I think teachers stereotype a lot in secondary schools. Most
teachers make accusations about their students the first day they are in class
just by how the student dresses or acts that one day. Even I was guiltly of it
at one point. I got a new student in my class about a month ago and he was so
happy, talkative, and distruptive in my class that all I could think was how
much of a problem he was going to be the rest of the year. Well, I definitely
put my foot in my mouth. He has not said a single word during learning since
that first day and does all his work in class. Even in my teaching experience
this semester I have heard teachers say they know exactly which one of their
students will end up in jail and that is a very sad accusation.
I think we need to give student’s the chance to show us what
they are made of and let them know we have faith that they can do better even
if we, ourselve, have our doubts. We need to let them surprise us. I think in
every one of my blogs and reflections I have talked about this girl in my class
that has made such a great improvement, but it is hard not to continue to talk
about someone who has made such a great impact on my teaching experience. She
was that girl that I thought was lazy and she looked like what we would
consider a “stoner”, but as terrible as that sounded I still wanted to let her
know that I had the faith that she could do better. Surprise! Going from a grade of a 13
to a 71 in one six week period would be the perfect example of why we should
not stereotype our students, but instead encourage them. Also, we never know why a student is acting out, sleeping, or doing the things they are doing in our class. We should take the time to get to know them instead of just assuming they are bad kids. Secondary student's could have jobs after school to help out their family. They could be having parental problem at home, or even be struggling with not having a home. Take the time to get to know your students because you could end up being the one that "saves their life."
