25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them (42 page)

Well-organized teachers have routines for collecting assignments, storage of papers, grading, and recording grades. Experienced teachers realize that if they do not have a system and papers are turned in or collected haphazardly or improperly stored, the odds of losing papers increases. If a teacher has lost or misplaced a student’s paper, the student should not be penalized in any way. The teacher should take responsibility for the lost paper. If there is even a remote possibility that the student turned in the work, the student should receive the highest possible grade. The rationale is that the student may have earned the highest grade, although that remains an unknown. If it is not too much trouble, teachers can offer students extra credit to resubmit an assignment. When in doubt about whether or not a student turned in an assignment, leave parents out. This avoids providing parents with a reason to unnecessarily punish their children.

6

TEACHING STYLE
AND BEHAVIOR

“Teachers are fighting back against kids who cut class.
Today I was the victim of a drive-by math quiz!”

Mistake

21

Teacher Bias or Expectations

SCENARIO 21.1
Once a Clown, Always a Clown

The second semester of my junior year of high school, having been the class clown in Mr. H.’s social studies class, I had determined that I was going to turn over a new leaf with my new teacher. On the first day of class, Mrs. C. immediately announced, “Where is so and so?” I raised my hand and she stated, “I have heard all about you, you need to sit up here!” She then sat me at a desk next to hers. So much for a fresh start.

Even a class clown deserves a clean slate with a new teacher. The classic study by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) suggests that having negative expectations for a student can become a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” This action by the teacher was apparently very disheartening for this student who wanted to change. In lieu of a reformed, mature student, this teacher would most likely get a repeat performance of the old disruptive behavior and the student would become a discipline problem as expected. When I was teaching, I intentionally avoided reading any comments about my new students. I preferred to form my own opinions of my students, giving each of them an opportunity to change.

In fact, I had a fifth-grade class that I was able to turn around using this strategy. As I recall, there were four teachers on the team. Their policy was to select their classes from the pool of new students. One of the classes did not have an assigned teacher. The team came up with the brilliant idea to place all of the “undesirable” students into the class without a teacher. I was returning from maternity leave and I had the great fortune of inheriting this class. One of the teachers was a close
friend of mine. She warned me about my students and apologized for the nightmare class that the teachers had created. I ignored the warning and decided to use the “self-fulfilling prophecy” theory to my advantage. When I met my students for the first time, I was very enthusiastic and excited. I told them how pleased I was to have them as students, because I had heard that I had one of the best classes in the school. I was amused by the way they looked around as if to ask, “Who is she talking to?” This class far exceeded my expectations and certainly those of the other teachers that year.

SCENARIO 21.2
Dark Comedy of Gender Bias

In my eighth-grade industrial arts class, there were only two girls in the class, including me. The teacher would always take our work and say, “C’mon guys, if a girl can do this good, you guys better at least try to do better than they do.” His low expectations because of gender bias could have been devastating, but although irritating, it proved to be humorous too.

The secret is out. Research findings have shown that teachers’ expectations tend to favor males (Block, 1980). This teacher’s comments support evidence that traditionally, girls have been expected not to perform as well as boys in predominantly male activities such as industrial arts and sports. When males are not performing up to par, they are called “girls” in a very derogatory manner. As this student indicated, these messages are often delivered with humor, but gender bias is dark comedy with lasting effects.

Insightful teachers encourage their students to be more androgynous in their thinking and behavior, meaning that they do not favor masculinity or femininity but respect both. Resourceful teachers use every opportunity to encourage androgyny. They encourage girls to participate in male-dominated activities and boys to embrace more female-oriented activities. Students are always praised for their efforts. These progressive teachers might one day make gender bias an obsolete term.

SCENARIO 21.3
Justice for All

My worst experience was staying after school in the first grade. I do not remember the rest of the year. All I know is, my mom had to pick me up from school at least once a week because I had a fever. When I got home I was fine. The fever was gone.

In seventh grade I had a math teacher who was very unfair. If there were a group of us talking in her class, I would get in trouble. When she separated the class I was moved to the very back. She would just treat me more unfairly than the rest of the students.

Most students are very perceptive about how a teacher feels about them. They keep a watchful eye and constant surveillance of the teacher’s actions and reactions, looking for telltale signs of like or dislike. When children conclude that a teacher does not like them, the focus shifts from learning and education to feelings and motives. When a teacher is unfair, children know it.

Master teachers know that fairness is a sterling quality in teachers. Children want their teacher’s approval and they deserve to be treated fairly. Caring teachers critique their own behavior frequently to assure themselves that they are not singling out a student for punishment or unfair treatment. Impartial educators insist on fairness for all students, including the ones that they do not like.

SCENARIO 21.4
Extraterrestrial Terror

My worst experience in school was no doubt with my kindergarten teacher. She plainly didn’t like me and she let everyone know about it every day with her actions.

I think it all started when my mother brought my lunch to school for me. We lived close by, so my mom liked walking over and giving me a nice, warm lunch. My teacher obviously disliked pampered kids, but this was beside the point. She began to treat me more harshly than the other kids. Her voice and tone seemed to be different with me. Every minimal accident on my part, such as spilling paint, called for severe punishment. She constantly threatened to send me to the principal for a paddling. I was always in time-out.

The teacher had an inflatable E.T. that she would place on the table of the quietest student. Knowing that I was deathly afraid of the E.T., she always placed it on my desk, whether I had been quiet or not. I noticed her anger toward me as we filed past her into the room. She patted everyone as they walked past her, but she always skipped me. It got to the point that I refused to go to school. My father took me to school and even though I was crying, she didn’t bother to get up and attempt to soothe me. That’s when my dad saw her lack of effort.

The obvious bias described in this scenario is curious. Why would an adult teacher make such overt gestures of unfair treatment to such a small child? What pathology would motivate such actions? Unfortunately, some unbalanced teachers manage to infiltrate the teaching profession. Many professions are hosts to similar unfortunate souls. In most school districts there are no screening processes in place for new teachers that are sensitive enough to detect deep emotional or mental problems. Maybe the rare instances of getting this type of teacher do not warrant mental screening.