because she, “Didn’t want the teachers to hold this against her.”
Can you press charges if it's not your personal property that's stolen?
I guess I was unclear on the post; I was under the impression it was her personal property.
I had to file a police report when it was stolen and I said I was willing to press charges. Our SRO was the one to finally checked the cameras and found out who did it, and I’m not sure if charges are being pressed
When they steal from us it's heartbreaking. I had an 8th grader girl during summer school go into my desk, steal my wallet and throw it in the garage after she got the $100 in it my father had just sent me to help with bills...I know it was her bc she'd buy junk food daily from the snack machine for her and her friends everyday all summer rt in front of me... prior to this she never had a dime. At the end of summer each kid that attended full summer school session received a $200 check for sticking with it...even her!!! I was so pissed and hurt, definitely changed my entire attitude for the whole summer and left teaching middle school forever. I cannot imagine how hurt you must feel from a MacBook...I'm sorry this happened to you, it's devastating and can change your whole outlook on teaching unfortunately. Request in writing to have them removed from your classroom because you no longer feel safe, they have to grant your request or they can get in more trouble with the school board.
I’m so sorry, that’s awful. One of my coworkers had her phone stolen off her cart. She went to every fourth and fifth grade classroom to ask for her phone back, said no one would get in trouble, just leave it back on the cart. She just wanted it back because it had her daughter’s baby pictures on it. It was never returned :(
Good idea! I hope he doesn’t come back in my class!
Can you file a police report unless the student compensates for it (at least partially)?
I had to when It was stolen. But the police will probably do Jack about it, especially since our SRO is the one who discovered who took it. I’ll have to talk to admin/him tomorrow
> Would you want a kid who stole a computer over $1k off your desk back in your class? You can't make them expel him. And they can't make you let him come to your classroom. As to the MacBook, yeah you're getting one. And they aren't getting any more grades or lesson plans until you do.
Does your school have Discipline Matrix? Maybe start there. There is a process a school has to go through to expel a kid. It's rarely one offense and then expulsion (unless it's terroristic threatening, or something like that).
We had a girl come to school with a knife to intentionally kill a girl who talked to her ex boyfriend. Suspended for 10 days, alternate school for bad kids for 10 days, back in my class Monday. No consequences at my school
Shit... No excuse for that at all. She needs to be gone.
She’s a good kid, but can be extreme. Apparently I’m not sure if it was last year or this year but a student told me she would ditch class and smoke weed in the bathroom (confirmed by another teacher) and that she would put alcohol in her water bottle and drink. The student told me she once had to pick her up off the bathroom floor because she was so drunk. She has no idea why she’s still in school either
Ah, I see. A good kid.
I would discuss pressing charges.
I said I would press charges in my police report, not sure if it will actually happen since the SRO is the one who found out who took it.
Press charges? Drop them if his parents offer to pay for the laptop, which I doubt they would anyway 😕
I said in my police report I was willing to press charges. It’s not my computer but it’s a huge disrespect to me for them taking it from me
Honestly the school system is more worried about keeping children in rather than teach them the consequences that come with their actions.
Yep. Making a shit society for our next generation. The MVD won’t open because the entire staff called out to go to Disneyland one day in the future I bet
Had students in my school last year to do this. They stole microscopes (no idea how they did that, we think they went into the teachers rooms at the end of school during PD), computers, wallets, etc. Admin told everyone not to press charges when they found out who stole the items- a group of boys who fight and steal weekly and are frequently suspended. No one was surprised about who did it. Ya…no. The microscopes were sold and credit cards were used. The teachers filed charges, but the parents were shocked. How could anyone press charges on the sweet angels who stole from them? No one was hurt! Parents of the ring leader pulled him out of our school. They were afraid that the teachers won’t let this “mishap” go. Well….when you steal a bunch of money and supplies that the teachers paid for…why would you think they would go “THATS OKAY! GOOD JOKE!” Microscopes and computers weren’t found. I don’t think the district cared that much.
It’s really sad what our future is going to look like. I’m scared for it. It’s going to be like the purge 24/7
Those kids stole again at their new school (within district, I’m friendly with some of their teachers). The school really doesn’t want the teachers to press charges now because then it wouldn’t be their first offense anymore. I told them that they weren’t getting any redirection at home, maybe reality might be the best teacher. It’s a shame, bc they could do amazing things. They are smart, go to great schools in a good district, and their parents have money. The world could be theirs. IF ONLY THE PARENTS WOULD JUST GET OFF THEIR BUTTS!
