25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them (44 page)

I met this teacher’s ex-husband about six years ago (small world). He told me that when she was teaching at that school, she wasn’t even certified. When she did get certified, she got kicked out of a school district for having sex with students, went to another school district, and did the same thing again. Now she can’t teach anywhere, thank God! The teacher did many things that were humiliating and devastating to a child’s self-esteem.

This scenario conjures up an image of a small, bewildered, frozen child, huddled on a chair, informing the masses of her misbehavior by her presence. The teacher obviously wanted to make an example of this child, but she chose a very unethical approach. It is unethical to leave a child outside of the class most of the day for a minor offense. It is
particularly offensive to make that child stand outside in cold, freezing weather for a long period of time. Forcing the child to stand out in the cold placed the child at risk for frostbite and other cold-related illnesses. The irony of this intense punishment is that the child was unaware of the offense, which renders the punishment ineffective. The pathology evident in this teacher’s behavior underscores the need for better screening of teacher applicants.

Rational teachers are aware that social isolation is more effective if they specify the misbehavior and communicate the desired behavior. Social isolation is not recommended for more than ten minutes. Experienced teachers know that the setting should be somewhat isolated from the class, but the student should be visible at all times. The alone time without reinforcement gives students an opportunity to think. The astute teacher does not use time-out as punishment; instead time-out is an opportunity to regroup and resume appropriate behavior. Qualified, responsible teachers would use tactics that make the punishment fit the crime. They would never put a child in such a risky, inhumane situation.

SCENARIO 22.4
Bloody Secret

In the fourth grade I had a female teacher whose name I cannot recall. I do recall that I was acting up on the way out of the room for recess and she grabbed me. She had long red fingernails and when she grabbed me, she dug them deep into my arm. As she did, I jerked my arm and left a considerable amount of flesh under her nails. My arm was bleeding and she wouldn’t let me go to the nurse. She just gave me a wet paper towel to put on it and made me sit in the room during the recess period. I never forgot her!

The overzealous teacher in this scenario accidentally clawed a student with her long, red, and possibly dirty, nails. The scratches were deep enough to draw blood and if the nails were dirty, there was the risk of infection. Injuring the child was terrible, but when the teacher failed to acknowledge that she had hurt the child, that made her offense worse. Denying the child medical attention elevated this offense to unethical status. It seems that the teacher was trying to cover up the incident to avoid any negative repercussions such as a lawsuit or losing her job. Her efforts to protect herself placed her student at risk for infection and for further discomfort. She made no effort to comfort the student. She tried to act as if the incident did not happen and she probably secretly hoped that the student would do the same. Then again, maybe she felt that the injury was the child’s fault because he pulled away. On the contrary, she was the adult in charge. She inflicted the wound. She was responsible.

The responsible teacher would have apologized to the child immediately and let the child know that she did not mean to hurt him or her. She would take the child to the nurse if possible, acknowledge what happened, and point out that the child pulled away and precipitated the accident. She would make sure the child’s injury was attended to and that the child was comfortable before returning to class. If necessary, she would be willing to acknowledge the accident to the class to assure them that the child would be fine. The smart teacher would learn from her mistake and cut her nails or keep her paws off her students as long as she has claws.

SCENARIO 22.5
A Lesson in Deception

The worst experience I can remember is plagiarizing my entire senior research paper. My teacher was a man whom I highly respected and thought of as being very scholarly and astute. When he returned my paper, he made a note on it that he could tell it was plagiarized, but still gave me a C and did not make me rewrite it. I learned that subaverage work was acceptable and enough to get by. I also learned that “scholars” could look the other way and lower their standards.

A high-school senior with a developed sense of right and wrong realized that “giving” a student a grade is unethical. Teachers are supposed to model moral and prosocial behaviors. The astute student was quick to detect the dishonesty in the way the teacher graded the paper. He realized that the grade of “C” was not a gift. It was a lesson in deception. The student was obviously disenchanted with the teacher’s willingness to look the other way. It suggested that the teacher had low expectations for the student. The teacher’s motive could have been to seek the approval of his students. Perhaps he was giving the student the benefit of a doubt. Whatever the motive, the action was inappropriate.

The best “gift” a teacher can give a student is honest feedback that will help to improve the student’s performance. Expecting students to do the right thing is an added bonus. Discerning teachers are unwilling to accept anything less than a student’s personal best. If they suspect that they are getting less, they send students back to the drawing board for a redo. These caring actions teach children to strive for excellence and to take “good enough” out of their performance vocabulary. Most of all, wise teachers make their students accountable. Plagiarism carries heavy consequences. Students who knowingly plagiarize should have consequences that are not rewarding. Good teachers only give students grades that they earn, no more and no less.

SCENARIO 22.6
Sneaky Snacking

In sixth grade a friend and I made cupcakes for our third-period class. The teacher accused C. and me of each stealing one cupcake. Two were missing. Well, she accused us in class and we told her we didn’t do it. I then proceeded to tell her that she probably ate them. I was sent to the office but I stopped by my uncle’s room (he was a teacher at the school), told him what happened, and we both went to the principal. We went back to the teacher’s room and found the wrappers in the trashcan under her desk.

Teachers are not immune to the frailties of man. The teacher’s behavior in this scenario appears to have been deliberate unethical behavior on the surface, but closer inspection suggests an eating disorder. People who steal food, sneak and eat it, then lie about it may have an eating disorder. If the food substance is a carbohydrate, that is usually a telling sign. Sometimes people with eating disorders eat compulsively and need food, much like an addict that needs a drug. This eating disorder is often known as food addiction. Food is the food addict’s “drug” and like other addicts, they will do whatever they can to get their substance, even lie about little sixth-grade children.

I often caution my preservice teachers to empty their emotional baggage before they enter the teaching profession. Claudia Black (1991) and other researchers have found that children from alcoholic households usually develop addictions themselves and flock to “helping” professions as adults. Teaching is a helping profession that attracts adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs). There is a body of literature available on the subject of ACOAs. I recommend that preservice teachers from alcoholic homes read this literature and visit the ACOA support groups where they can learn to break the cycle of addiction and counter its ill effects. Prudent teachers recognize the value of working on their issues before they enter the classroom. Awareness and action would make situations like lying about students and stealing food unnecessary and nonexistent. Wise teachers know that they destroy their credibility if they lie to or about their students. It is critical to the learning process that students perceive their teachers as trustworthy. The quality of teacher–pupil relationships affects how students learn (Flanders & Morine, 1973).

SCENARIO 22.7
Teacher Goes AWOL

My bad teacher experience occurred when I was in the ninth grade and we had a big earthquake (1987). During the earthquake my teacher decided to run out of the room. The students were scared to death, yet no one spoke. We stayed inside the classroom until the evacuation team came to inspect the room. They were shocked to find us still inside. About fifteen minutes had passed. We never saw our teacher again.

The most difficult aspect of a crisis is the critical period of indecision that usually triggers the fight or flight response. The teacher in this scenario made the inappropriate choice of running away from the crisis and abandoning her students. As a result, her students were not evacuated immediately. This teacher’s actions could have put her students’ lives in jeopardy.