25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

176 Teaching Style and Behavior
SCENARIOS 23.2, 23.3, 23.4, and 23.5
Arbitrary Scapegoats
It was in sixth grade, we were working on an art project and someone lost the project.
The teacher (Sister A. we called her sister Asusta—it means scary) accused me of stealing
it and basically humiliated me in front of the class. I started crying and kept on telling
her that I had not taken the vase. We were making a paper-maché vase. The vase
turned up from someone else. She never apologized to me about what she had said.
In orchestra we had to perform our tests, sometimes live, this time on tape. The next
day, the teacher was angry because the tape machine was used incorrectly. She blamed
me and reprimanded me in front of the class as the one who messed it up. It wasn’t me.
J.W. did it and he admitted it later. I was made to feel embarrassed in front of everyone
when I wasn’t at fault. She never apologized to me privately or publicly.
I was in kindergarten when I was accused of throwing rocks on the playground. I had
to sit down the rest of recess. My teacher went on the word of her pet student. I was
not a troublemaker in class so I was really upset. I remember that I just sat there and
cried.
The teacher that I least like to remember is Ms. M. She was my sixth-grade homeroom
teacher. I really didn’t like her because it seemed that she was always in a bad mood. She
seemed to always take it out on us. She would never let us go to the restroom. Well, I
guess the real reason that I didn’t like her is because she wanted to punish me for something
I didn’t do. This girl who sat next to me, M., was throwing staples across the room.
One accidentally hit Ms. M. on the neck. She asked the students who it was and they
said it came from the direction that I was sitting in. So I was accused of this. I kept telling
her that it wasn’t me. Even M. denied it and said it was me, but it wasn’t. So, I was sent
to the office. My mom was called and I told her what happened. My mom believed me,
but the vice-principal didn’t. The only reason they didn’t punish me is because my mom
swore she wouldn’t let the issue rest. After that I didn’t like Ms. M. much.
The students in these scenarios
were all impulsively
selected to bear the blame for someone
else’s misdeeds. None of the
teachers actually saw the accused
student do anything wrong. They
would each have to examine their
consciences or biases to determine
why they arbitrarily selected the students
they accused. Teachers who
make accusations without any evidence
or proof have a number of
reasons for justifying their accusatory
actions: The student looks sneaky,
guilty, nervous, or suspicious; they
don’t like the student; or maybe they
don’t trust the student. In some of
these cases, students are guilty by
association or by proximity.
When these teachers feel personally
touched by a wrongdoing, they
look for someone to blame. When
there is doubt, they will settle for a
scapegoat.