You put your MP3 in your book bag and closed your locker door. A few hours later, it is missing. Gone. You were robbed.
Search everything before you tell a teacher, says Tad Smith of San Miguel Schools Chicago, Back of the Yard Campus.
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Smith, a teacher for 16 years, says the stolen item usually is just lost. “Kids report things are stolen, and it ends up it was left in a parent’s car or on the gym floor,” he says.
But if you’re sure you’ve been robbed, tell a teacher right away. “Let them know what is missing — give them the details,” Smith says.
Be sure to speak up immediately, don’t wait a few days. “The further away you get from the time it went missing, the more difficult it is to figure out what happened,” he says.
Also avoid playing the blame game, even if you think you know who stole your stuff. Smith says accusing someone can lead to “hard feelings.”
And it may be hard to accept, but the school isn’t responsible. Don’t expect your missing item to be replaced by the school, he says.
Even books may be a student’s responsibility. Smith says previously he worked at a private high school where students had to buy their own books. Textbook snatching was a problem until the school bought a scanning ID system.
“You just scanned the bar code and you knew whose book it was,” he says. “The kids didn’t know it was there, but the administration did.”
Books have to go to school, but students should consider not bringing other items, such as pricey music players and cell phones. “Leave the expensive stuff at home,” Smith says.