Sometimes School Beats the Education Out of Students

I was a substitute teacher in a third grade class earlier this week and it became clear to me just how powerful and potentially damaging teachers can be. We hold a great power and as we learned from Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility. Unfortunately some teachers wield power that is detrimental to children.

The class was already in session when I entered the classroom. A sub didn’t show up, so I was called in late to substitute for a substitute. The student-teacher was conducting class and she let me know that she preferred to be the lead teacher for the day. That makes sense as she is more likely to follow the typical routine.

What proceeded was not only scary but seriously lacking in professionalism. This young lady from Evangel, handed out warnings like a parade float volunteer throwing candy to the crowd. It was amazing. Her behavior management of choice was snapping her fingers, either in the students’ general direction or in their face. By that I mean 3-6 inches from their nose. No hyperbole, my friends. I kid you not.

She snapped at the children all day long, which was very inconsistent with her language. She constantly praised them for being good, yet dolled out verbal reprimands and finger snaps. She was also fond of whole-class punishments. When children spoke out of turn, she would generally choose to take away recess time for the entire classroom, rather than the offenders. The well-trained pre-service teacher has already gone through classes on classroom management and should have a much stronger arsenal of activities and approaches to deal with children. Personally, I find finger snapping a very degrading and disrespectful way to communicate with anyone, especially a child.

When it came time for science, she instructed the students to sit on the carpet at the front of the room. That is a good technique, by the way. Then she read to them a book about the parts of a plant. Again, very cool. Here’s the thing. The kids were interested. Very interested. They were engaged and trying to communicate their interest in flowers to her. They were saying things about the lesson and about the flowers. They asked questions and listened, for the most part. Every single time she quashed their questions and interest by telling them not to talk. Not talking was this pre-service teacher’s mantra throughout the day.

I remember a little boy getting up and asking her if he was doing a good job with his project. She dismissed him outright, refusing to look at his picture and sent him back to his desk telling him it was not time to get up or talk. It was never time for the students to talk.

When it came to reading time, several of the students were disengaged and not following directions. So I came up to their table and asked them to tell me about their book so far. I met some resistance at first, but then they opened up and got excited telling me about different animals, specifically penguins. We ended reading time, had another activity, then came back to reading. This time the pre-service teacher took control saying: I know Mr. Fat Jack is interested in your books, but this is not sharing time. You will read your books quietly to yourself. I took that as a personal rebuff to keep my mouth shut and to stay seated. Again, this pre-service teacher was more concerned with the quiet classroom rather than an interested and engaged student body.

I cannot speak for the pre-service teacher program at Evangel and I am not judging the program based on one student. However, I am curious if this teacher’s philosophy and teaching methods are a product of her own experience as a child, or if it is a part of a broader philosophy of education at Evangel University. Is this part of a teaching philosophy rooted in a biblical “spare the rod, spoil the child” mentality? It could be that it is a combination of a need for control over something (in this case children) or possibly a frustration on her part to be able to teach properly. It is also possible that her supervising teacher is expecting and modeling such behavior. I also cannot help but wonder if her white, private school culture is in conflict with this north-side school.

Regardless of the reasons behind her approach, I find her methods deplorable. Snapping fingers and an obsession with the quiet classroom are the methods of antiquated teachers. She should know better, in my opinion. There was no sense of justice, fairness, equality, creativity, independence, or critical thinking skills. No wonder kids hate school. Sometimes my friends, school is the worst thing for children and we contribute when we allow poor teachers to teach.