25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

114 Classroom Management and Instruction
crying, teachers should talk to them
privately to find out if there is something
wrong. Without being intrusive,
they should try to keep a finger on
the pulse of what’s going on in
each child’s life and home and try to
be attuned to recognizable signs of
distress.
SCENARIO 14.14
I’m Writing as Fast as I Can
Divorce is an extremely traumatic
event for most children.
Helping the child make the adjustment
is a better strategy than distraction.
In this case, offering a child an
opportunity for distraction through
participation is fine only if the child
welcomes the opportunity.
In first grade, [my teacher] used to make us copy paragraphs from a projector. We had
a limited amount of time to copy these paragraphs. I was so scared of her that my
hands would perspire so much that they would stick to the paper. One day I did not
finish in time so she hit my hands with a ruler at least two or three times. I do not ever
remember not finishing in time again. This was very unfair. Some students do not write
as fast as others. As you can see, I’m the only one still writing. Well, almost.
This punishment was only
temporarily effective. The student
wrote faster to avoid punishment
but as soon as the threat of
punishment diminished, the student
resumed the slow writing and continues
to write slowly to this day. The
ominous persona presented by the
teacher and the punishment made
the student very anxious. The real
question here is what is so important
about rapid writing that it warrants
high anxiety and physical punishment
for the student. What is the
objective of forcing a first-grade student
to write rapidly when they may
be hindered by limited manual dexterity
at that age?
The effective teacher would
allow ample time for students to
complete the writing task. Of course
teachers need to set limits on assignments,
but they could give extra time
to students who need it, especially
first graders who are just learning to
write. Timed writing could simply
require only as much as the child is
capable of copying within the time
frame. This amount should increase
as the exercise is repeated over time.
Each student is different. Some students
at this level need to work at a
slower, more deliberate pace to form
the letters correctly. A slow pace is
certainly not a punishable offense.
Teachers rarely hit students with
rulers anymore, but any type of punishment
for writing at a slow pace is
inappropriate. A good teacher would
create a nurturing, relaxed atmo -
sphere that is conducive to learning.
When I was in graduate school, I was
a substitute for a first-grade teacher
whose students had excellent penmanship.
I was so impressed that all
of the students had such good handwriting
that I had to ask the kids how
they became such good writers. They
said, “Our teacher smiles at us and
gives us a happy face when we write