How the Best Teachers Avoid the 20 Most Common Teaching Mistakes

Elizabeth Breaux

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781596671096
• eBook ISBN: 9781317930402
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

For new teachers and veterans, mentors, instructional coaches, and staff developers, this book shows you how the best teachers avoid and correct the 20 most common teaching mistakes. Clear, direct, and passionate, this book provides tools to help you take charge of your classroom, yourself, your students' educations, and to become the best teacher you can possibly be!

If I Already Knew

If I already knew what I think that I know
Or if even I knew that I really don’t know
To quite the extent that needn’t I learn
What 1 already think not to be a concern

You should already know that my age is no reason
To assume that I’m wise or in any way seasoned
What I say, as you’ve learned, is directly impaired
By my dire desire to pretend not to care.

1 firmly believe that I shouldn’t need teachers
I shouldn’t need parents or mentors or preachers
Science, Biology, Algebra II
Just why I need those I haven’t a clue

So assume, if you will, that never I’ve heard
Of the rules of the school (though it sounds so absurd)
And tell me exactly what I’m to expect
And what you require is what you will get!

—Elizabeth Breaux

Mistake 1 :
Assuming Students
Already Know

Defining the Mistake

One of the first and worst mistakes teachers make is assuming that our students already know our expectations. We often assume that the older students are, the more they should already know. Some of us even assume that they can read our minds and that in failing to do so they are disobeying or disrespecting us!

Often, in our haste to start teaching, we simply fail to lay the proper foundation, forgetting that the foundation is the groundwork on which teaching takes place. Without it, teaching cannot be effective. We are so anxious to start teaching the content that we neglect to teach the basic rules and procedures that will allow for more efficient and effective teaching and learning in the content area.

How many times have you either made or heard a fellow teacher make statements similar to these?

◆ “I’m not going to tell him that it is disrespectful to talk while I’m talking! He’s in the seventh grade and should know that by now!”

◆ “I should not have to tell eighth graders to walk quietly in the hallway.”

◆ “Tell a fifth grader that she must remain seated unless given permission to do otherwise? I don’t think so!”

◆ “Waste precious time ‘teaching’ rules and procedures? We might not finish the book!”

This mistake of assuming that they already know can be one of the most tragic mistakes that we make in our classroom because if we assume that they already know, then we will naturally take the defensive when they fail to do as we expect.

Examples of the Mistake

I remember the very first day of my teaching career like it was yesterday (although I’ve tried hard to forget it). I had finished college in May and was planning to start teaching during the fall semester. Sleeping soundly on that early June morning and not having to get up any time soon were luxuries I had earned. However, those luxuries were much shorter-lived than I had expected.

The phone rang at 7:30 A.M.; I, of course, was sound asleep. I answered it and, to my surprise, the principal from the high school across the street from my apartment complex was calling in search of a teacher to teach the summer school English I class. When the teacher originally hired to teach the class had not shown up, the principal had called the school board office in search of someone else. Because I had recently applied for a job in the public school system, he was able to acquire my name and contact information from my application.

“I’ve got 36 students seated here in the gymnasium and no one to teach them,” he said. “Would you be interested in the position?” Still half asleep, and probably thinking I was merely dreaming, I told him I’d be there shortly. The next thing I remember vividly was being given a key to a classroom, the promise of some textbooks as soon as they could be located, an apology for not having a teacher’s manual to go with the course, and 36 sleepy, apathetic teenagers staring dazedly into the space that was the gymnasium. The rest is a blur. Suffice it to say that although I did manage to “swim” through that summer school teaching experience, it wasn’t pretty. I spent most of my time kicking and splashing, but made it safely to the side each day. I didn’t drown, but was barely afloat the entire time.

In retrospect, I was able to see my mistake(s) quite clearly, the biggest having been my expectation that high-school students should have already known the rules of the game. Because of that, I had neglected to teach them to play by MY rules! I had just expected that they would, since I was in charge, and had then become frustrated each time that they did not! How dare they? Didn’t they known that I WAS THE TEACHER?

Correcting the Mistake

My students were not following procedures as I had expected. It had become worse with each passing week, until finally I felt I had no recourse. I was furious at these students who should have been old enough to know what I had expected, and at myself for not recognizing much earlier that what had happened had been within my control. I had chosen to allow the students to implement procedures their way in my classroom. I had chosen to assume that because of their ages they should have been able to read my mind. I had chosen to conclude that the reason they were not behaving as I’d expected was probably due to the fact that they were, of course, all past failures. Every one of them was retaking this course during the summer session because they had failed it during the previous school year. I had relinquished my power to the students and blamed them for not using it according to my plan.

Many of you have probably found yourselves in similar situations. For every step forward, you’ve taken 10 steps backward. You’ve begged, pleaded, punished, fussed, referred students to the office, and called parents, but nothing has worked. You’re exhausted and have little fight left in you.

Question: What do you do now?

Answer: Own it yourself. Apologize to your students for your mistake of not teaching the procedure properly. Apologize for your inconsistencies in properly implementing the procedures. Then ask for their help in starting over. Ask students if they would mind not having class and just talking for a while about a few procedures instead. Then, start over! The great thing about teaching is that we can have a “Monday” on any day of the week and at any time of the year we choose.

Take some time to revamp. After your discussion with your students, proceed to actually TEACH them through explanation and modeling exactly what you expect. Once you’ve clearly explained the proper implementation of a procedure, PRACTICE it. Allow the students to try it with your guidance. Once you are satisfied with the practice session, begin to IMPLEMENT each procedure.

