‘Tomorrow it’s a laptop’: Teacher’s $300 Hello Kitty figurine was stolen. She gave the thief a chance then made a tough decision

A high school teacher filed a police report after a student took a Hello Kitty Funko Pop from her desk. The toy meant a lot to her because a third-grade student had given it to her as a gift six years ago. The teacher goes by @_d3thateacher on TikTok. 

She kept the toy in its box for years before deciding to take it out and put it on her desk in 2024. Her classroom had a Hello Kitty theme that year. The gift was special to her because the young student had used their own money to buy it just because she liked Hello Kitty. When the Funko Pop went missing, the teacher told her students they could return it without getting in trouble. 

She was out of school for a few days and hoped the person who took it would put it back while she was gone. “I let all my students know to have integrity and just put my Hello Kitty back on my desk while I’m out, and no one would know a thing,” she said in a TikTok video. But nobody returned it. One person who watched her video wrote, “Today it’s the funko pop, tomorrow it’s a laptop. These kids need to learn.”

Should she have called the police?

After the teacher said she would file a police report, her video got over 14.6 million views. People online started talking about whether she did the right thing. What made things more serious was when other TikTok users told her the Hello Kitty Funko Pop is worth up to $300 now.

Some people thought she went too far. One person left a comment saying she should just buy another one instead of calling the cops.

But most people who commented supported what she did. They said if students can steal things without any real punishment, they will keep doing it or do worse things later. The situation shows how hard it can be for teachers to deal with student behavior problems. Many teachers have said students are harder to control than before, especially since the pandemic ended.

The teacher said the theft made her feel unsafe in her own classroom. “It is a shame that I can’t feel comfortable, safe in my classroom,” she said. The toy was worth money, but it meant even more to her because of the student who gave it to her. It reminded her why she wanted to be a teacher.

This case shows the problems teachers deal with when trying to keep their classrooms safe and teach students right from wrong. Some people think calling the police over a toy was too much. Others think it was the right thing to do because students need to learn that stealing has real consequences. The story also shows how much some toys are worth now. Funko Pop figures can be very valuable, with some rare ones selling for thousands of dollars.