25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

Mistake 11: Humiliation
SCENARIO 11.5
Toma – to or Tomäto? Pe – can or Pecän?
I just moved to Texas from Georgia. I was in the fifth grade. I was selected to read out
loud. I came across the word pecan. I said “pe-can” instead of pecan. My male teacher
quickly corrected me and made me feel dumb for saying it wrong even though that’s
how I was taught to say it.
The teacher publicly corrected
a student for using a
different pronunciation of the word
pecan. The student was humiliated
because she was made to feel ignorant
about something she assumed
was correct.
Knowledgeable teachers know
that the phonology, or speech sounds,
of the English language are varied
and in some cases interchangeable.
Words like pecan and tomato may be
pronounced one way in one part of
the country and another way in a different
part of the country. Either way
is correct. These teachers accept the
student’s version of the word as correct.
Privately, they may make the
student aware of the alternate pronunciation
of the word, but they will
not insist that students adopt their
pronunciation of the word.
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