Teachers taking things from students?

[barkley]

I'm sorry, but that's just theft. I totally understand the rule of no electronics, but for the school to take it and keep it is still theft. Not only that, but they are making money off of it. And the students are buying stolen property.

I also don't like the "June Box" idea. Why on earth would the teacher want to have a box full of crap for 9 months? I don't see why they can't confiscate the item and return at the end of the day.

ETA: I also think the teacher should be responsible for stolen items. I don't think it's a good lesson to be learned. It's one thing if the item was stolen from the owner's possession. But, from someone who has no reason to care about the item or it's value, I don't see the lesson there.

not theft-it was a contractual agreement of attendance. specific items were contraban and the students and parents aknowledged that by bringing these items on campus they were violating school policy and such items would be construed as reverting to school property and disposed of at the school's discretion. it was a private school and as such put forth conditions of attendance-if students/parents did not wish to adhere to the conditions of attendance they could opt to go elsewhere.

 

[barkley]

Changing the subject slightly, you'd also be amazed at how little kids care about their lost items.

A few years ago I somehow was assigned the job of cleaning out the lost and found, which was to be carted to Goodwill. This job fell to me in June, and it had been done at Spring Break; thus, I was responsible for hauling away about 2.5 - 3 months worth of stuff from a high school of 1700.

I drive an SUV, and I had to make two trips to Goodwill. Sweatshirts and jackets made up the majority of the lost-and-abandoned stuff. I also had two pair of PJs and a sleeping bag, numerous pairs of perscription glasses (I actually took those to the Lion's Club instead of the Goodwill), sunglasses, wallets, car keys, an external camera flash, several walkman radios, CDs, calculators, bookbags, and quite a bit of jewelry. I was shocked that these things had been sitting in the office in the lost-and-found bin for so long. If I lost any of these things, I'd be looking for them!

not just kids-parents too! dd's prior school (private) kept a HUGE very organized lost and found (under lock and key)-they went so far as to batch stuff in containers by items (jackets, gym clothes, backpacks, electronics...). every month a reminder went out of how much more was accumulating. about a month prior to the end of each school year they would send out a reminder notice (the whole thing was detailed out in the registration papers every year so people were already aware of it) that everyone had until a certain date to go to lost and found and go through stuff or the school would dispose of it at their discretion. their discretion ended up being tables and tables, racks and racks of the stuff up for sale the last 2 weeks of school. brand new (some with the tags still on) sets of gym clothes, expensive designer jackets, portfolios (with unopened packages of binder paper and pen/pencil sets), new (not a scuff of dirt inside or out) high price/high end athletic supplies....
volunteers and administrative staff calling parents on the phone saying "are you aware x's brand new x is here-it has their name on it-are you sure you don't want to retrieve it?"-by and large the parents said "no, i'll just buy them another one" .

it was insane!

 

[disney junky]

Our parents must sign a form agreeing to our policy, the Electronic Devices Policy. Then when they rage against the school for violation of their kid's rights, it is produced with their signature.

 

[TheRatPack]

The kid broke a school rule by bringing toys, etc. to school. That's the bottom line. In the long run, teaching the child to obey the rules -- even if they don't like them, even if they don't really see the point -- is more important than the value of the beanie baby or ballcap that was lost.

Parents should know the school rules and back them up, not fight for their children when they've broken rules.

Does anyone really read any of my post or do they just like arguing the same point over and over LOL. I have said time and time and time again, and I'll say it this last time. I do not have a problem with him getting something taken away, or even not given back. What I do have a problem with is that the excuse of 'it's been stolen' was used and I'm not so sure that I would have been so 'okay' with the idea had it been something worth hundreds of dollars.

Yes, in a perfect reality I would check my childrens backpacks and all their pockets before they left for school. I'd probably floss their teeth for them until they moved out at 18, comb their hair and personally see to it that there clothes were perfectly ironed, and shoes were double knotted.

But, needless to say I do well to sign the agendas, get them up and in to the shower, dry their hair and make sure clean matching clothes are layed out. Not to mention making them breakfast before jumping in the shower myself for that quick shower.

He took something to school he wasn't supposed to....it got taken away, fine. Even if the teacher sent a note home saying that all the items in her room that were taken would never be returned, well that's the punishment. But in their handbook it says that the items will either be returned at the end of the day or that you can pick them up during school hours....etc.

No excuses for my son, the item was not allowed and it's GONE! I just think that something should have been said or done after the items were stolen from the teacher.

 

[coolmom99]

Ohhhhh good grief!!!!
How typical.

Here is a huge heads-up.
If my child needs a mother - CALL ME
If my child needs a nurse - You know where the nurses office is.

You are not my childs parent, you are not my childs nurse, or anything else.

You are a teacher. And, if policy dictates confiscation of personal items (including placing any items of value in safekeeping) , then yes, that is part of your job. I highly suggest you take a deep breath and get over it.

If you want to play the huge martyr and include 'keeper of electronic toys' in with your long list of other miraculous tasks... then, hey, whatever.

According to your own post, you have only seen a handful of such instances... Boy, us parents are just jumping at the opportunity to encourage our kids to bring contraband into your classroom and make your life miserable!!!

But, never mind me.... Let the parent bashing continue.

Yikes, I would never want to be your kid's teacher. What do you have against teachers?

 

[castleview]

My dear Grandmother was a schoolteacher for over 40 years... she was known as strict but fair. I was her only grandchild, and to say I was spoiled is an understatement! Every Saturday morning she would go to her classroom and redecorate the bulletin boards for the next week. I spent a lot of weekends with her, and would go too. I got to pick out two or three items from her confiscated pile!!! I had chattering teeth, vampire blood, joy-buzzers, and tons of bubble gum!! Boy, would those kids have been mad at me! ( I didn't go to the same school). She was of the school that "you shouldn't have brought it, now it's gone forever"... yeah... to MY house!

LOL! I have to admit. My dad was a HS principal and some of the confiscated stuff made it to our house. When the Super Soakers first came out, he confiscated one from a student. What's the first thing he did? Filled it up and squirt it out his office window (private courtyard - only his secretaries saw).

 

[castleview]

Yikes, I would never want to be your kid's teacher. What do you have against teachers?

We've all been trying to figure out that one

 

[daisyduck123]

I secretly take things from my student's desks after school, and
then sell them on the teacher's black market. This has earned me
quite a hefty profit over the years. It used to just be erasers, fancy
pencils, and baseball cards........thank god for technology, because
CD headphones, gameboys, and cell phones have increased my take
tenfold over the past few years

I buy the items from you & then resell them at an even higher price.

 

[KAMLEM]

Yikes, I would never want to be your kid's teacher. What do you have against teachers?

I was thinking the same thing.