Two students are in class, eagerly raising their hands to answer a question. The class is heavily weighted on participation points, so naturally, both want to get in some speaking points before the bell rings. Both students get good grades, but one stands out more as the “teacher’s pet.” That person gets called on several times, whilst the other student, despite being equal in knowledge, is disregarded.
Favoritism is a problem in school and isn’t just limited to classes. It can be found in clubs, sports, and any competitive activities.
According to a study from The Asian Journal of Professional and Business Studies, favoritism in school settings lowers student morale and makes it harder to motivate people to do work. Once a student is faced with the idea that no matter what they do, someone will be favored more over them, that student may not find an incentive to try as hard.
The Counseling and Wellness Center finds that children who experience favoritism in their lives will often struggle with “depression, anxiety, low self-worth, performance issues, and even suicidal thoughts as a result of favoritism.”
While this sort of favoritism is specific to parental favoritism, some of the same traits can develop in students, especially if the favoritism is targeted. For example, a student who constantly gets called out and yelled at for their behavior might exhibit these exact traits.
Classroom life is a term that describes student roles and positions in a class setting. It correlates to the teacher and how they interact with the student and categorizes the students in different ways.
A certain category that students can fit into is the class victims.
According to a study from JSTOR, “class victims may be defined as students who, from the student’s perspective, are either mistreated or neglected by the teacher to the extent they (or others) see themselves as experiencing mistreatment.”
Teachers tend to favor good students over bad ones. Those are the overachievers who show a genuine interest in learning and try in class. A good student has their merits, according to Oxford Royale, meaning that teachers are willing to cut you some slack during assignments or help you get a good reference for colleges.
In other words, genuine favoritism might make other students less inclined to try developing any relationship with that teacher. This could lead to a decrease in effort put into the class and an overall distaste for both the teacher and the student in general.
According to a study by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), teachers account for 20% of the variance in a student’s life. Additionally, the same study found that students’ drive to learn comes primarily from other students, accounting for a 0.61 strong effect, which was noted as high in the study.
In this case, both students and teachers have the chance to affect other students’ experiences positively or negatively. If a student is constantly getting rewards and benefits for acting a certain way, as provided by the teacher, then those students may detest both that class and the student.
Classroom favoritism is a problem that many schools face to this day. Not only does it affect student morale, but it also has an effect on the perception of the favored child and the teacher. This could drastically ruin how much students want to learn as well, nullifying any possible effort that could have been made had there been no favoritism.
Unless teachers abstain from latching onto good students over others and instead aim to help every student as equally as they can, schools could see a decrease in effort and learning.
This editorial reflects the views of the Editorial Board and was written by Ziya Myneni. The Editorial Board voted 3 in agreement, 8 somewhat in agreement, 1 in disagreement, and 5 refrained from voting.
