25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them (43 page)

Good teachers are sensitive to a child’s need for acceptance and fair treatment. Caring teachers would never do anything to terrorize children, such as constantly showing them a feared object. Caring teachers are always willing to comfort a distressed child, but they wisely regard the legal limitations of their school district. If the district has a hands-off policy, they soothe and comfort with words.

SCENARIO 21.5
Liar, Liar, Your Habit’s on Fire

I was educated in Catholic school all of my life. With that in mind, I had a bad nun experience. As a young student I was always fearful and intimidated by the older women in their scary black hoods and gowns. This time period would have been in the late sixties when they still wore the full-length battle dress. In my opinion they more closely resembled witches, like the one in the
Wizard of Oz
, than saintly women who had devoted their lives to the church.

Well, there was this one nun who always had it in for me. No matter where I went or every time I was about to do something she was always there, so I never really had the opportunity. Then one day while in sixth grade, another classmate came running to tell me that my sister, who was a fifth grader, was in a fight with a boy, so I better get over there, which I did, but there was no sign of a fight, just a mob of kids surrounding my sister and this boy. I quickly got to the center of the mob; as I was about to ask my sister what was going on, I felt some huge force pulling me from behind. When I turned to see who was pulling me toward the outside of the mob, I was surprised to see it was the nun who was always after me. She was grabbing me, saying, “Don’t hit that boy anymore.” The principal, who was also a nun, then came up and asked what happened and why did this nun have me in a police chokehold. The bad nun then said I was beating up the fifth grader and she had to pull me off of him before I did any more damage. I had no say in this field trial. I was given the mandatory amount of demerits and put on probation, as well as having to do a month of work detail during recess, lunch, and after school. I have never looked at nuns the same after this travesty of justice.

Are the nuns above lying? If we believe this student’s account, then clearly they are not. Nuns are people, not saints. They have the same character defects as anyone else. It is certainly plausible that the nun in search of an offense manufactured this story and took advantage of the situation. This “I’ve-got-my-eye-on-you” behavior is not limited to nuns. Teachers and administrators frequently have this attitude toward problem students. Although some students truly bear watching, for others it is a setup, a misdeed waiting to happen. Effective teachers have high standards of integrity and honesty and would never lie about a student. Competent teachers work on helping students to change undesirable behavior. They never perpetuate bad behavior by setting a student up, by falsely accusing a student, or by manufacturing an offense.

SCENARIO 21.6
Cheater Watch

My worst experience was in high school when I was a junior. I believe the class was physical science and there were about eighteen students in my class. We would go over a couple of chapters and then have an exam. Our teacher gave tough exams—essay type, fill-in-the-blanks. Anyway—not to brag—but I usually got one of the top scores on the exams. This made a few girls angry or jealous, so they told the teacher that I was cheating. Well, I found this out from one of my friends and I confronted the teacher. I told her that I study for the tests and I DO NOT CHEAT. I told her that she could watch me and sit me close to her every time we take a test. Well, she did this—but for some reason I always thought she labeled me as a cheater. I graduated salutatorian of my class, but to this day because of some jealousy and hatred I was labeled a cheater. I did not like the teacher before and I still don’t.

When students decide to blow the whistle on a student for cheating, teachers have an obligation to follow up on the charge. Accusing a student of cheating is a serious offense that invites serious repercussions. It is imperative that teachers consider the motives of the accusers and look out for hidden agendas. The teacher in this scenario took the word of the accusers at face value with no evidence. She communicated her beliefs to the accused student by agreeing to observe that student during the test.

Astute professionals know that high grades are not
prima facie
evidence of cheating. The risks of falsely accusing a child of cheating and of showing an expectation that the child will cheat are great. Accusing a child of cheating is a good way to extinguish the good behavior of making high grades. Students can be expelled for cheating, their reputations can be ruined by rumors of cheating, and they can become disenfranchised by a teacher who thinks they are cheating. Teachers need to tread lightly in the cheating arena, unless they witness the cheating. If a teacher suspects cheating but has no evidence, the best action is no action until there is indisputable proof. In the interim, it is prudent to remind students of the consequences of cheating and to use measures that are incompatible with cheating such as parallel forms of the test. Teachers should never communicate to students that they expect them to cheat or single a child out for strict surveillance. Proximity and movement around the classroom are effective cheating deterrents for most students. Teachers should circulate among students rather than focus attention on one possible cheater. Keep in mind that most students are responsible learners that do not cheat. Trust is a great motivator.

Mistake

22

Unethical Behavior

SCENARIOS 22.1 and 22.2
Keep Hope Alive

There are two incidents that stick out in my mind and they were with the class as a whole and not just me. My sixth-grade year I was put in an English class with a bunch of troublemakers. The teacher had a breakdown and quit and the rest of the year the class watched movies and read books out loud.

When I went into my seventh-grade class (it was in a different school district), I had a wonderful, but hard, teacher for English, who taught me more than I ever learned before or since.

My second experience was during my senior year of high school. I was taking two English classes with two different teachers, because I was pregnant the previous year. The teacher for my sophomore English class is who I am about to talk about. My sophomore English class was with a bunch of “lower levels” and troublemakers. The teacher told us that none of us would ever go to college. I could not believe this teacher was telling us that. She was a teacher!

The worst experience I remember having in school was during my senior year in high school. I had just found out I was pregnant with my daughter and had been absent several days from school. I was placed on “homebound” by my doctor. In order to be on homebound I would have to change from my computer course to an elective I could study at home. I went to speak to my computer teacher about dropping the course and she told me, upon finding out I was pregnant, “Why don’t you just drop out?” That was the worst thing a student could be told by a teacher.

In both of these scenarios, the teachers were less than encouraging. They actually discouraged their students by communicating their low expectations for their students. Suggesting that a student drop out of school or that a group of students will never go to college is unethical behavior. Our mission as educators is to try to give every child a good education. We would be appalled if a doctor told a patient, “Why don’t you just die, you’re probably not going to get any better?” We would think that a doctor’s duty is to do everything possible to help the patient get better and to keep the patient alive. The teacher’s charge is no less important. The teacher has a duty to help students become better students and to keep hope alive.

Encouraging teachers have high hopes and expectations for their students and communicate their feelings to their students in very loving ways. They make their students work hard and they teach them to believe in themselves. Encouraging teachers help students get enthusiastic about learning and they teach students to persevere. Encouraging teachers seek to inspire students to stay in school and would never suggest that a student drop out, especially a pregnant student. It is imperative that a teenage mother obtains an education. The quality of her baby’s future depends on it. Dinkmeyer and Losoncy (1980) offer some strategies for becoming better encouragers in
The Encouragement Book
.

SCENARIO 22.3
Out in the Cold

The winter of 1972, the ground was covered with snow. I got in trouble for talking, I think. The teacher told me to get my coat, take a chair, and go stand on the chair in the hallway, which was outside. I stood there the rest of the day, even through lunch. When my sister came to pick me up after school the teacher said I couldn’t go. My mother had to come up to the school to get me. Because I was standing in the hallway other classes walked past me on the way to lunch. Other teachers would stop and tell their classes that this is what happens to bad children.