25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

38 Discipline
SCENARIO 4.5
Old School—1899 or New School—1999?
My family moved so I had to start second grade as a new student. I was scared. I didn’t
know anyone at my new school. Everything was fine until PE class that first day of
school. In PE, the coach asked the class to line up and the lines were supposed to start
on designated little circles. Needless to say, I wasn’t accustomed to their style of lining
up, so I formed my own individual line that wasn’t on a circle. Unfortunately, the coach
noticed I was out of line, so he yelled at me and rudely asked me to follow his directions,
not knowing that this was my first day of class. My self-esteem dropped at that moment.
He didn’t realize that I was trying to meet his request but misinterpreted his directions.
Outdated, antiquated, passé,
or archaic, by any name the
practice of having students line up
on specific circles and follow specific
directions is a relic of a bygone era.
Turn-of-the-century teaching (1890s–
1930s) featured a similar technique
where students had to literally toe
the line and recite their lessons.
During this period, teachers told students
how and where to sit or stand,
if and when to talk, and so on.
Students often waited for the teacher
to give the signal to start and the student
“body” was expected to move
in lock-step fashion as one (Cuban,
1984). The coach publicly ridiculed
the unsuspecting student who was
unaware of the practice. Perhaps the
coach would have been a little more
lenient if he had been aware that
SCENARIO 4.6
If You Muse, You Lose
the student was new, but given his
strong need for control and his tendency
toward loud reprimand, I
doubt it.
“There is an objection to reproving
the pupil publicly....Ridicule is
another weapon that should never be
used....It is the modest, conscientious
child that is most affected,”
(McFee, 1918). These quotes are evidence
that perceptive, sensible teachers
were around at the turn of the
century. This old-fashioned advice is
timeless and timely. Effective teachers
are aware of the effects of public
ridicule and shaming on a student’s
self-esteem and usually avoid it in
favor of soft, private reprimands. In
addition, they would have rules or
practices posted or they would offer a
new student orientation.
In fourth grade, I was not paying close attention when the teacher was reading a story
to the class. At the end of the story, another boy and I were asked to come to the front
of the room and repeat as much of the story as possible. I had to go first and needless
to say, did not recall much of the story. The boy did very well. I remember how embarrassed
I was.