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Home
and Family
Lost Property
by A. Ross, M.Ed
We are now well into the winter term, and already there is a
small pile of unclaimed and unmarked coats, sweaters and
boots in the cloakroom. My desk drawers contain several pairs
of scissors, sharpeners, brand new pencils and erasers. For a
week or two, I attempt to trace the owners but the children
themselves are not quite sure. Occasionally another child
will state emphatically that Sorele had a pair of red
scissors like that. Sorele's pencil case, which was
generously filled with pencils, felt tips, a ruler and
eraser, scissors and glue, at the beginning of term, is now
remarkably empty. When I fill it up with some of the contents
of my drawers, she protests that the items do not belong to
her, and that Mommy says it is stealing to take things from
other people. What are teachers to do, and do parents really
have to keep on buying new equipment every few weeks?
The children in school today are already the second or even
third generation of "disposables." Gloves, towels, cutlery,
cups and plates, and tablecloths — use them once and
throw them out. "Doesn't pay to fix it, Ma'am; throw it out
and buy a new one," is the norm for many an expensive item.
Consequently, children absorb the message: they do not need
to look after their property. How much does a pencil cost,
after all? It has become standard practice in many schools
that when parents register their child, they are required to
sign a waiver to the effect that the school may dispose of
any items left unclaimed after a certain amount of time.
Children in older classes suggest cheerfully that we could
start a gemach with all the unclaimed writing
materials. In my opinion, this is not a good idea. It
encourages even more carelessness. The children shrug their
shoulders when their property is missing and instead of
trying to locate it, they say, "Well at least it is going to
a good cause, it can go into the gemach box."
I live on the ground floor of a building, and the garden
facing me is the receptacle of numerous items of laundry
which have blown off the lines. These include skirts,
trousers, pajamas, white and colored shirts, socks and
underwear. Do the owners not miss these things? Whether it is
an almost brand new school skirt or a pajama top, do the
mothers not know that the item has disappeared?
Every now and then, my children go outside with a large trash
can liner, to retrieve not only the clothes but also parts of
expensive toys which have somehow or other found their way
into the garden. They then begin the tedious, thankless task
of going from house to house and neighbor to neighbor, trying
to find the owners. By this time, the clothes are usually
very mud-stained, and the trash can liner is returned to me
as full as when it left the house. Now I have learned to wash
and iron the clothes before sending them round, but even
then, many remain unclaimed. One woman once told my son that
she knew the anorak was missing, but that she had already
bought a new one; she did not need this one any more!
Any dry cleaning firm will tell you about the numerous items
left unclaimed. When I took a pair of torn trousers to a
tailor one day, he asked for payment in advance. I queried
this strange request and he pointed to a rail of clothes.
"These are all clothes which I have repaired, and the owners
have never claimed them. I mended these before I put up a
notice that anything unclaimed within three months will be
disposed of. However, why should I work for nothing on these
clothes? If I ask for payment in advance, you are more likely
to collect the item." The same applies to shoes at the
cobblers and watches at the watchmakers. They can all tell
you stories of unclaimed property.
Mothers must learn to mark every single item when they buy
it. It is time-consuming but should become part of the
routine of equipping a child for school. In the same way as
you have to cover books, you have to mark coats and scarves,
boots and umbrellas. Small stickers on scissors and pencils
are well worth while in the long run. There is little point
in asking a teacher if he has seen a navy sweater size 7, of
a particular make, if twenty boys in the class have the
identical sweater. Amazingly, it happens that parents will
deny ownership of a swimming towel or coat until they are
actually shown the name marked on it!
My own childhood, as well as that of many others of my
generation, was dominated by 'waste not want not,' and bal
tashchis was strictly adhered to. Perhaps our mothers
were a little extreme in saving every single scrap of paper
or paper bag, but we learned our lesson well.
How can we teach our children to be more careful with their
belongings? Some children are careful by nature, but most are
too easygoing. Is there any way in which we could reverse
this trend of easy come and easy go? Would readers like to
voice their opinion?
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