25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

Mistake 14: Inappropriate Educational Strategies
SCENARIO 14.18
Small but Mighty
My worst experience with a teacher occurred when I was in second grade. There wasn’t
one particular incident that happened; she was just a horrible teacher. She used to give
the class an outrageous assignment like rewriting the Constitution, and then walk
around the class clicking and tapping her fingernails on everyone’s desk. She tormented
us! She never let us get up from our desks unless we were leaving the classroom for
some reason. I think she did this because she was only four feet tall and we not only
outnumbered her, but we were taller than she was!
This case reminds me of a
teacher who worked as a permanent
substitute for our school. She
had a similar stature, about four feet
tall, and a nice smile and long red fingernails.
She was an enigma because
the children were terrified of her.
Many of the children towered over
her, yet they feared her. They begged
us not to have her come back. When I
asked her what she did to the children,
she just smiled with no answer.
She always had control of her classes.
I think these teachers must have felt
the need to use extreme measures to
control their children because of their
short stature. These extreme measures
would guarantee that the children
would respect and obey them.
Their tactics may control their classes
but they also can stifle a child’s sense
of industry at this age.
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Second graders need some autonomy
and mobility to promote what
Erikson (1963) refers to as a sense of
industry. The development of a sense
of industry demands that a child be
allowed to make and do things and
experience some success, as well as be
encouraged to persist at a task. When
children are not allowed to do this, they
may experience a sense of inferiority.
Woolfolk (1998) suggests that children
should be given an opportunity to pursue
realistic goals and should be
encouraged to work responsibly.
Every aspect of this teacher’s
instruction counters these suggestions.
She gave her students an unrealistic
assignment. Good teachers
have realistic expectations of student
performance and try to give their
students developmentally appropriate
instruction.
SCENARIO 14.19
Anything Worth Doing Is Not Worth Doing Well
Mrs. C., third grade, looming over my desk (front row), ripping up the little yellow
paper that was my math homework, yelling that it was a disgrace and asking what was
wrong with me that I couldn’t produce homework that was neat or correct. I had spent
two hours the night before, working with my mom on that homework. We were only
allowed one half sheet of paper. My writing was poor and there were quite a few erasures.
Mrs. C. threw up her hands in dismay and gave up on me. This happened on a
regular basis. I was frightened and came to associate that with math class.