25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

Mistake
5
Favoritism
SCENARIO 5.1
Snob Appeal
I never really think about this being the worst experience. I was always, and still am, a
talker. I was, however, a good student so somehow I guess it balanced out. My parents
never really got on me for talking/conduct because I had good grades. Anyway, I guess
the teacher I disliked or felt uncomfortable around the most was Ms. W. in third grade.
In elementary school I had lots of friends, but never the cute “girlie” types. Ms. W. was
always so obvious about who her favorites were; the girls were always rich, white, and
dressed right out of Talbot Kids. She was a snob and always made me feel quite small.
Snobs are people who admire
and seek to associate with
other people they regard as their
superiors and may ignore people they
feel are inferior (American Heritage
Dictionary, 1992). The student seemed
to think the teacher in this scenario
was a snob. Several factors support
that notion. The little girls the teacher
preferred had snob appeal: They were
upper class, very well-dressed, and
members of the dominant culture.
Most teachers are not rich; they’re
usually considered middle class. The
teacher could have possibly regarded
the favored children and their families
as superiors. The student was
obviously not rich, not well-dressed,
and probably not white. The teacher
reportedly ignored the student. It
seems the teacher does fit the per -
c eption of a snob. I say perception
because there might be another, less
apparent reason for the teacher’s
perceived favoritism.
Where there are rich, welldressed
kids, there are probably rich,
influential parents somewhere in the
picture. Perhaps the teacher catered
to this favored group of children out
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