Now, here is the part that is most difficult for many of us. It is absolutely critical that you implement the procedures with utter consistency for routines to develop properly. If you allow the students to begin implementing procedures according to their interpretation instead of yours, everyone loses. Consistent implementation is the key, and its success is firmly in the hands of the teacher.

Avoiding the Mistake

In order to avoid the mistake, assume that your students have no inkling as to what your expectations are. The first few days of school should be spent lay- ing the foundation. I always began my year by doing the following:

◆ Apologizing to the students for the vast number of expectations.

◆ Sympathizing with them regarding the reality that expectations vary from classroom to classroom.

◆ Assuring students that I fully expected them to struggle with meeting all expectations initially, and that failing to do so would not be considered failure, but simply a reason to revisit the expectation.

Then I could begin establishing initial rules and procedures as they would be implemented from that day forward. Before doing so, however, I needed a predetermined list of rules and procedures and a plan for teaching each one of these on the first few days of school.

Make a list of those that are most important for the smooth, organized, efficient functioning of your classroom. Your list might look something like the following one. A more detailed explanation of how to “Teach, Practice, and Implement” these can be found in my book Classroom Management Simplified (2005).

1.  Entering the Classroom

2.  Tardiness

3.  Implementing Bell Work

4.  Sharpening Pencils

5.  Using Classroom Materials/Supplies

6.  Distributing/Collecting of Class Materials

7.  Getting the Students’ Attention

8.  Getting the Teacher’s Attention

9.  Participation

10.  Completing Homework Assignments

11.  Talking in Class (Use of Codes)

12.  Group Work

13.  Discarding Trash

14.  Conducting Parent Conferences

15.  Calling Home

16.  Requesting Bathroom Privileges

17.  Taking a Test

Begin on day one by starting with #1 on your list. Teach (tell, show, model, etc.) the students exactly what you expect. Then, Practice with the students. Allow them to role-play. Allow them to make mistakes! That’s right... actually ask them to make mistakes! Make it fun. They will enjoy it regardless of age/grade level. Use this practice time to rectify mistakes, so that when you move on to the Implementation phase, you simply need to remind, reinforce, and remain utterly consistent!

Bottom Line

There are as many different sets of rules, procedures, and general expectations as there are classrooms in any given school. Students are not mind- readers. (We must be ever thankful for that!) Identify your expectations before the beginning of school and spend the first few days teaching, practicing, and implementing those procedures. Be willing to revisit and revamp whenever necessary. Understand that the well-managed classroom that runs efficiently and effectively is not possible without the guidance of the teacher. The teacher is the key. Make a firm commitment to yourself and to your students not to waver in regard to the proper implementation. Remain firm yet kind, helpful yet unbending, consistent yet not controlling! And that brings us to Mistake #2: Attempting to Control.

If in my efforts to control the ones within my care
The methods that I choose to use are marred beyond repair
Then how will I appear to be the one who’s in command
The one who is respected without having to demand?
You see there’s really no such thing as controlling situations
Or demanding others give to me respect and admiration
Those we know who are the most respected of them all
Are they who know their actions are the only they control.

—Elizabeth Breaux

Mistake 2 :
Attempting to Control

Defining the Mistake

If we allow ourselves to believe that we can control others, we are setting our own stages for failure! If in our efforts to gain control of our classrooms, our students, or our lives in general, we forfeit control of ourselves, we have lost the very thing for which we are striving: control! We must each believe and say to ourselves, “The only person I will ever control is me!”

Each of us has witnessed numerous examples of the loss of self-control. Sadly, many of those examples have taken place in our schools. The obvious ones are those where teachers have ultimately given up and resigned their teaching positions. Those are the situations that ended positively, for at least those teachers bowed out gracefully. The saddest of situations are those where the teachers continued to strive for control without realizing that their tactics were flawed. Their efforts, consequently, continued to be in vain. Most often those efforts focused on controlling others, which is never possible if one has not gained control of oneself. If I cannot control my own actions and reactions, there is no chance of my ever being in control of the actions and reaction of those within my tutelage. My students look to me for guidance and example. Good or bad, my example is the lead that they will follow.

The greatest teacher I ever had stood all of about 5 feet tall and weighed (possibly) 100 pounds soaking wet. Her name was Mrs. Barker and those of us fortunate to have been her students were wise to have used her example later in our own lives. She was the teacher who was always in control. She was in control of her classroom, the cafeteria, the gymnasium, and the entire campus. Her presence was motivation for those around her to maintain selfcontrol. She led by example, never losing control of herself under the guise of trying to control others, yet by doing so, she seemed to be in control of EVERYTHING! Those who entered her classroom exited having gained self- worth, self-control, self-discipline, and an immense amount of knowledge of the English language. I realized many years l...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Meet the Author
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Mistake 1: Assuming Students Already Know
• Mistake 2: Attempting to Control
• Mistake 3: Engaging in Power Struggles
• Mistake 4: Taking Student Behaviors Personally
• Mistake 5: Foregoing the Real-Life Connection
• Mistake 6: Teaching to the Whole
• Mistake 7: Allowing for Unstructured Time
• Mistake 8: Failing to Organize
• Mistake 9: Being Unprofessional
• Mistake 10: Lowering Expectations
• Mistake 11: Treating Students Unfairly
• Mistake 12: Neglecting Priorities
• Mistake 13: Being Inconsistent
• Mistake 14: Planning Haphazardly
• Mistake 15: Misusing the Administration
• Mistake 16: Delaying Feedback
• Mistake 17: Discouraging Participation
• Mistake 18: Sacrificing the Parent-Teacher Alliance
• Mistake 19: Believing the Façade
• Mistake 20: Refusing to Acknowledge Mistakes
• Conclusion