25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

Mistake 17: Academic Shortcomings
teaching solo. She lost her students
when she opened her mouth and
nothing came out but whispers and
snatches of academic information.
Experienced teachers would use
what’s commonly referred to in acad emia
as the “teacher voice.” Develo p -
ing this voice is an art that requires
practice. A good teacher voice is
audible, clear, purposeful, commanding,
and can usually project
SCENARIO 17.11
The Incarceration of Originality
149
across the room. Skilled teachers know
that using the teacher voice appropriately
minimizes discipline problems
and effectively enhances instruction.
Voice inflection, volume, accent will
help communicate the teacher’s messages
and desires to the students.
Expert teachers are able to use their
voices to command student attention
and to communicate a no-nonsense
approach to their lessons.
The worst experience ever with a teacher was in kindergarten when a substitute
teacher asked me to color a worksheet that had a witch on it. I decided to color my
witch orange. After I had finished coloring my picture I proudly went to show it to my
substitute and she proceeded to tell me how ugly it was and that witches were supposed
to be black, so she made me color it over in black.
Primary students are known
to make nontraditional uses of
color in their artwork. The proud student
did some creative coloring and
tried to share it with a teacher. Under
the guise of a mindless art critic, the
teacher assaulted the child’s competence
and incarcerated her originality.
She forced the student to change
the bright orange witch to traditional
black. She committed the ultimate
sin of artistic evaluation: She called
the student’s artwork ugly.
Diplomatic teachers know that
it’s considered ill mannered and in
bad taste to call an adult artist’s work
ugly, so why say that to a child?
These teachers know that beauty and
ugliness are both in the eye of the
beholder. Teachers who seek to
inspire budding artists celebrate
their freshness, creativity, and originality.
They limit their criticism of
children’s work because a budding
Picasso may be among these children.
Torrance (1972) found that
teachers’ judgment of children’s artwork
was not necessarily a good
indicator of the creativity these children
exhibited later in life. Astute
teachers seek to foster creativity and
encourage originality. They will
encourage students to go where their
vision takes them. These teachers
embrace nonconformity and are
amenable to divergence. Caring
tea chers seek to ignite and sustain
the creative spark in all students.