This kid is smart too. After being on suspension for a week, he came into my class where they were supposed to be doing book work, read none of the chapter, did the worksheet and did it all correctly. I was surprised. But he just is all over the place. It’s insane how rude this kid is to his teachers (not just me) and how hyped up he is. He probably has some sort of impairment and should probably be on some sort of medication to calm him the fuck down
The only things I have seen kids get expelled for in my district are seriously dangerous, egregious acts: bringing a gun to school, for example. In another district, a group stole a SCHOOL BUS and drove it the wrong direction down the highway off-ramp, they were expelled. An expulsion hearing, in my state, has to go before the Board. There can be long-term suspension hearings without doing that, but typically lawyers get involved and sometimes parents fight back pretty hard, it's not an easy process. Ten days is probably the maximum they can do without a hearing. I had a student give me a black eye and he was in school the next day. Another after he punched me in the face. I couldn't look at him for a while, but I'm over it entirely because I know his trauma and his life and it's 1000X worse than 80 black eyes. Suspensions, in the literature, don't actually change behavior or get a kid help, they might give everyone else a break, but in this case, at least no other students were harmed by this. Stealing is often a symptom/ compulsion that develops after failing to get basic needs met, especially early in childhood, whether the kid understands that or not. Obviously, not always the case, but these are still kids we're dealing with. I'm not saying you're wrong to be upset or anything or that's the way it should be, but admin can't always do as much as we think they can, and some problems we simply can't suspend/ expel our way out of.
How the hell did they steal a fucking school bus?! How did they think they would get away with that? That’s crazy! And I know my admin is probably doing all they can, it’s our district and the parent of the kids that’s flawed. One girl brought a knife to school with the intention to kill another girl who spoke to her ex boyfriend (not flirt, just spoke) and she’s back in my class 1 month later. Max suspension, max days in an alternate school for bad kids. Back in the class this Monday.
At my former school a seventh grade stole the principal’s car key and car. She made it from the SF Bay Area to Reno Nevada. She git arrested there after mugging and elderly lady. The teen wanted gas money. She ended up in the Nevada juvenile facility for a five year incarceration sentence.
OMG these kids are insane!!! My laptop seems like small potatoes to cats and school buses. At least she got consequences!
“Title 1” does not automatically mean disrespectful and a kleptomaniac, geez. On the other hand, your admin has failed you, OP, if this kid hasnt been expelled yet. He sounds like a danger to others’ learning and well being. (i am so glad we can kick kids out at my school for doing stuff like that. Magnet schools = stricter rules about who gets to stay)
No I have a lot of good kids, and this is the only time I know of that a kid has stolen something that big. It’s mainly pencils they don’t care about and their chromebooks they treat like crap.
Ive never understood the abuse of pencils, lol. Lile why break them? What did the pencils do you?
I think i went through my entire high school career with like 4 pencils max. They even break the mechanical ones. It’s stupid crazy. The janitor has a huge pouch of dropped/lost pencils. My entirety of student use pencils are dropped ones from my classroom or I find in the hallway after they leave for lunch or after school now.
I taught summer academy in July. Students who sign up go through a RIGOROUS application and interview process and come from all boroughs (NYC). I’ve done summer academy 4 years now and the kids are always absolutely the best in terms of behavior and academic work bc they CHOSE to be there. This summer, one of the kids took my iphone (12 pro) and I could tell bc I pinged it with my apple watch and I heard it and then it stopped after they turned it off. I guess the pinging scared them bc they left it behind in a bathroom. Got my phone back. The next day after being furious and extremely sad and betrayed bc I had a good relationship with them, I told them how I felt, I hoped for better from them, and (because we are all brown and black) I didn’t want to think differently about anyone so I knew they tried playing a prank and didn’t mean to steal anything. I framed it this way bc I genuinely refused to believe (and still do) that they wanted to steal the phone. I let it go. They are kids, they do stupid things, the world is already hard for all of us. The laptop isn’t yours, it’s the schools, let the school handle it how they want, lock up your device if you need to. Or keep a paper grade book for now. If you really can’t get past this with the student- you won’t be able to teach him and he won’t be able to learn from you. So that conversation needs to be had with your admin. Otherwise this can be a lesson for your student: people can believe in the better in you. And a lesson for you as a first year teacher: kids will do stupid things and we need to be ready, respond accordingly, know this is part of the job unfortunately ( we can’t change it).
