Chapter #2: Respect, Trust, and Fairness

Does a teacher need a pet? Should his or her favorites be known? On page 22 of Fires in the Bathroom, we encounter sticky situations like these.
I believe if a teacher has a favorite student, it should stay private and should not affect grades and discipline. When a “pet” is known he or she may become a slacker and that is not breeding respect in the classroom. Instead, it teaches students that if they are liked they are then better than the rest, they have power. A teacher should not want their students to have more power then they themselves endure. Besides, students don’t like their peers to know that they are “pets,” they could end up getting bullied, teased and etc.

Chapter #1: Knowing Students' Well

On page one of Fires in the Bathroom, where Tiffany conveys the fact that teachers should not force themselves to make a connection with their students’ was something I could really relate to.
Teachers do not know everything and have not been through everything each student faces, so they should not try to soothe them by saying, “I understand” when clearly they don’t. One of my teacher’s in high school was just like the teacher Tiffany described and came off more fake then anything because she could relate to my dad’s drinking problem, my parent’s divorce, my grandfather’s stroke, my grades slipping, etc. Teachers should help, but not make their students’ problems feel small because God-forbid they can relate. Sometimes it’s nice to just get a hug or know that you have a listening ear there to guide you.