Free 25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them by Carolyn Orange Page A

that they have no right to put their students in a position to be an object of ridicule and scorn to satisfy the teachers’ needs. That’s exactly what happens when teachers favor a particular child. Other classmates laugh at and make fun of the child, and many willdislike the child. It’s a terrible predicament for a young child who wants to belong and be cared for.
    Ten-year-olds are still very dependent on parents and teachers and find it difficult and unnerving when the roles are reversed. If students have to be there for their teachers, surely they wonder or worry about who is there for them. Teachers have an obligation not to cross the line with student friendships. They should actively seek to establish collegial and personal relationships with their adult peers.

Mistake
    6

    Physiological Discrimination
SCENARIO 6.1
The Antifat Motive
    When I was in ninth grade, I tried out for the cheerleading/pom-pom squad. I made it. I was thrilled. I was excited because even though I was a little overweight, I had been chosen. I went to practices, games, followed the routines, and tried to have fun. It was difficult sometimes because the others girls would make fun of me or call me names. Now during this time, I didn’t really lose or gain any weight. So here was the issue. My coach called me into her office and said that one of the main reasons I was on the team was so that I could get more physically fit. Boy was I taken aback. I was so hurt and disappointed in her and myself. I still love being a “stand cheerleader,” but I never tried out again.
    The coach obviously had a hidden motive for selecting the overweight student for the cheer-leading squad: to make the student lose weight. When the student did not lose weight, the coach felt compelled to reveal a personal “antifat” motive. This candid revelation clearly communicated to the student that she was not okay, that she was fat and she needed “fixing.” Perhaps the coach’s intent was to shame her into losing weight by telling her that she was chosen because of her weight problem and not her merit, skill, or value. The coach’s motive was self-serving. If the student lost weight once she was a member of the team, the coach could claim credit for healing the student’s “fat affliction.” The cost of this “benevolent” act to the student’s self-esteem was immeasurable. Although the teacher may have felt her intentions were good, her behavior was indefensible and needlessly painful for the student.
    Caring teachers realize that fat children are often targets of ridicule. Children of normal weight frequently discriminate against overweight children. Society seems to condone the practice of making disparaging remarks to overweight people. Sensitive teachers, who are aware of potential damage to an overweight student’s self-esteem, have zero tolerance for the disparaging remarks that schoolchildren make about these children. Unfortunately, many teachers have some bias toward overweight students and often communicate that directly or indirectly. A first step toward changing their discriminatory behavior would be to acknowledge their feelings and work to change their image or impression of overweight children. A second step would be to showcase the positive features, behaviors, and accomplishments of overweight children for the class and the school. Teaching children tactful, empathic ways of interacting with overweight children is a priority.
SCENARIO 6.2
Writing Well at Any Cost
    My worst experience in school was when I was in first grade and was learning to write. I attended school in Spain at the time. The teacher at school was so mad at me because I could not write well that she made me stay after school every day to practice. I missed my bus to go home each time, and had to wait for the bus to go to my house at 3:30. This ride was for the high school so I had to endure ridicule from much older kids. There wasn’t an escort to the correct bus, so I