I was at the beginning of my teaching career when one year the Principal's son was in my classroom. I wasn't sure how to handle the situation, and there were quite a few times at the beginning of the year when I showed small favoritism to him, even if I knew it wasn't the right thing to do.
I realized what I was doing and that the children were totally aware of the situation when on time he brought a small toy to the school and I did not say anything. It was a hot season, and break time was in the classroom. The boy got the toy out of his school bag and brought it inside the classroom and started to play with it. Our class and school rule was that no toys were allowed from home. No students were allowed in my classroom to bring or play with toys brought from home. When the principal's son started to play with his toy, I just pretended I didn't see it.
A small group of children came to me and asked, why is he allowed to play with a toy that was not a classroom resource. I said something like "Oh do not worry it is just a small toy". The other child immediately replied, "Yes, because he is the Principal's son."
At that moment I realized that what I was doing was wrong. Even if, for me did not seem a big deal (it is just a toy), I was showing favoritism to one particular child, which started to become obvious to the other children.
Who are the actors? Who was involved? The Principal's son and me.
Was it a right or wrong issue for me? It was a right vs. wrong issue for me.
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