25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

Teacher Confessions of Worst Treatment of a Child
beliefs (Bandura, 1969) or their confidence about their capabilities. As a consequence,
they may feel inadequate or incompetent, feelings that foster feelings
of defensiveness or resentment. Teachers’ biased beliefs and perceptions
about students that are ethnically and economically different and teachers’
limited exposure to such children may manifest as culture clash and incite discriminatory
behavior. Unfortunately, some preservice teachers view teaching
as a “soft” profession. They come into the profession unaware and unprepared
for the “hard” side of teaching such as student misconduct, drug use,
assault, insubordination, and so on. Such beliefs are often the basis of negative
classroom interactions and possible academic trauma for students.
There are a number of psychosocial factors underlying the causes of aberrant
teacher behavior. Some of them are listed below, accompanied by recommendations
for avoiding the negative outcomes of these factors.
Sometimes teachers experience a discrepancy between their actual self and
their ideal self. Such a perception fosters feelings of inadequacy, discontent, dissatisfaction,
and displaced anger. To avoid this perception, they could develop a
more realistic perspective of their strengths and weaknesses and make a concerted
effort to close the gap. Substance abuse is a reality for millions of people;
teachers are no exception. Teachers under the influence of alcohol or drugs are
very likely to be irritable, reactive, and short on patience. Fortunately, there are
rehabilitation facilities, professional counseling and support groups to help them
manage their addiction. A family history of substance abuse has its own set of
problems. People from such families are referred to as adult children of alcoholics.
They have what their support groups refer to as a laundry list of problems
that can be directly attributed to the dysfunction of the addicts in their family,
parents in particular. To minimize the negative outcome of this family situation,
teachers can avail themselves of the positive support groups that help them to
recognize and minimize the effects of their childhood, by stressing that childhood
is over and they must find positive ways of coping with life and move on.
Sadly, teachers who have had an oppressive or abusive teacher in the past
may identify with the oppressor because they know what hurts or what has
a negative effect because it was done to them. They may see the oppressor as
having the power and that is what they want, the power and control that
they did not have as a child. Those teachers who have experienced being a
powerless child dealing with aversive academic experiences can put their
past situation into perspective through guided imagery. Using this technique,
they mentally place themselves in a protective bubble to mentally
revisit the past scenario of their mistreatment, to be reminded that it was not
a desirable situation, but they lived through it, and to assure that they would
never want to emulate the offending teachers’ behavior.
Unfortunately, allergies, physiological imbalances such as menopause,
PMS, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses can fuel out-of-control
teacher behavior. Fortunately, negative outcomes can be avoided with appropriate
medical help, counseling, and behavioral management of various disorders.
Some teachers have an excessive need for control; they feel they can’t trust
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