25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

Introduction
mistakes. Conceivably, teachers can learn valuable lessons from their mistakes,
but if those mistakes are potentially damaging to a student either
physically or psychologically, then those lessons are too costly in terms of
human capital to learn by doing. Canfield (1990) reminds us that we must
create classrooms that are physically and psychologically safe for all students.
Therefore, it behooves us to minimize the number and type of mistakes
made in teaching. As a preventive measure, it seems plausible that the
scenarios in this book could provide an important teaching tool for teacher
preparation classes. I think a book that addresses these mistakes will provide
a useful tool of prevention and intervention for preservice teachers, practicing
teachers, and others concerned with effective teaching. There are many
books on positive teaching, discipline, and management, but I have yet to
encounter a book that seeks to teach from the proposed “undesirable teaching”
perspective offered by the scenarios.
I am writing about mistakes, not because I have never made any, but
because I have learned from them. I also believe that we can learn a lot from
the mistakes of others. The tone of this book is not to criticize teachers for
making mistakes; instead, the purpose is to offer a way for teachers to learn
lessons about teaching by learning from the mistakes of other teachers.
Bandura (1986) would call this vicarious or observational learning. Using
mistakes as a teaching strategy is much like simulation—to learn important
lessons a teacher does not have to actually engage in a mistake to learn from
it. I recall making my share of mistakes when I started teaching elementary
school. I can remember one mistake in particular where my intentions were
good, but my judgment was poor. I volunteered to teach a dance class after
school for my fifth graders. We were invited to perform at a neighboring high
school and everyone joined in the preparations. I designed their costumes.
They wore imitation leopard-skin cloth over black leotards. I added a long,
wispy, thin scarf of similar material for effect. The night of the performance,
I thought it would be dramatic to have the girls hold candles as they danced.
It looked beautiful ...at first. When I saw some of those scarves come dangerously
close to the flames my heart skipped a beat and almost stopped.
I suddenly realized that I had put my girls in danger. It was too late to stop
the performance because it was almost over. I just prayed that nothing terrible
would happen. Fortunately, my prayers were answered; my poor judgment
did not result in physical injury to my students. I’ll always remember
that my students could have been seriously injured and it would have been
my fault. I am sure that some of the teachers in these scenarios have similar
thoughts and regrets.
This book is designed to present each reflective scenario as it was written.
Each scenario is analyzed to identify the key issues and seminal problems.
The Rx used in this book is an alteration of the symbol used in prescriptions;
in this academic context, it means a solution for a disorder or problem
(American Heritage Dictionary, 1992). This Rx symbol is used throughout the
book to signal the analyses and solutions for the problems in the scenarios.
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