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E

ven in the first day of class, Rissa knew she wouldn’t like her algebra teacher who was notorious for being a ruthless “terrorist” --- a teacher who mercilessly shoots down adolescent egos with the way she ridicules students solving math problems on the board.

Rissa was never good at math subjects. She hated it ever more day her teacher asked her to go to the blackboard to solve a problem. Her mind went blank then. She started feeling that her teacher had singled her out and was making her life extra difficult.

Rissa exclaims, “It will take a miracle for me to pass this subject, and my having a terrorist for a teacher will only makes things worse. She’s always picking on me? Why is that?”

Does Rissa’s case seem familiar? If you are in a similar situation, what should you do?

Mrs. Socorro J. Valencia, a high school guidance counselor for twelve years, warns students to be careful in judging teachers according to impressions or reputations.

“Psychologists call this a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you expect your teacher to criticize you, your teacher who senses how you feel would tend to act that way,” she says.

“People cause what happens to them. With our thoughts we attract people. If you believe that everyone wants to criticize you, you’ll find people to do just that --- or they’ll surely find you, in the classroom, in the canteen, on the street.”

BY ED DE GUZMAN

Everyone falls into the trap of self-fulfilling prophecies, Valencia adds. People who expect to be disappointed have their realized.

Valencia says that in Rissa’s case, it is possible that she seeks out people to point out her mistakes. She goes to class knowing when to receive a barage of unkind word.

Yes Rissa may be thinking in a negative way. But what if her teacher is really mean?

“There are really teachers out there who are critical of how their students behave in class and perform in school work. But believe it or not, this is how some teachers...