I love it when I get to crush people's souls!

That is what my students act like when they are corrected. I really want to change that perception of feedback and help them understand that receiving feedback is a part of the process of getting better and improving. That is why I love the SIP model and why I always try to keep it in mind whenever I am teaching. I try to be specific, immediate, and positive in my feedback whenever possible. This is important with the academics, but it is even more important with behavioral concerns. One of the biggest pitfalls that authority figures run into is that of broad labels for students with behavioral issues. Many teachers will call them things like 'liars' or 'brats' or 'punks'. This creates severe animosity between teachers and students. However, when a teacher is able to be more specific with their feedback, they have a better chance of helping the student improve and salvaging the relationship at the same time.

Now, this is interesting!

I have a quite a few encounters with unprofessional behavior in the education world. One of the most interesting  experiences revolved around the most recent political season when one of the teachers here on campus was telling students that a certain candidate was a racist. In the middle of this, one of the Teacher Aides actually stated that they liked that particular candidate and that the political discussion should be a little more balanced when discussing candidates. The teacher then called the TA a racist.

When I heard this story, I was flabbergasted! I could not believe that a teacher would cross that ethical boundary of influencing the students in that way, and then compound the first mistake by making another one and alienating the TA and calling them names. This experience highlights two of the biggest pitfalls that lead to unethical behavior. First, a teacher must learn to control their emotions. When our emotions get the best of us, we make big mistakes. Second, teachers must know the ethical expectations and have very clear boundaries with students and staff alike.