Expect the Unexpected When You Provide Your Expectations (WW#10)

"People are molded more by the depth of your convictions  or expectations  than by the height of your intelligences. Success involves converting people, not to your way of knowing, but to your way of feeling. People can refuse words, but they cannot refuse an attitude or an expectation. Give your students more than they expect, and you will get back more than you ever expected."

I love this expert from our reading, which focuses on expectations and how important they are in the classroom. After reading this I am constantly reminded of my cooperating center which I taught at yesterday. I feel that many of these students need higher and positive expectations for themselves. I feel that they need someone encouraging to say "you WILL succeed" and then follow up with that motivation to help them be successful. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't see that happening; however, it gave me a new found challenge to be that encouraging someone.

I believe these positive expectations can and should start on day one. Like the reading mentioned, that first day is crucial for all students. I challenge myself to think outside of the box when planning my first day of school. I know that almost every teacher reads over the syllabus and explains their grading system. First, why is the grading system a student's main concern on the first day? I understand that they want an A and they want to know how to get that good grade, but by making that a main priority on the first day I feel puts that letter grade above all else. What about the exciting experiments or activities that you have planned that will enable your students gain a skill? What if you did an experiment the first day to introduce what your class is all about? I think we should focus on the opportunities that students will be exposed to in our classroom in order to get them excited about a class rather than the letter grade they can earn. A student can earn an A in every class but they will not have the opportunity to raise an animal, experiment with the digestive system, or work in a greenhouse (just a few examples of an Ag classroom!) in any other classroom but yours. What makes your class unique for students that will get them excited for the rest of the semester?

Although I challenge myself to make the first day of school an exciting one, it is also crucial to establish your classroom expectations, rules and consequences. These might not always be the most fun for students; however, it's important that students understand their boundaries and know that you are serious about your rules. If these aspects of your classroom are not covered in detail, you run the risk of having students walking all over you and having to correct disruptive behavior frequently. As a beginning teacher, this worries me. I know that if I can install my expectations, rules and consequences into my classroom from the first day, there will be a better understanding between me and them and this will most definitely help my classroom management. 

I will admit that I am a bit nervous to jump into the classroom and be my eccentric self because this is not something the students are used to. I have exciting new strategies to try and I am not sure how well they will be received; however, I have learned more than anything that it is not about me, rather it is about my students. If I have to be goofy and eccentric to get them engaged in a lesson then I will because that also means that they are learning! Give your students more than they expect, and you will get back more than you ever expected. I think this is most definitely true, but we as teachers need to take that first step and give students more than they expect. Then we will reap greater rewards from our students.