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

all the class and told me to go home because shorts were not allowed in her classroom. I began to cry as I walked to the office. My mom was called and was very upset because she had embarrassed me in front of the class for wearing shorts. I was placed in another class; however, after that incident, I was afraid of teachers and became very timid.
    To assume that all teachers are rational and emotionally stable would be a grievous error. I question the teacher’s rationale for banning shorts in her classroom. I seriously doubt that little girls in shorts would distract first-grade boys. I think given the choice, boys this young would be more easily and readily distracted by a toy matchbox car. I think she was overzealous in her efforts to enforce such a rule. It seems her own dark thoughts had clouded her vision. If the children were much older, maybe a little concern would be justified.
    Teachers who understand child development realize that first graders have not achieved the level of sexual maturity that would cause them to be “distracted” by the opposite sex. These astute teachers would think it ludicrous to impose a rule that reflected such outmoded, puritanical beliefs. Caring teachers are wise enough not to punish a child for actions that are beyond their control. When I was a graduate student working as a substitute teacher, I encountered a similar situation. I had a second-grade class that was supposed to attend an awards ceremony that was being held at a neighboring church. The church had a rule that no shorts were allowed. Unfortunately, a little girl came to school in shorts.She appeared to be a neglected child. The teachers were quick to swoop down on her, demanding to know why she wore shorts. The child just cowered and looked down at the floor. Some of the more verbal teachers told her that she would not be attending the ceremony and that she would have to remain at the school.
    This was a big annual event that everyone would be attending except a few staff people. The little girl said nothing. I asked if I could call her parents and ask them to bring her something else to wear. Several teachers laughed and said the mother was probably passed out from drinking. When I offered to drive to the little girl’s house during the break, several people said it would not do any good. I realized there was only one other alternative: I had to buy her something to wear. I rushed out during lunch and asked the shopkeeper to help me. When I told her what I was trying to do, she pitched in to help me find something, and she gave me a discount. I rushed back and enlisted the help of another teacher. I thought it was better to have someone else present to help her get dressed. The little girl went into the bathroom to change her clothes. We helped her button up; we washed her face, combed her hair and put her new barrettes on her hair. The kids in the class were teasing her when she was wearing shorts. When she came out in her new dress, everyone just looked at her quietly. Everyone in class attended the ceremony, but wonder of wonders, the only person to win an award was the little girl. She won first place in an art competition. It would have been a shame if she had missed that honor through no fault of her own. When she received her award, she turned to look at me and smiled. That smile has warmed me through the years whenever I think about her. The moral of this story is if children must be punished, make sure it is for something that they can change; otherwise it is a wasted act of futility that may extol a heavy emotional price on the child.
SCENARIO 10.3
English-Only Spoken Here
    The worst experience that I had with a teacher was as a senior at L.H.S. I was caught speaking Spanish in the restroom by a teacher who reacted by giving me some “licks” with a wooden paddle. He had me grab my ankles in a hall where students were walking to their respective classes. The irony of this experience was that the teacher was a