Return the pencil to Horace and tell him that you will attend to the
matter of Lettie’s conduct. Have a private talk with Lettie, finding out
just why she took the pencil, rather than ask at Lettie’s home to have
one bought. Have a talk with Lettie’s mother, telling her of Lettie’s
temptation and suggesting to her, as an aid in teaching property rights
to her children, to let each child have his own pencil, eraser, etc. Let
them even ask each other for a sheet of tablet paper, when one child
needs to borrow from another; to let each of the toys belong to
individual children, not to the group; often to call the attention of
the children to ownership and its attendant rights.
At school explain to the pupils the difference between public and
private property.