Every year I fall into the same trap, as a teacher. Each new year, I say, "Nope, not this year, I swear to God!" But guess what? It happened yet again.
It's not something that I plan. It's not something that I look forward to at all. They just sort of spring up out of the darkness, like a terminal disease, and then I'm doomed.
I always end up playing favorites among my students, and it makes my job much more difficult. I am usually a very serious person. There is always one student (or two in this case) who just takes up the cause of becoming "teacher's pet" in my classroom.
This is a subject that I never thought about when I was growing up. Of course, you always noticed there were certain students who got away with murder while others got the proverbial gas-chamber for something rather minor.
I never dreamed it would happen to me.
For some reason, they always rely on me a little too much, play my good graces like a professional pianist, and manipulate my ignorance like a convicted felon. In my mind, it is a dark art, because I do not realize what they have done until it is too late; it's like being painted into a corner and the paint dries much too slowly.
Normally, I am like a steel trap. It ruins things for me on a professional level when this happens. I hate to be harsh. And when you finally do get harsh, they always say, "You remember that time you didn't get mad when I did that." Then you sort of back off and they win again.
Luckily, I've never let things get as bad as my first year as a teacher. I had a student who liked to be the boss. He reminded me a lot of myself at that age. I was his "get out of jail free card" for everything grizzly and horrific. When he crossed the line with another teacher or fellow student, he came running to me hoping that I'd bail him out. Being a schmuck, I did.
The other students absolutely abhorred him. They always called him "teacher's pet." I can already see it happening all over again, to a certain degree. They don't seem to mind the seeming stigma of being labeled as a teacher's pet. There must be a deterrent for this type of behavior. The best idea would be to find it before the behavior begins.
I suppose I really must think of a plan to handle this situation! I admit, however, it is not likely to occur.
1 comment:
I had a showdown with one of the "teacher's pets" today. I don't know if he still wants to the job or not anymore. I was pretty rough with him, considering he had no idea what was coming when I talked to him privately. I could tell he was visually shaken, but I told him plainly what I expected from him in the class. He said that he understood and he then he offered a very muted, "I'm sorry." I told him that I believed him. His face told me the entire story. He was almost to the point of crying. I feel bad about it, considering it is mostly my fault for allowing it to get to such a critical point. I'll have another talk with him on Monday to smooth things over.
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