“May I sew you to your sheets?”

This was a mistake a good friend of mine made consistently when she worked as an usher at a theatre. She, of course, meant to say “May I show you to your seats?” Most people did not catch it, but those that did thought it was hilarious. She would laugh right along with them and often it would break the tension and she would end up having a conversation as she walked them to their reserved seats. This is a good model to keep in mind.  When you make a mistake, it shows people that you are not perfect and it actually helps people be more at ease with you.

When you are up in front of a class day after day and year after year, you need to realize that you are going to make mistakes. It is best to have a plan to deal with them when they happen. There are several categories of mistakes that I make frequently.

1. Spelling – I get so excited about what I am saying that my brain gets ahead of my marker and I misspell a word, or I leave words out entirely. Sometimes I catch this, but sometimes I do not.  When a student points this out, I usually thank and praise him/her for paying such close attention! If a student happens to correct me without raising their hand or does it in an unkind manner, I still praise them for their attentiveness. Then I request that the next time this occurs (and it probably will because we are all human and make mistakes), I would like them to raise their hand and point out my mistake in a kinder way.  I then promise that when they make a mistake, I will show them the same courtesy and respect.
2. Speaking – Face it…we all get tongue-tied from time to time. When you speak for a living, there are days when it seems like your brain and your lips are not connected.  These mistakes I catch on my own.  Then I own it.  If it came out really funny, I laugh right along with them.  There have been some side-splitting times in my classes throughout the years! (Snickers Cell Anemia instead of Sickle Cell Anemia. Mockulo-Oater instead of Oculomotor. Si-lateral Biminy instead of Bi-lateral Symmetry.) If it just came out wrong, then I go back over it the right way several times, just to make certain that they learn the concept correctly.
3. Drawing – I am not an artist. I tell my students that God gave me many gifts (just like He has given them many gifts), but we do not all have the same ones. If we did, the world would be a boring place! I let them know upfront that I am not artistically inclined.  As a biology teacher, there are often things I need to draw during a lecture to illustrate a point.   When the drawing is not very good, I acknowledge it.  If I attempt to draw a dog and it comes out looking like a balloon animal, I laugh right along with them.

When they perform labs, they need to draw what they see under the microscope.  Many of them begin that lab saying, “I can’t draw that!”  That is when I tell them that if I can do it…they can do it.  Then I remind them that it does not have to be perfect.  Remember, the Science teacher, not the Art teacher, will be grading this.  I find that it puts kids at ease, especially my perfectionist students. It tells them that it is okay if they are not good at everything they attempt.  The important thing is to try their best.  My best is a balloon dog, but I gave that balloon dog everything I had!

I would love to hear from you on this one in the comments section.  Let me know if you have some hilarious faux pas that will encourage the rest of us!