Expectations

I am finding more and more evidence with my students that students will rise up or down to meet expectations. 

I created what would be considered an extremely rigorous lesson using complex text in secondary and primary sources forms.  My students dove right in.  I decided not to tell them ahead of time that this is the most complex text that we have used all year.  I, instead, waited to see and hear what their struggles were and dealt with them as they came up.

It wasn’t until the end of the lesson and the success of the challenging work that they put in that I explained to them what they had just accomplished.  When they asked me why I would put them through this tough work, I simply replied…”Because I believe in you.”

We need to demonstrate that we believe in our students’ abilities and trust that they will do their best to step up to the levels that we set for them.  If we set the bar low, they will only rise to that level.  If we set it too low, we may create complacent students and stand in the way of their forward momentum in future grades.

It is up to us to believe our students CAN. And if they are not there yet, we need to remind them it is a matter of time and work…because it isn’t about IF, it is about YET.

Be Mindful.

Peace.

Mark Levine

#Mindfulliteracy

@LevineWrites