25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them (41 page)

Responsible teachers try not to let situations get out of hand, as this one obviously did. The mistake would not have happened if the teacher had observed school policy. Teachers may unintentionally violate policy because they are unaware of school rules, but responsible teachers make it their business to know school policy on important issues. Teachers with integrity take full responsibility for their actions. Good teachers would not let their students suffer any consequences for their own misdeeds. They would not consider lowering a grade or accusing a student of cheating in retaliation for their being reprimanded.

When I was in eighth grade, our home economics teacher let us go home early. We were bussed to the school so we had quite a distance to walk to get home. There was a large group of us, so we stopped at a little candy shop that had a jukebox and we danced and talked and went our separate ways. It was all very innocent but the next day seemed ominous. I had never been in trouble in school before.

The principal came to our room to collect all of the students that left early. The administrators treated us as if we had skipped school. There was talk of suspension, and I was mortified. I do recall looking at my teacher, imploring her to intervene, but she did nothing but look away. I do not think she ever took responsibility for letting us go. She certainly never apologized to us for setting us up for trouble. Fortunately, we were not suspended. I did learn years later that the seemingly innocent “candy shop” was really a front for drug dealers who sold drugs to kids. As I reflect back on my experience, I see the importance of rules and policies that are designed to safeguard children. Teachers should not knowingly violate school policy no matter how well intentioned the situation might be.

SCENARIO 20.4
The Whole Is Greater Than Its Parts

Mrs. W. called me up in front of the class to reprimand me for a 68 in spelling on a scholastic achievement test, when I had made a 99 cumulative score overall.

A classic mistake that teachers and parents make is focusing on the negative and effectively discounting the positive. In this scenario, the teacher virtually ignored the high cumulative score and zeroed in on the low spelling score. The public reprimand was perceived as a punishment. The high cumulative achievement was neither recognized nor rewarded. This is confusing for the student. It is not clear if the student was a success or a failure at the task.

Savvy teachers know that if they feel they must criticize some aspect of a student’s performance, it should certainly be put in proper perspective. In this scenario where the child was weak in spelling but overall did an excellent job, a word of encouragement to improve in spelling and a jubilant focus on the overall accomplishment would be appropriate. Weiner (1979) proposes that we help students to properly attribute their successes and failures to their ability and effort. If a child is confused about his or her successes and failures, he or she may never learn to attribute appropriately.

SCENARIO 20.5
Excluded!

In my sixth-grade drama class after the script was written and handed out to the students, I looked on the character listing and I wasn’t even in the script! She had to write me in.

Sometimes teachers make honest mistakes that can be perceived as having malicious intent. In this scenario, the author obviously believed that the teacher had an ulterior motive in writing her out of the script. Although the teacher wrote her back in, the student was unable
to let go of the initial omission. The student apparently internalized the slight, nurtured it, and hung on to it for years. There is no evidence that the teacher was aware of the impact of the omission.

Astute teachers know the importance of apologizing to a student when they make mistakes. I think it is important to preface that apology with an acknowledgment that teachers make honest mistakes and to assure the student that it was not personal. To soothe ruffled feathers, teachers can ask students what else they can do to make them feel better.

SCENARIO 20.6
To Err Is Human, to Admit It Is Divine

When I was in sixth grade my English teacher gave me a C on a project. That isn’t a bad grade, it could have been worse, but I disagreed with it. The assignment was to make a poster showing the difference between “good” and “well.” He said I got the concepts backward and gave me a C. I was so sure I had them straight. I remember every week in elementary school telling my teacher, “I don’t feel good,” and she would say, “Well, you don’t feel well.”

And so I was positive that my picture of a man’s face that I put on my poster with a thermometer and sad, droopy, watery eyes saying, “He doesn’t feel well” was correct. Wrong, my teacher said. I still believe that I was correct. Even today, I am confused as to how I feel. So I mostly say I have a headache or my stomach hurts. And I seldom correct others on their use of good and well, fearing I might correct them the wrong way and traumatize them for life. I am not really traumatized, but I will never forget all of my hard effort I put into that poster and joy I felt, thinking I finally used the word correctly, only to find out I was wrong and had been misguided.

This is a scenario of “the student is right and the teacher is wrong.”
Well
can be used as an adjective or adverb to mean in good health, satisfactory, or to appear well dressed; whereas, good is only used as an adjective and it is never used to modify a verb (Warriner & Griffith, 1977). Either the teacher was unaware that he was wrong or was reluctant to admit that he was wrong. Erroneously, some teachers believe that because they are the teachers, they must know all of the answers all of the time and never make mistakes. They think that if they admit that they are wrong, their admission is a sign of weakness that undermines their credibility.

The smart, confident teacher realizes that saying “I don’t know” and being ignorant for the moment is preferable to never saying “I don’t know” and remaining ignorant for all time. When children are so sure they are right, effective teachers investigate and tell them that teachers make mistakes and that sometimes the student is right. If the student is right, these teachers readily admit their errors or shortcomings. Teachers can save face and validate the child by thanking the child for the gift of the new knowledge.

SCENARIO 20.7
It’s Gobbledygook to Me

About the only thing I can remember was my kindergarten teacher. She had an accent but I can’t recall where she was from. The problem was that I had trouble understanding her and when she would give directions, I’d do something different. As a result, I’d always get in trouble. This was a daily thing and it got to be a real chore just to go to school. One day, as soon as my mom dropped me off, I ran back home because I was lost with the teacher.

Clear directions are imperative for student success. The teacher was apparently unaware of her accent and the disorienting effect it had on her oral instructions. Unfortunately, she penalized her students for her unintentional error. It is human nature to be aware of someone else’s accent and be oblivious to our own. Unfortunately, she penalized her students for not being able to follow her confusing directions.

Discerning teachers monitor their students’ body language, expressions, and tone of voice continuously to detect any signs of mis-communication or misunderstanding. These experienced teachers know the importance of asking the students if the directions are clear. Language or accent may not be a problem, but the difficulty level of the content may make directions confusing. Difficult material should be broken down into manageable chunks and explained one step at a time. The classroom climate should be warm and friendly enough so students feel free to say they do not understand the directions. Teachers should speak slowly and deliberately and use visuals if possible when they are giving directions. They can demonstrate or model what is to be done. An example and a visual are especially helpful when language is a barrier. If there is still some doubt about the clarity of instructions, teachers can ask other students to explain the directions in their own words or to demonstrate the steps in the directions.

SCENARIO 20.8
Your Crime, My Time

I had a Spanish teacher in high school and she had left for maternity leave and she gave me an F because I did not turn in my notebook, but I did. And my mother still put me on restriction. It turned out I got a B.

If we can assume that the author of this scenario did turn in the notebook assignment, then it is reasonable to assume that the Spanish teacher misplaced or lost the assignment. The teacher’s lack of organization became a serious consequence for the student—a failing grade and
undeserved punishment. I had a similar incident in my sophomore English class. I turned in a paper and the teacher said I did not turn it in. She wanted me to redo the paper. I was very upset because that meant retyping the paper without the benefit of either a correcting typewriter or a word processor. I remember telling her that it was our job as students to do the work and turn it in and it was her job to keep up with the work. Coming from a teenager, that was considered an impudent remark. Today, as an adult educator, I would echo that remark with gusto.