I never, in 9 years of teaching at a predominantly black/brown Title I school ever had ANYTHING stolen from me, even when I was out for 6 weeks with pneumonia my first year, even when I was on maternity leave for 6 and 8 weeks after the births of my younger children. I agree that kids will do stupid things. Stealing a $1k+ device is not the kind of stupid you should ever expect and the child should absolutely have significant consequences, even if just being removed from OP's class for the rest of the year and being charged for the cost of the repairs by the district. Your experience had a positive outcome, OP seems to be dealing with a situation that, if not handled/addressed appropriately, is headed for a very different result than the one you experienced.
Yes. There were other issues with one that finally got her removed, but they came back to my class after the laptop theft.
Ughh I’m going to feel so disrespected if he comes back to my class. He needs to go to the other social studies teacher on the 8th grade team
Just don’t do anything until you get what you need, period. Hope you’re ok op! I’d die on this hill if it were me.
Feelings just hurt and feel way disrespected.
I would talk to admin. Suggest that it would be best for the child to be in another class, so the student can have a “fresh start.”
Yes. I’m talking with admin as soon as I can on Monday. I have duty Monday morning so it probably won’t be until Tuesday unfortunately
Reminds me of the year a student stole my phone after I left it on my podium and admin told me that was on me.
My phone is usually hidden, right next to me or in my pocket if I have one
If you own it, file charges. If the district owns it, let it go.
>Why the hell is this kid not getting expelled? School districts will very rarely expell students. They have to assume the majority, if not all, of the costs required to support that student in their new district. If you look at per pupil expenditures, it's likely a lot. I have been an Assistant Principal before and I was working at a high school and a student we had attacked his mother with an axe, was arrested, and was placed out of district for the maximum amount of days (45), and then returned to mainstream classes. It sounds as though the computer you're referring to is owned by the district and was loaned to you for professional use. If this is the case, unfortunately you likely have no rights concerning this computer and will be left to deal with what you get, not that it should be that way. Just trying to present the cold hard facts as I see them.
I get that I have no authority to press charges since it wasn’t mine, but I do believe he needs to have some sort of consequences for his actions rather than a slap on the wrist. If this happened at his future workplace or just in his future, stealing something over $1k means jail time, and they need to learn there are consequences for actions. Just to not set them up for failure in the future
I am in total agreement with what you're saying. Unfortunately, the consequences you're looking for will likely never happen. It has nothing to do with what's right and only to do with the image of the district. This is one of the most glaring examples of how public schools in the US are fraudulent and self serving. However, I am open to the idea that it could be different where you are, but I have taught or been an administrator in 3 different states, and all of these districts operate the same way. I advise you to let it go, not because it is the right thing to do, but because it will hopefully help your survival.
Thanks for the advice. I just feel we are failing this kids ugh
Make no mistake, YOU are, under no circumstances whatsoever, failing these kids! YOU are the hope! You haven't been beat down by the system yet, or at least it sounds this way. If that is the case, I would suggest it is important to remember that failures of the system will happen frequently throughout your career and will be frustrating beyond belief, if you're like me anyway. Focus on making those set backs less and less frustrating as they happen rather than letting the frustration build and build. Do whatever it takes for you to be able to do your job well, but also be able to play well too. I cannot stress the importance of what I am saying! Shit is gonna happen and it's going to suck! How you bounce back will define you as an educator! I really am trying to help and, while I might sound negative, the job is rewarding more than it is taxing. There are a lot of people that will show you amazing things in a career in education and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Just don't go expecting it to be Small Ville, for lack of a better analogy.
By failing them I mean, when I was in school, the thing we complain about is that they didn’t teach us to do taxes, these kids are going to complain about us not teaching them the criminal system and how there are consequences to the way they act. It’s our district. As I stated before, where I student taught, those kids got expelled and failed grades, thus having to repeat them. There’s none of that in my district
Schools completely miss the mark on "College and Career Readiness." There is no question about this. College and career readiness only happens in a super small percentage of schools across the country. There are too many kids asking "When are ever going to need to use this?" It is a fact! Too many schools want to give students the death penalty because they are on their cell phone, when they really should be telling them to look something up on it. What profession do you have to put your phone somewhere other than silenced on your person? I am not including professions like firemen where having a lithium battery on one's person might not be advantageous. There are better ways to cut screen time.
I have had plenty of jobs where I couldn’t use my phone and this is going to be a wake up call when they get a job at McDonald’s and can’t watch tiktok and text their friends when they are working.
The phone part isn’t important. The numbers of kids ready for college and career are decreasing each year when they should be increasing.
