Negative Labels Can Be Harmful
Linda Weaver Clarke
May 08, 2007
I wrote an article about "labeling students," describing the dangers of negative labels. In my article, I was trying to help teachers realize the importance of positive labels and how it can reinforce good behavior. Negative labels can reinforce bad behavior.
Sometime later I received some feedback about my article. A young father wrote and asked what he should do because his little girlīs teacher was giving her a negative label and he was worried it was hurting her self-esteem. She was embarrassed because the other students had heard what the teacher said. A man from India read my article on the Internet and said that he would like to use my article in a teacherīs magazine. He wanted the teachers to read this article, hoping to improve the school system. I greatly admired this man for wanting to improve his fellow teachers. I finally realized that this insignificant article was helping a few people, waking them up a bit.
Professor Dan Olweus, from the University of Bergen in Norway, wrote, "A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and overtime, to negative actions." Whether itīs from peers or a teacher, it can ruin a studentīs self-esteem. Teachers donīt understand the harm theyīre doing when giving a negative label to students. It degrades them in front of their peers. Once a student is labeled, itīs a stigma that stays with him for a long time.
I remember when my own daughter was labeled as a troublemaker, simply because she was an active child. Her teacher didnīt know how to cope with a lively child and had given her a negative label. This broke my heart and I didnīt know what to say or do. I realized that her self-esteem was being hurt. The following year, my daughterīs new teacher was an elderly woman who adored my little girl. She said that she realized my daughter had a tough time sitting still, so she allowed her to stand at her desk as she did her work. She said that it was working out wonderfully. Because of the love of a teacher, my daughter wanted to try harder. This sweet elderly teacher helped to boost my little girlīs self-esteem.
My article about labeling students was inspired by an experience that I had as a substitute teacher. It was a heartrending experience that I never forgot. I had subbed for an elementary teacher before, but this day was different. This day something was definitely wrong and I was not sure what it was. As I moved toward the back of the room, I noticed a desk that was hidden beside a bookshelf. I peered around the corner and saw an eight-year-old girl resting her head against her arms.
I was surprised. Why was this student separated from the rest? Why was she hidden behind this bookshelf alone? One of the students volunteered, "Because sheīs a trouble-maker, doesnīt do her schoolwork, and fights with the boys at recess."
After excusing the children, I talked to the young girl. It took quite a while to soften her angry eyes and her rebellious attitude. But after a time, I had the young girl smiling. I moved the studentīs desk up front beside my own so she could be near me. As the day wore on, I spent much time with this young girl, helping her, talking to her, having her pass out papers to the students. By the end of the day, I had grown to love this young student and my heart went out to her. She had been abused by her peers and was misunderstood, simply because a teacher had labeled her as a troublemaker. Therefore, her fellow-students incessantly reminded her of this fact. No one seemed to befriend her or show they cared.
At the end of the day, I was supposed to write a note about the young girlīs behavior so she could give it to her parents. After the class was empty, I packed up and walked out the door. To my surprise, the mother walked up to me with the note in hand and asked, "Did you write this?" After acknowledging that I had, the young motherīs eyes welled up with tears as she said, "Her teacher has never written anything positive about my daughter. I want to thank you very much."
As a mother and substitute teacher, I was not perfect by any means and I had days of impatience just like everyone else, blurting out something in frustration. A teacherīs job is a difficult one and I knew it. I appreciate what teachers do to educate our youth, but many times we have to remind ourselves that when we do blurt out something unkind, then we must humble ourselves and ask forgiveness. Children tend to forgive so easily.
This experience affected me quite a bit and I never forgot it, remembering that one of my own children had been misunderstood. I asked my husband if this was something he was familiar with and he said, "Oh, yes. Our teacher labeled one of my classmates as a īdummyī and he had to live with that for years. I felt sorry for him."
I realized that negative labeling was something not only of the past, but was going on right now as well. A few months later, I sat down and wrote "Melinda and the Wild West," a love story that included this experience, hoping to touch someoneīs heart.
