Historically, favoritism in the classroom has been an issue that has been almost completely ignored. While favoritism may be addressed in other situations, such as family matters, in the workplace, or even within a friend group, the favoritism that occurs within the classroom has not been talked about just as often. Surely, many people have wondered if favoritism within the classroom is more prevalent than previously believed,which makes us wonder, “Do teachers really have favorite students?”
Over the course of a few weeks, a small number of students and teachers were interviewed to gain their perspective. To better understand a lesser known subject, it’s best to further expand on it by gaining unique viewpoints from several people. These diverse outlooks on a singular subject provide us with the opportunity to form our own opinion on whether or not teachers truly favor some students over others. One teacher that shared her opinion was dance teacher Danielle Galvez.
“I don’t believe there is favoritism in the classroom (at least mine) just because that implies that there is special treatment for any one student that is the ‘favorite,’” Galvez said. “I think teachers engage and interact differently with many students because each connection is different.”
These differences may appear to show an intention by the teacher to some students, but often that idea is influenced by perspective.
“Not every student will have the same interests or background, therefore the teacher may not engage with every student the same way,” Galvez said. “I think if a teacher is giving the same treatment to all their students then it is not favoritism.”
The student perspective often sees things differently.
“I believe favoritism develops in the classroom,” junior Yalda Habibzada said. “The teacher may grow fond of students that participate more, are more knowledgeable in the subject, and who display good student behavior. From what I have experienced, most of my teachers have allowed me to come to class late and have more patience with me compared to students who display bad student behavior.”
Habibzada talked about a natural inclination of people to look for others we naturally get along with. This is part of being a human and difficult to guard against. Teachers influence a student’s learning in ways that aren’t always realized.
“Favoritism can give some students an advantage while some students are disadvantaged,” Habibzada said. “Students that the teacher favors are often given more time to complete assignments, which regular students or those who are on the teacher’s bad side don’t receive. This is unfair to the other students because the teacher is only helping choose students to receive a better grade.”
Galvez and other teachers see issues with both sides of being a “favorite.”
“If a student doesn’t feel seen, heard, valued, or noticed, that student may not have a positive outlook on a class,” Galvez said. “They may not want to try or even feel motivated if they are not their ‘favorite.’ At the same time, if the student is the ‘favorite’ it can potentially lead to them feeling embarrassed or put on the spot and they may shy away from the spotlight and even lower their effort level altogether in order to do so.”
Both the teacher and student perspective seem to agree that favoritism could be of great impact to a student’s performance in school. Many, including junior Shakur Mohamadi, see problems with favorites.
“I don’t think teachers should have favorite students because I don’t think it’s right for the other students,” Mohamadi said. “I don’t want there to be such a thing as ‘teacher’s pet.’ They might have a good bond with one of their students but they might not have a good bond with their other students and that could lead to them getting a better grade or getting more opportunities.”
One question on the minds of many concerning this issue deals with why: why some teachers may favor some students over others. Galvez posed an answer.
“The only reason I could think of is because a student would be keen to adhere to all the rules, procedures, and expectations in any class.” Galvez said.
Habibzada viewed the reasons as less obvious.
“In a quiet classroom, students who often participate will get on the teacher’s good side because they are seen as more human,” Habibzada said. “This means that the teacher is more sympathetic towards them than students who are in the background. Students who show up late everyday, are often on their phones, and are disrespectful to the teacher are seen as more of an enemy, therefore are treated with way less sympathy and given less opportunities to improve their grades.”
Lastly, the idea of whether or not favoritism in the classroom is a large issue was brought up. Most didn’t see it as a major issue at Logan.
Junior Angel Le said, “No, it’s not that important, but it can depend on some students that would think their self worth is less.” Dance teacher Galvez holds a similar view.
“I don’t see it as an issue, at least in my classes,” Galvez said. “I say this because no student has come up to me expressing a concern. This may be different, however, from a student’s perspective in which the students may have conversations amongst themselves regarding the teacher’s perceived favoritism.”
However, there are definite historical examples of favoritism affecting individuals.
“Favoritism exists in almost every single classroom,” Habibzada said. “In a study that was done many years ago, a teacher… favored so-called gifted children, who were actually normal children, [that] grew up to academically achieve significantly more than their average peers. This shows that favoritism does have a large effect on students and their learning. This makes favoritism in classrooms a very important issue,” Yalda retorted.
Ultimately, favoritism within the classroom is still a relatively unspoken question that many people have considered at least once in their school life. The answer to the question “Do teachers really have favorite students?” varies depending on who you ask.
“My opinion on favoritism in class is that it’s not helpful as a teacher to have favorites,” Galvez said. “All your students should be your favorite, because you are teaching them. And you don’t want any one student to be left behind or feel left out.”
