Worst Things a Teacher Can Do

Considering some of the recent headlines and raucous jokes about them on the Jay Leno show, the worst offense teachers can commit is to have sexual relationship with students. It certainly is no joke to the people involved, teacher, student, staff and their families. Of course, it also sends a drastically wrong message to other students. Finally, any teacher who is tempted to get involved with a student should realize a relationship is a felony, and could result not only in the loss of a career, but possibly years in prison.

There are other mistakes a teacher can make which, although certainly not as devastating as an illicit relationship, can hurt the teacher, students or both. My years as a teacher, both in the service and some time on a university faculty, did not result in a lifetime career, but some memories are still very sharp. I believe my worst fear during my classroom time was that I'd lose my temper and abuse a student, either verbally or physically.

Anyone who has worked with unruly teenagers knows the feeling. Fortunately, although there were some provocations, I never reached the point of uncontrolled fury. There were times when I would have liked to take some drastic action, but I always managed to suppress it and deal with the situation before it caused the student or me any serious trouble. My opinion is that it is always inappropriate for a teacher to use verbal abuse on a student. If the moment requires action, and the teacher may be in danger, security and/or the police must be summoned immediately.

If verbal abuse is bad, physical abuse is considerably worse. No teacher should ever hit a student, no matter what the provocation. If it happens with adult-sized high school students, it could result in disciplinary action and a possible civil and/or misdemeanor action against the teacher. It could also result in injury to the teacher and/or student. If a teacher physically abuses a smaller, younger student, it is likely to end the teacher's career, along with facing serious civil and criminal actions.

A person who aims to be a teacher must understand the pitfalls of the profession, but must also be prepared to avoid them. That person must have a genuine love of teaching and strong respect for the rights of each student.