25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

68 Teacher–Student Relations
several strategies for teaching LEP
children. Macias (1986) offers some
strategies that are appropriate for this
scenario; give clear directions, des -
cribe tasks accurately, demonstrate
and explain new information, pace
SCENARIO 10.6
Lesson in Oppression
instructions, actively involve the students,
and expect that all children will
succeed. These basic tenets of effective
pedagogy cannot be accomplished
if the student is placed in the
back of the room and ignored.
My worst experience in education was undoubtedly in the fifth grade. We had just
moved (again) to Montgomery, Alabama, and the year was 1962. Today I still have difficulty
reminding myself of the horrors people put upon other people.
The school was integrated but that didn’t matter because few blacks attended
school there. Students or their parents had to purchase their own textbooks and worksheets,
which excluded many from attendance.
There was one black student, D., and even though he had no books, no shoes, he
still tried to make it work. Many of the students actually helped D. or tried to, but in
the end, the teacher failed him miserably. I can still see his face, choking back tears at
the indignation heaped upon him by this supposed “teacher.”
Overt racism is an insidious
contaminant that befouls all
that embrace it, encounter it, or just
witness it. The author of this scenario
witnessed man’s inhumanity to man
through the teacher’s race-based ill
treatment of another student. The
teacher’s intent was to hurt or discriminate
against the black student,
not realizing that some of the white
students would experience that
hurt vicariously. A study done by
Woolfolk and Brooks (1983) showed
that teachers are influenced by a student’s
physical appearance and, in
some cases, may withhold smiles,
approval, and eye contact, yet may
readily disperse disapproval of students
they perceive as less desirable.
This teacher’s prejudices, biases, and
lower expectations for the black student
obscured her view of his efforts
and struggle and hardened her
resolve to fail him. The long-lasting
negative effects of her actions are evidenced
in this author’s inability to
forget what happened.
Effective educators realize that
they cannot let the way that they feel
about children influence the way that
they teach them and interact with
them. This is a tall order to expect
teachers to put aside their bias or
prejudice toward members of a
group and treat them fairly. Prejudice
is a learned behavior that is fostered
by stereotypes and fueled by ignorance.
The good news is that prejudice
can be unlearned if teachers care
enough to find out more about a
particular culture, to embrace diversity,
and to celebrate differences.
Fortunately, some changes have been
made for black students since 1962.