25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them (45 page)

Skilled teachers know that in a crisis situation, flight is not an option, especially when children are involved. The nature of the relationship of teachers and students places the teachers in
loco parentis
(in the position of the parent) as dictated by common law (Reutter, 1975). Competent professionals recognize the serious nature of their charge and act reasonably to protect the welfare and best interests of the children. Sometimes the call of duty dictates that teachers place their students’ best interests before their own. In this scenario, the teacher had a responsibility to stay with the students and make sure that they were evacuated safely. Parents have a right to assume that schools will do everything in their power to protect their children. Most teachers are good, dedicated people who would do whatever is necessary to protect their students. In the 1999 Littleton, Colorado, shooting crisis (Shore, 1999), a teacher sacrificed his life for his students. The teacher in this scenario was not prepared for this aspect of teaching—that’s probably why she was never seen again.

SCENARIO 22.8
Sleepy Slacker

I had a second-grade teacher that had a heart condition and required medication for it. This medication made her sleep through most of the class. She would have the students write to 100 over and over again while she slept. I missed out on so much learning that year, that for many years I was labeled “slow” or “poor” student. This resulted in my dislike and fear of school.

In teacher’s college, my preservice classmates and I were warned that if we had any visible tics, twitches, defects, or other idiosyncratic behaviors that we might not be suitable material for teaching because we would distract our students. At the time, I thought that was a bit extreme, although in support of that notion, my entire class often focused, for much of the class period, on the tic that resided in the left eye of one of my English professors. My professor’s tic was distracting but very minor compared to what the students in this scenario experienced. The
teacher in this scenario had a major medical problem that rendered her no longer qualified to do the job she was hired to do. In fact, she had become a potential liability to her school; while she was sleeping, the children in her charge were technically unsupervised. She indirectly robbed students of precious instruction time by giving them tedious, repetitive tasks to keep them busy while she slept. The most obvious mistake in this scenario was the complete absence of instructional objectives that clearly articulate intended learning outcomes for students (Gronlund, 2000). As a consequence, the children received little if any meaningful instruction during this teacher’s tenure and they suffered severe academic deficiencies.

A conscientious teacher that is committed to acting in the best interests of her students would have voluntarily sought a different job that would better accommodate her illness. This mistake could have been avoided if the administration randomly visited classrooms to observe. Classroom teachers and staff should always be on the alert; they have a professional and moral obligation to report unusual behaviors that may negatively impact students. So it seems prudent that schools should implement a policy that requires the reporting of consistently unusual behavior, such as sleeping, for further investigation. The administration, once aware of unusual, potentially harmful behavior should do everything in their power to meet the needs of students and hopefully of the teacher in their efforts to solve the problem.

Mistake

23

False Accusations

SCENARIO 23.1
Do Send a Girl to Do a Man’s Work

My vocational drafting teacher accused me of not doing my own work because years prior to my being in his class, two of my brothers had him as their teacher. He thought all of my projects had been done by them.

Current research suggests that schools shortchange girls in many ways (AAUW, 1992). The male teacher in this scenario provided evidence of one of those ways. He refused to give his female student credit for her work. His obvious gender bias prevented an objective appraisal of his student’s work. He thought that her work had been done by her brothers. It seems that he was acting under the influence of gender stereotypes rather than accusing her of cheating. Whatever his motive, his behavior was clearly a strike against the equal treatment of males and females. It is less probable that he would tell a young male that a female did his work for him. Failure to give female students credit where credit is due diminishes the self-esteem and motivation of female students.

Progressive male teachers are aware of the negative effects of gender bias. They seek to promote the accomplishments of both male and female students. They try not to promote sexual stereotyping. Instead, they encourage students to assume nontraditional roles and expect them to do well in those roles. These teachers would not go so far as to accuse a student of having someone else do her work simply because the teacher’s views are firmly entrenched in gender stereotypes.

SCENARIOS 23.2, 23.3, 23.4, and 23.5
Arbitrary Scapegoats

It was in sixth grade, we were working on an art project and someone lost the project. The teacher (Sister A. we called her sister Asusta—it means scary) accused me of stealing it and basically humiliated me in front of the class. I started crying and kept on telling her that I had not taken the vase. We were making a paper-maché vase. The vase turned up from someone else. She never apologized to me about what she had said.

In orchestra we had to perform our tests, sometimes live, this time on tape. The next day, the teacher was angry because the tape machine was used incorrectly. She blamed me and reprimanded me in front of the class as the one who messed it up. It wasn’t me. J.W. did it and he admitted it later. I was made to feel embarrassed in front of everyone when I wasn’t at fault. She never apologized to me privately or publicly.

I was in kindergarten when I was accused of throwing rocks on the playground. I had to sit down the rest of recess. My teacher went on the word of her pet student. I was not a troublemaker in class so I was really upset. I remember that I just sat there and cried.

The teacher that I least like to remember is Ms. M. She was my sixth-grade homeroom teacher. I really didn’t like her because it seemed that she was always in a bad mood. She seemed to always take it out on us. She would never let us go to the restroom. Well, I guess the real reason that I didn’t like her is because she wanted to punish me for something I didn’t do. This girl who sat next to me, M., was throwing staples across the room. One accidentally hit Ms. M. on the neck. She asked the students who it was and they said it came from the direction that I was sitting in. So I was accused of this. I kept telling her that it wasn’t me. Even M. denied it and said it was me, but it wasn’t. So, I was sent to the office. My mom was called and I told her what happened. My mom believed me, but the vice-principal didn’t. The only reason they didn’t punish me is because my mom swore she wouldn’t let the issue rest. After that I didn’t like Ms. M. much.

The students in these scenarios were all impulsively selected to bear the blame for someone else’s misdeeds. None of the teachers actually saw the accused student do anything wrong. They would each have to examine their consciences or biases to determine why they arbitrarily selected the students they accused. Teachers who make accusations without any evidence or proof have a number of reasons for justifying their accusatory actions: The student looks sneaky, guilty, nervous, or suspicious; they don’t like the student; or maybe they don’t trust the student. In some of these cases, students are guilty by association or by proximity.