25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

134 Personality and Professionalism
The problem in this scenario is
that the teacher treated a
young child’s accident as if it was a
misdemeanor that warranted shame
and public exhibition. Having the
child clean up the mess, carry the
trashcan containing the soggy mess,
and, as a finale, take the trashcan out
of the front door was a demeaning,
covert form of punishment.
The insensitive teacher had no
empathy for the child and made a
conscious effort to make the situation
obvious. Perhaps the motive for
this less-than-empathetic response
was that the teacher felt she could
not let the accident go unnoticed
SCENARIO 16.5
Eye to Swollen Eye
because it may encourage others to
do the same.
Empathic teachers would
re spond to the child’s accident with
minimal attention and class interruption.
They would send for the janitor
to do a quick clean up while they
directed their students’ attention to
other relevant instructional matters.
Students would learn the valuable
lesson that accidents happen and
maintaining dignity is a better
approach to handling an accident
than is invoking shame. Children
should not be sent to center stage for
unintentional acts of behavior that
are better known as accidents.
My PE teacher completely ignored me when I told her my eye was bitten by an ant and
was swollen. By the time I got back to regular class, my eye was swollen shut and I
couldn’t see. The main thing I was mad about was that she completely ignored me and
didn’t even look at me.
The teacher in this scenario
didn’t bother to look at a student
who was complaining of an eye
injury. This reckless act of indifference
could have endangered the in -
jured student. If the teacher had at
least made eye contact, she could
have readily seen that the student’s
eye was swelling rapidly. The student
could have had an allergic reaction
or serious injury to the eye.
Prompt attention to an injury is necessary
to protect the well-being of
the child. This teacher’s lack of
response borders on negligence.
Prudent teachers investigate all
student complaints of injury imme -
diately. Although some complaints
may be trivial, to ignore them
may risk ignoring a serious or lifethreatening
injury. Sometimes just
acknowledging students’ injuries
makes them feel better. It’s human
nature to want to tell someone where
it hurts. Good teachers are willing to
listen.