On Expectations
Expectations are always interesting. Do you rise to the occasion when expectations are high? Or are you more the type who falters under their weight? Maybe you're the type who likes to have low expectations so you won't be disappointed when things don't work out how you'd like them to.
When I was doing my education degree, like many aspiring teachers, we were told a well-known fable.
A new teacher arrives in her classroom. She is teaching calculus to a relatively large group of teens. She looks at her students, smiles nervously, and begins teaching. As weeks pass, her nerves settle a bit as she becomes accustomed to teaching, with all its ups and downs. By the end of the first quarter, she is pleased with the work she has accomplished, and she gives her department head a copy of her students' grades. Seeing the class code on the top of the paper, the department head laughs.
“You made a mistake. You wrote the code for calculus. You’re teaching remedial mathematics,” he tells her.
“What? No I’m not,” she corrects him. “I’m teaching calculus. We’ve worked our way towards chapter 3 already, and the students are doing great. See, the class average is a B-, and I don’t have any failing grades," she adds, pointing out the impressive results of her so-called mediocre students.
The moral of the story is that since the teacher had high expectations for her students, they rose to the occasion and performed above what was expected of them. Conversely, when we expect very little from someone, they don’t make the extra effort, and only perform as expected, which is to say very minimally. Of course anyone who has ever been in a REAL classroom knows that this story is merely a parable meant to inspire young teachers. It is meant to encourage us to get to know our students before making judgement calls, instead of listening to rumours or relying on their past grades. But the question of expectations is still an interesting one.
At the beginning of a new term, there is a lot of “paperasse” as we call it in French. One of the things I really like doing with my classes is an expectations sheet. I ask each student to write down 3 things.
- What are your expectations for the class? Is there anything in particular you’d like to learn or improve upon?
- Do you have any fears or insecurities towards the class, and is there anything I can do to alleviate these?
- What are your expectations of me as a teacher, and what qualities do you like in a teacher, as well as qualities you dislike?
When I first started doing this, I was a bit concerned that I would get a lot of responses like “I want to have easy tests”, “I don’t want any homework”, or “I want to play games all term.” As such, I’m always pleasantly surprised by the honesty and sincerity of their comments. Here are a few of the comments I received this term. After reading them, I feel like I know my students a little bit better, and it gives me a good sense of the work that we can accomplish together during the next few months.
- I really want to learn more about (insert topic here). I also want to be better at writing lab reports
- Last year the biology unit was a bit rushed. I’m afraid that I’m not prepared well enough and won’t succeed in biology this year. (this was a comment I got multiple times)
- I’m worried about my own lazyness. I tend to do things at the last minute, and sometimes not at all. If you could help remind me to do things, and help motivate me, that would be really good.
- I like a teacher who is patient, listens to us students, and who can make things interesting.
- I like a teacher who is fair and doesn’t have favourites or give bad grades just because someone can be a pain and talk a lot in class.
- I like a teacher who is knowledgeable, is passionate about what they teach, and who can push us to think further… someone who doesn’t just follow the textbook.
And sometimes… I get comments that make me blush. Comments where kids say they’re excited to be in my class because they’ve heard such good things, or that they’re excited to be in my class because they had me last year and they loved it.
All this to say that I think expectations can go both ways. I like knowing what my students expect of me, as it helps me to know them better, but also to know what they want from a class, from a teacher. A new term is stressful enough, because there is so much unknown. It’s a case of the devil you don’t know versus the devil you do… and in many cases the devil you do know is less scary. At the same time however, knowing what everyone expects can be strangely reassuring… and it makes for a good start to the term.
Here’s to good expectations… and a good term (without ouaouarons!)
(oh yeh... and all those people who only have negative things to say about teens... they obviously haven't taken the time to even try getting to know them.... I'm always impressed about what they have to say when I give them a chance and just listen.)