Despite the vagueness of the task, this small group is diving into the ethical dilemma of when it is acceptable to break the rules. They are building off of each other's ideas and in some cases finishing each other's sentences. 

When the second group joins, students are trying to establish when it is acceptable to break the rules and bring it back to what it means to steal flowers. They distinguish between breaking a window to survive a fire is not the same as picking flowers because it is not a life and death situation. Students are building an understanding of their shared perspective and using evidence and reasoning to support their claims. 

There are four different views (associated with characters in the text) about whether it was okay to break the rule in this case because the boy’s intentions were good. Each of the debating students represents one of those views. 

While the question of intentionality pervades legal arguments in courtrooms at every level of our judicial system, we see in this classroom that students as young as 4th grade are very capable of engaging with precisely this issue. When the issue is made relevant to them, as with another 4th grade student straying from the path in a national park and picking flowers for his sick mother in violation of the park regulations, students are able to think in very nuanced ways. Any of us who have parked illegally to do a quick errand, or chosen to go through a redlight in the middle of the night when no other car was in sight, is familiar with the impulse to use our own judgment, knowing we might have to accept the consequences (paying a fine) if caught. But stealing from someone else or punching someone on the street who offends us is in a different category because, whether or not we are willing to take the consequences, we have done harm to others. These 4th graders are able to argue about this nuance. On one hand, picking a few is not a big deal if you’re willing to take the consequences if you’re caught. On the other hand, the bees need flowers for survival, and you are taking (stealing) something that deprives them. 

The debate among the students may lead a casual observer to imagine that one or more of these students will end up in law school. But whether or not that turns out to be true, we can be fairly certain that these students will tune into the issues regarding the enforcement of regulations and the treatment of others who break a rule when they become voting adults. And they will be practiced at thinking carefully about their views and at expressing them to others.