Beginning Teaching Experiences

My teaching experiences have been quite varied. I began my career as a high school business education teacher in a small rural Midwestern school. Because there were only two teachers in the department, I taught a wide variety of courses. The small setting enabled me to get to know several of the students and faculty quite well and working with students at this age level helped me develop skills in organization and motivation. I found that it was important to have enough material for the entire class period because many students at this age do not seem to know what to do with free time.

I was taught a very valuable lesson during my tenure at this school, although I didn’t realize it at the time. At the end of the accounting course I was teaching, students were required to complete a practice set. A practice set is a simulated exercise where students become bookkeepers for a hypothetical company. They have the opportunity to work through the entire accounting cycle—from opening the accounts as the business begins its daily operations to closing them out at the end of the business’ fiscal period. Students are required to record daily transactions, write checks, and prepare financial reports. It is a mammoth project and takes a lot of time both in class and out of class.

Students were told that it would count for a large percentage of their semester grade and that if there were cheating, all involved would automatically fail the course. Being naïve and from a middle-class background, I felt sure that such a threat would prevent any cheating. Naturally, two students proved me wrong. Both students were seniors and one of them needed the credit to graduate. He was from a very low, socioeconomic background. College was not even an option for him but a high school diploma might help him land a job after graduation. The principal discussed the situation with me but left the decision up to me as to whether or not to fail the student. Being a young teacher, I felt that I should stick to my principles, no matter what the consequences. I failed both students and the one did not graduate from high school.

At the time, I didn’t think too much about it, and although I did feel badly for the student, in my mind, the student had only himself to blame. Over the years, I have come to realize that I must accept some of that blame. In a sense, I set him up to fail. Even though I devoted several hours of class time to the practice set, he was often absent. I knew that he was not doing well in the class and certainly did not have the ability to complete the practice set on his own. He needed the credit to graduate so he did the only thing he could do—he conned a girl into allowing him to copy hers.