Thou Shalt not Steal

Logan gave Savannah a drafting pencil for Christmas. She was very excited because her teacher, Ms. Headley, uses a drafting pencil. Savannah loves Ms. Headley and thought that having an awesome pencil like hers would be the ultimate Christmas gift.
Upon taking the pencil to school she realized that she was not the only child in the class that thought the pencil was neat. Ms. Headley made a point to tell her that it would be OK if she stored it in the very back of her desk so that it wouldn’t be taken. Ms. Headley also offered to write Savannah’s name on the pencil with her silver Sharpe! Savannah gave the pencil to her teacher at the end of the day and waited all weekend until she could hold her beloved writing utensil again.
Monday came and Savannah went to school expecting great things. However, when she arrived and was told that her pencil was waiting for her on the teachers’ desk; it was nowhere to be found. For days they hoped that it would turn up. The class was reminded how important the pencil was to Savannah as it was a gift from her baby brother. No pencil. A few of the girls were not very nice about all the reminders. One girl imparticular made a big fuss about how she didn’t see what was the big deal. She made it clear to Savannah that she thought the whole thing was dumb. Savannah told her in no uncertain terms that the pencil was a gift from her baby brother and that makes it a BIG DEAL THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Ms. Headley, bless her heart, has been so sweet with Savannah. She did replace the pencil, even though she didn’t really have to and she wrote on the new pencil with her silver Sharpe.
When I went to help in the class room last week I asked Ms. Headley about what had happened. She followed me out into the hall and told me exactly what happened. Savannah used to sit in the desk right in front of Ms. Headley’s. They rearranged desks. Ms. Headley forgot about the rearrangement and put the pencil on Savannah’s old desk as a surprise for her on Monday morning. The little girl who was so rude to Savannah now occupies the desk. When questioned about the pencil, no response from her. Ms. Headley is quite certain that the pencil now lives in this little girls’ home. It is very tricky in public school to search a child desk or backpack or to call them out for lying.
I talked to Savannah about how this made her feel. It was a good teaching experience for my children on why we don’t mess with other peoples things. I told them that if they are ever tempted to take something that does not belong to them, I want them to remember how upset Savannah was when somebody took her pencil. Hopefully they will choose the right. I know Savannah will remember the hurt feelings she has experienced this week.
Private school is looking better and better.