25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

116 Classroom Management and Instruction
either a result of his busy schedule
and unwillingness to commit to a
time, or his response was deliberately
unaccommodating to cause the
student some discomfort about missing
the test. Whatever his intent, he
misjudged the importance of the
make-up to the student.
Teachers should establish a test
and assignment make-up policy at
the beginning of the school year
clearly delineating if and when a
make-up test is allowed. These
make-up test guidelines should
acknowledge extenuating circumstances
such as illness, death in the
SCENARIO 14.17
Can’t You See That I Can’t See?
family, and so on. The goal of the
make-up policy should be to maximize
student participation in class
assignments. If a student has a tiny
flicker of responsibility about a
missed assignment, teachers have an
obligation to fan that flicker into
flames by helping the student make
up the assignment. This teacher
could have fanned this student’s
flicker by simply designating a better
time to discuss the test and possible
make-up. This simple act could
have avoided the student’s panic
about getting a poor grade and subsequent
dropping out of school.
I guess it had to do with first grade. The homework was always written in the corner
of the blackboard. Because I was seated in the farthest row I could never see it or copy
it before Sister M. A. erased it. So I repeatedly received hand slappings with a ruler
because I did not have my homework completed. It was later discovered that I had a
vision problem but the teacher still did not place me closer to the homework board or
give me the assignments when I asked.
Apparently, the child was not
the only one who had visual
problems. The teacher obviously
missed the signs that the child was
having difficulty seeing the board.
Children with visual problems often
squint, strain their necks, use their
hands to slant their eyes, or use other
behaviors to improve their vision. An
effective teacher would suspect that
maybe the child was unable to see the
board from the back of the room at an
angle. A major clue that something
was amiss was the incomplete homework
assignments. How sad that the
environment in this classroom was so
unresponsive to the needs of the students.
The student was obviously
afraid and ashamed to say that she
couldn’t see.
To avoid this problem, teachers
should be aware of students who
show signs of having difficulty seeing
the board. If there is any doubt,
ask students if they are having trouble
seeing and encourage those students
to move closer to the board.
Once it is a known fact that the child
has a problem, change the seating
arrangement immediately. To knowingly
ignore a child’s cry for help
under these circumstances is malpractice.
The teacher has an obligation
to create a class environment
that is conducive to learning and the
child’s well-being.