Written by Linda Weaver Clarke, author of the historical/fiction/romance series: "A Family Saga in Bear Lake, Idaho." To learn more, visit www.lindaweaverclarke.com.
Sometime later I received some feedback about my article. A young father wrote and asked what he should do because his little girlīs teacher was giving her a negative label and he was worried it was hurting her self-esteem. She was embarrassed because the other students had heard what the teacher said. A man from India read my article on the Internet and said that he would like to use my article in a teacherīs magazine. He wanted the teachers to read this article, hoping to improve the school system. I greatly admired this man for wanting to improve his fellow teachers. I finally realized that this insignificant article was helping a few people, waking them up a bit.
Professor Dan Olweus, from the University of Bergen in Norway, wrote, "A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and overtime, to negative actions." Whether itīs from peers or a teacher, it can ruin a studentīs self-esteem. Teachers donīt understand the harm theyīre doing when giving a negative label to students. It degrades them in front of their peers. Once a student is labeled, itīs a stigma that stays with him for a long time.
I remember when my own daughter was labeled as a troublemaker, simply because she was an active child. Her teacher didnīt know how to cope with a lively child and had given her a negative label. This broke my heart and I didnīt know what to say or do. I realized that her self-esteem was being hurt. The following year, my daughterīs new teacher was an elderly woman who adored my little girl. She said that she realized my daughter had a tough time sitting still, so she allowed her to stand at her desk as she did her work. She said that it was working out wonderfully. Because of the love of a teacher, my daughter wanted to try harder. This sweet elderly teacher helped to boost my little girlīs self-esteem.
My article about labeling students was inspired by an experience that I had as a substitute teacher. It was a heartrending experience that I never forgot. I had subbed for an elementary teacher before, but this day was different. This day something was definitely wrong and I was not sure what it was. As I moved toward the back of the room, I noticed a desk that was hidden beside a bookshelf. I peered around the corner and saw an eight-year-old girl resting her head against her arms.
I was surprised. Why was this student separated from the rest? Why was she hidden behind this bookshelf alone? One of the students volunteered, "Because sheīs a trouble-maker, doesnīt do her schoolwork, and fights with the boys at recess."
After excusing the children, I talked to the young girl. It took quite a while to soften her angry eyes and her rebellious attitude. But after a time, I had the young girl smiling. I moved the studentīs desk up front beside my own so she could be near me. As the day wore on, I spent much time with this young girl, helping her, talking to her, having her pass out papers to the students. By the end of the day, I had grown to love this young student and my heart went out to her. She had been abused by her peers and was misunderstood, simply because a teacher had labeled her as a troublemaker. Therefore, her fellow-students incessantly reminded her of this fact. No one seemed to befriend her or show they cared.
At the end of the day, I was supposed to write a note about the young girlīs behavior so she could give it to her parents. After the class was empty, I packed up and walked out the door. To my surprise, the mother walked up to me with the note in hand and asked, "Did you write this?" After acknowledging that I had, the young motherīs eyes welled up with tears as she said, "Her teacher has never written anything positive about my daughter. I want to thank you very much."
As a mother and substitute teacher, I was not perfect by any means and I had days of impatience just like everyone else, blurting out something in frustration. A teacherīs job is a difficult one and I knew it. I appreciate what teachers do to educate our youth, but many times we have to remind ourselves that when we do blurt out something unkind, then we must humble ourselves and ask forgiveness. Children tend to forgive so easily.
This experience affected me quite a bit and I never forgot it, remembering that one of my own children had been misunderstood. I asked my husband if this was something he was familiar with and he said, "Oh, yes. Our teacher labeled one of my classmates as a īdummyī and he had to live with that for years. I felt sorry for him."
I realized that negative labeling was something not only of the past, but was going on right now as well. A few months later, I sat down and wrote "Melinda and the Wild West," a love story that included this experience, hoping to touch someoneīs heart.
Written by Linda Weaver Clarke, author of the historical/fiction/romance series: "A Family Saga in Bear Lake, Idaho." To learn more, visit www.lindaweaverclarke.com.
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