This post from Edutopia identifies 13 common sayings that teachers use but shouldn’t. An explanation of the reason they shouldn’t be used is given as well as an alternative. I found that I don’t say very many of these. I also found some with which I whole-heartedly agreed and some of which I didn’t agree whatsoever.

For instance, I would never tell a student that their brother or sister was better than them. That is so obviously hurtful. My brother was a lot better at me at a lot of things. I would not want an instructor pointing it out. However, sometimes we do have to ask students, “What is wrong with you?” The author of this post did not explain that sometimes we ask that when we are concerned that a student is hurt, sick, or upset.

What do you think about these sayings? Do you agree or disagree? Are there other sayings we should avoid in our schools? Leave your thoughts in the comments to this post.

Amanda Koonlaba is an elementary art teacher in Tupelo, MS. She is a contributor to MSEdBlog. Her views are her own and do not represent the views of any other entity.