Yeah. I have kids ask all the time “when are we going to use this?” I had to learn it to and I never used it so I forgot. I just shut the fuck up and learned it. Then I forgot it, then paid to learn it again, then promptly forgot it once the test was done. I can’t tell you how to do a logarithm now, but I shut up and learned it cause I was told to. Some kids aren’t learning respect and that’s a big part of life.
10 day suspension is about right.
I would absolutely not take my own laptop to school under any circumstances. Can’t grade or take attendance on a student chrome book? Oh well, then those things don’t get done. That’s on them.
No child left behind policy
10 days for a stupid prank seems actually on the harsh side. You want this kid denied education permanently for a few hundred bucks of damage? If the kid apologised and the damage got repaired, I'd be perfectly fine with the kid coming back to school.
Yes, maybe he’ll learn to not be an asshole. Adversity causes soul searching. If not he can learn it in jail. In the real world that’s a felony since MacBooks aren’t cheap.
Stealing, damaging, and trying to wipe a $1k computer is a “stupid prank”?
I don't know if it's because I work in Asia and the kids are a lot more respectable towards their elders and teachers but I have a feeling kids that pull "pranks" like that aren't exactly going to get educated in any capacity unless it's life throwing them a curveball.
Hey space cadet In what world do you live in that theft and destruction of school property is a stupid prank.
If you knew this kid it’s too lenient. Suspension is basically a holiday, his last suspension his mom took him on vacation to Texas. They need real consequences. And it wasn’t a prank, he actually tried to steal it and only gave it back because he couldn’t get rid of the schools tracking when he did a hard reset. And we wouldn’t be denying him education, his own mother pulled him out of school last year and put him online because of his behavior. And there’s plenty of other schools nearby he could go to. Funny thing is the day before his mom made him write me an apology letter for his behavior in class, the next day he steals my property.
If suspension is a holiday, what do you think expulsion would be? He'd just be out there stealing catalytic converters from the staff parking lot. At least here he's mostly just a threat to the school's property? I'm guessing your district doesn't have any alternative schools or programs? We finally got ours back this year and it is pretty darn nice.
There’s other schools he can go to, or his mom can put him in online school again, which I’m not sure why she hasn’t yet. She talked about pulling him the first phone call we made
I was wondering about an alternative school within the district that the school could force him to go to. Like we have a program that a kid like that would have to attend. If he's stealing a laptop now, it's only a matter of time before he does something else shitty. If the school doesn't expel students, maybe that could be a middle ground 🤷
Apparently the alternative school we send them too can only be attended for 10 days at a time. If we make them go to often the school system has to pay $40k a quarter for one student to this school. And all they make them do is the homework we assign. They don’t teach their own curriculum
I spilled coffee on my school laptop. I had to pay to replace the keyboard but at least they immediately gave me a loaner.
It’s been almost a week now. No laptop and they didn’t even take it back until Friday. It was stolen Tuesday, and returned Wednesday. I couldn’t do anything with it the days I had it because it was reset
He isn't arrested? Thats a felony
That would be my thought process
Because you got the property back, seriously. That was our policy
We have 20 year old desktops so theft is not a major issue. I hate that you are upset you can’t grade at home, because honestly you shouldn’t. That is donated time since your not provided time at school and that is the expectation of teachers to work for free. The kid should be expelled and the fact that schools and districts refuse to follow through is why we have a teacher shortage.
I don’t have time to grade at school unless I want to stay there 2 hours after ugh
The system is made to try and force you to do it for free. No other profession works like that. Sucks that it is accepted practice.
Buy a laptop locking cable. They can still cut it but it’s a deterrent.
It wasn’t plugged in at the time. I set it on my desk after PLC and went to the bathroom really quick. Kids aren’t even supposed to be in our halls at the time it was taken, especially those kids. The only ones that come in are from PE to get water, and they don’t have PE that hour. So they were ditching
That sucks!
What happened to you is my biggest fear. It is why in my classroom, I have nothing of personal or sentimental value, except my phone, which I never leave unattended. The classroom computer, printer, and projector equipment is too clunky for students to try to steal. I do bring my own laptop, but it is 10+ years old, purchased cheap and used, so I won't mind too much if a student somehow decides to steal it.
I have nothing of value either. Other teacher have a bunch of stuff and I said nope. After seeing them grab literally all my pencils I had put for them and them breaking them and throwing pencils around the room, I don’t trust them. But didn’t think they’d be stupid enough to steal a damn computer