i thought stealing was taking someones possesions without your consent. i doubt school policy, the one the student agreed to, said the teacher was permitted to take the device to his home
in my opinion, once that occured, i call it theft
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Can a teacher do this?
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i thought stealing was taking someones possesions without your consent. i doubt school policy, the one the student agreed to, said the teacher was permitted to take the device to his home
in my opinion, once that occured, i call it theft
The English Theft Act of 1968 illustrates very clearly the concept of theft:
"A person shall be guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it."
The teacher is not guilty of theft.
The English can define theft any way they want. Doesn't mean it flies in the US or any other country. So unless the OP is from the UK, that act is totally irrelevant
If school policy doesnt grant the ability of the teacher to take it home, I would most certainly file a police report for theft as it was taken without my permision outside the agreement i had with the school
According to an unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of California:
Under California law, theft requires an intent to permanently deprive another of property. (See People v. Ortega (1998) 19 Cal.4th 686, 693.) We granted review to determine whether this requirement is satisfied by the intent to take the property only temporarily, but for so extended a period of time as to deprive the owner of a major portion of its value or enjoyment. We conclude such an intent is sufficient.
School policy is not a breach of law. When a school policy is broken it is the school's responsibility to determine the best course of action.
once again, only relevant if in CA. we need to know where the op is
but school policy can not superseed law. if a teacher breaches school policy, they could be breaching local law as well. in this case i feel he is. as such, if this happened to me, i would still file that report for theft
however, as youve illustrated, the law regarding theft in the locality needs to be determined
Why? Are you familiar with the laws in your area which would define the teacher's actions as theft? If so, I'd be very curious to know what they were.
I'd file the report and let the judge decide personally if it came down to it
All I know is the teacher didnt gain permission from the student to take the device home. The school policy didnt permit it either most likely. So in addition of breaching school policy, Id file a complaint for theft and see where it goes.
I have to agreed with CalBoy, right now all we have is an account of what happened from an angry teenager.Naturally, except that even the OP's story is not complete.
His own recollection of the events is based on events he likely couldn't have been there to witness.
If we're going to make much ado over nothing, can't we at least be sure it's nothing first?
My local high school takes up the device, then you can get it back at the end of the day. You are written up (maybe the first time?) the second time and the third time you are suspended from school.
At a different, neighboring school district if a personal device is confiscated, you must wait a month and pay $40 to get the device back. Then 6 weeks, $60. And so on. It's insanity. Is it because other teens lack the maturity to learn the consequences of their actions? What ever happened to schools educating students? It really screws up those of us who do the right thing. Maybe I'm just too mature for my age (17 in a week.)
At a different, neighboring school district if a personal device is confiscated, you must wait a month and pay $40 to get the device back. Then 6 weeks, $60. And so on. It's insanity. Is it because other teens lack the maturity to learn the consequences of their actions? What ever happened to schools educating students? It really screws up those of us who do the right thing. Maybe I'm just too mature for my age (17 in a week.)
Moreover, we have a lot of the story filled in by what the OP thinks happened, which as you remind us, is somewhat tainted by the fact that he's an angry teenager.
Alas, I forgot; no one quite understands the trials and tribulations of being a teenager other than teenagers.
Maybe it's because I'm getting on a bit, but it seems that schoolchildren in the Western world are growing more immature. Wanting to sue a teacher for confiscating a iPod, whatever next?
No I disagree about the maturity.
It has become or is becoming social acceptable to shift blame, responisibily and accountability to some else. Then the 3rd party ends up getting sued.
Back when I was in high school (as if it was really that long ago) we had a discretionary rule on iPods, phones, et cetera. It was up to that particular teacher to say yay or nay. My teachers didn't mind if you listened to music while working individually, but playing games or texting was verboten.
However, whenever someone had their phone taken away, the teacher wouldn't mind if they took out the battery or memory card. Granted, that's considerably harder on the iPhone/iPod, but it still goes to show that a teacher doesn't need to be accessing the device or using it in any way, shape or form.
In fact, the only time I've ever seen a teacher use a student's confiscated device was during my sophomore year when a teacher actually called a kid's mom because it was the fifth time he'd had the phone taken away.
Best part? The teacher called her in the middle of class and put her on speakerphone. The kid wasn't very happy but you can bet he never used that phone in class again.
However, whenever someone had their phone taken away, the teacher wouldn't mind if they took out the battery or memory card. Granted, that's considerably harder on the iPhone/iPod, but it still goes to show that a teacher doesn't need to be accessing the device or using it in any way, shape or form.
In fact, the only time I've ever seen a teacher use a student's confiscated device was during my sophomore year when a teacher actually called a kid's mom because it was the fifth time he'd had the phone taken away.
Best part? The teacher called her in the middle of class and put her on speakerphone. The kid wasn't very happy but you can bet he never used that phone in class again.
Well I think the teacher was right to take the electronic device away if was distracting the student from their studies/homework. However I also think the teacher was wrong to access and use the device; it's unprofessional and a breech of privacy.
But according to Ars Technica, things could be worse! (news article SFW)
But according to Ars Technica, things could be worse! (news article SFW)
