25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

Mistake
12
Inappropriate Classroom
Policies
SCENARIO 12.1
New Kid on the School Block
When I moved during the middle of a school year to a new school, the teacher at the new
school didn’t really make me feel welcome. I was so nervous on school days that I literally
“threw up” before school. Why I was scared of this teacher, I really don’t know. Eventually,
it got to the point where I would refuse to go to school! No one was going to make me
go to school! Thereafter, I was placed in a new room and enjoyed my school year. The bad
experience was that the teacher was cold and uninviting to new children. I believe she
expected me to already know the material that she had been teaching. I had no idea what
was going on in her classroom. She really didn’t take time to explain things to me.
The cold reception that the
teacher gave this new student
suggests that she viewed the new
student as an “unwelcome” responsibility
or perhaps a burden! The administration
may have forced her to
take a new student at a time when
she felt she already had too many
students. She apparently took out
her frustrations and hostilities on the
unsuspecting child. She was able to
act out her displeasure by refusing to
explain anything to the child and by
refusing to do any extra work to
bring the child on board.
Insightful educators would realize
that any anger or hostility directed
toward a new student is probably displaced.
If there is a teacher–pupil ratio
problem, the teacher and the administrators
own it and not the new student.
True professionals will make
any efforts that are necessary to bring
the child up to date; they will provide
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