25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

72 Teacher–Student Relations
On the other hand, for shy students
like the author, being called to
the chalkboard is a terrifying experience.
Shy students are afraid of
exposure and are hypervigilant in
their efforts to ward off shame.
When they are faced with a barrage
of criticism and scornful, disparaging
remarks, like those remarks
delivered by the teacher in this
scenario, they tend to internalize
them into a form of “toxic shame”
(Bradshaw, 1988, p. 7) that evokes a
sense of worthlessness. Instead of
these students becoming better performers,
they develop fears and phobias
about whatever it is that evokes
their shame. The author developed a
fear of talking to teachers about
things she didn’t understand. This
type of fear is bound to hinder academic
performance, which suggests
that shaming may reinforce poor
performance.
SCENARIO 11.2
Be Still and the Shame Will Settle
Reasonable teachers observe a
chalkboard etiquette that dictates that
students should be treated with respect
and understanding whenever they are
forced to go to the board. These teachers
are patient and helpful to students
who are trying to solve problems.
Judicious teachers rarely use the chalkboard
as a public forum for humiliating
students who don’t understand the
lesson material. They use chalkboards
to help students. The board allows
them to see the work of several students
at once and to readily see who is
having problems. They can help the
students in trouble or dispatch other
students to the board to help. If students
work as teams at the board, it
takes the pressure off individual students
and increases the probability that
students will solve the problem as they
work together. Such a cooperative
effort minimizes the stigma and shame
associated with incorrect responses.
In second grade, my gym coach brought it to everyone’s attention that I could not do
the required pull-ups for the skills test. This was in front of a gym full of students, several
combined PE classes. It was so embarrassing. There were other coaches around,
but they did not say anything to help my pride.
An insensitive gym coach
focused a spotlight of shame
on an unsuspecting student. The
coach sought to humiliate her as a
reprimand for not doing the required
pull-ups for a skills test. He showed
unabashed contempt for the student
by bringing her shortcomings to
everyone’s attention. The poor student,
unable to escape the glaring
light of shame, felt exposed and
caught off guard. She felt an inability
to cope with the situation and looked
around for adult intervention and
assistance. None was forthcoming.
She felt an inability to cope with her
situation in the presence of so many
onlookers. In effect, she was experiencing
shame as embarrassment
(Bradshaw, 1988). This is probably