Especially because teachers reacting to their perceptions of how a kid will come out might help make it happen. Kid reminds teacher of someone but she can’t place the face (it’s her evil ex-boyfriend), teacher subconsciously starts out thinking kid is bad, keeps an eye on kid, sees bad stuff kid does (and not bad stuff other kids do), punishes kid more often than other kids, makes kid look bad in front of other kids, makes kid embarrassed (sad, angry, resentful, lonely, mean, etc.), tells kid’s parents that kid is a problem, make notes in kid’s record for next year’s teacher, makes kid more likely to end up talking to the school psychologist and, eventually, more likely to climb a clock tower with a rifle.

Not that the kid wasn’t destined for that anyway, maybe, but if teachers can make a positive difference, they can also make a negative difference.

Still, what if he slipped on the steps?