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Children's Mental Health Ontario
International Edubloggers Directory
The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
Aug
29
I’m still chuckling when I think about what he said that day in class. A while ago, I got fed up with my students coming to class unprepared- no paper, no pencils, no books etc. (What else is new?) Usually, I’ll lend my students something if they give me collateral- a MP3 player for a pencil, a watch for a calculator etc. One day, I got fed up with taking care of all the collateral I had collected in my desk drawer. Often, the students would forget their collateral and leave my classroom with my pencil or whatever. I didn’t want the responsibility of taking care of their watches, MP# players, cell phones etc. Things “disappeared” from my classroom. So the next time a student came up to my desk to borrow a pencil, I told him and the rest of the class that I would no longer be lending pencils. I would be happy to sell them a pencil for twenty-five cents and donate the proceeds to charity at the end of the semester. Well, he was indigent. “Twenty-five cents,” he said, “I’m not going to pay twenty-five cents for a pencil. I’ll bring my own pencil from now on.” And, he did.
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5 Responses to “Twenty-five Cents for a Pencil! I’ll Bring My Own!”
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Cool beans!
what kind of teacher are you to take exspensive item from a child that a parent paid.how do all those items disappear?the minute i found out that my kid calculator is “missing”, i thought right away, that his teacher should of asked for a quarter in a second. kids have change in their pocket or write down their name that they owe.why did it take you so long to come up with that.why you should suggest this at abington schools.what kind of an example are setting for the kids by taking their item and not giving it back,just because the kid has your 10cent pencil.you really do not care for your pencils, your fancy pencil.you were a pettytheif, and now your being good.
Mary,
I didn’t keep the expensive items. You have misunderstood. I gave them back. Kids remembered to give back my pencil/pen/ruler/calculator/pencil crayons/markers back because they gave me something they valued. Some kids don’t bother to bring anything but their electronic items. They remember those items but not their equipment for school. They expect me to be organized for them and arrive like “rock stars” expecting their assistants to take care of those little things. Everyone forgets things once in a while. I get fed up with those kids who always expect me to give them what they need. Students are expected to come prepared!
I charge them 50 cents if they forget their pencils. Obviusly Mary has never been in a classroom with students not prepared. The same students forget their pencils everyday and its really their responsibility to be prepared for class. Teachers are not baby sitters.
JP,
It’s an on going problem!