The Blue Pen

Day Two:

It’s funny to me how a seemingly unrelated series of events can be synced together mentally to create a learning experience. In other words, I didn’t know what I learned today until my day was near its end.

Here’s what happened at school today.

At the end of the class period right before Nutrition a student apparently left behind a pen on a desk. I say apparently because I didn’t notice it but in the class following the break, a break where I should say most students do not eat something nutritional, a student came to me with a pen in hand declaring that it was left behind. Although it was a rather plain looking pen I thanked the student for their honesty in turning it in; and then I promptly established a ‘lost in found’.

I’ll be honest. I created this lost-n-found for looks. I wanted the lost-n-founder to think they did a good thing, because in truth they did, but the contradictory thought behind my action was, “Dude, you could have either kept it or tossed it. Either way, you didn’t have to actually tell me that someone left behind a pen.”

Then nothing else of much significance happened for the rest of the school day.
Here’s what happened tonight at home before entering this post.

While reading a magazine I subscribe to, I read that last week a bus driver named Alberto Rios from Argentina found something while cleaning up at the end of his shift. Mr. Rios found a brief case that was left behind containing 1.8 million pesos, or approximately $460,000.00. Without giving it too much thought Mr. Rios retraced his steps and found its owner; he was rewarded for his honesty and efforts with $80. When asked why gave it back, he said, “There are things that test you. My father always told me, What belongs to you is yours, what does not is not yours.”

Upon reading those words I flashed back to the end of my day at school.

I was closing up my class and just about to head home with a little girl came in and asked if I had found a pen she thinks she may have left behind.

“I don’t think so. What makes you think you left it here?”, I said recalling I had this student early in the day, which to me meant she could have left it anywhere.

“Because I went to all my other classes and it wasn’t there. So if it’s anywhere, it must be here.”

Having forgotten about the newly erected lost-n-found, I began to give her bad news and send her on her way. But as she was exiting my class she saw her pen in a jar on the back table and exclaimed, “Here it is! Oh good, I thought I lost it.”

And then she just walked out the door.

I thought nothing of those two occurrences regarding the blue pen until I read about Albert Rios this evening.

And just like, lessons were learned.

Today I learned that Finders do not have to be Keepers. In fact, the world would likely be home to happier people if Finders worked to keep Losers from Weeping.

Today I learned that it doesn’t matter if it’s a pen, or almost half a million bucks – if it’s not yours, it’s not yours.

Today I learned to open my eyes even wider because today contained a lesson that slapped me in the face twice, and if it weren’t for Albert, I would have missed it.

Today I learned that I probably lived through a bunch of lessons that I definitely missed.


Off to reflect and refocus my lesson lenses…
J.C. León