Personal Responsibility

One of the overarching themes of Because of Mr. Terupt is that of personal responsibility. From the beginning of the story, Mr. Terupt adopts a style of teaching that tries to help each student realize the ramifications of their actions and accept responsibility for what they do. He does not punish Peter for the mischief he creates in the classroom but subtly lets him know that his actions have been noticed. Eventually, he is forced to chastise Alexia for her treatment of her fellow students but does not punish her for her behavior, instead choosing to try to help her learn on her own.

After the accident, each of the students ponders who was to blame and feel it is important to assess fault for what happened. While everyone agrees that it was Peter who actually threw the snowball, several of the others know that...