A Teacher's Expectations of Students - Essay Example

?Your F. 2 May A Teacher's Expectations When a teacher considers the expectations that they should have for their classroom students, they need to keep one thing in mind: if a teacher expects nothing, they will get nothing from their students. On the very first day of class, regardless of what the grade taught is or the subject, the teacher needs to lay down a framework of classroom rules and expectations of the classroom. Many classroom expectations often vary per state with emphasis on particular curriculum per grade level. This is so that each student in a school will have goals that they should be obtaining in their learning each year. Without guidelines written in stone passed down from the state departments of education, there would be no map of direction for teachers to follow. When expectations are developed, whether true or not in reality, it can be perceived as being true. If these expectations are met, students experience a self-fulfillment prophecy (Stipek). In an average classroom, students on the first day of school will not only learn the name of their teacher, but they will be given a basic idea of what their classroom rules will be throughout the year or semester. Situations may arise and students may test their teachers patience with behavior but as long as guidelines for discipline are set in stone and every student is treated fairly, the students will learn to respect the unsaid expectations of the teacher. A teacher must enter his or her classroom that first day with a mapped out plan. With older students, a teacher might distribute a syllabus that describes the expectations and objectives of the class. However, with younger students, giving them a written out format like a syllabus may not be as useful because they may not be able to read it yet if they are very young or may not have the ability to interpret it well enough to make it apply to them personally. When a teacher expects a lot from his or her students, he or she has the ability to push them to learn. Through a teacher's own passion for learning and teaching, he or she can instill that same drive into the students' minds. When looking at students in grades fourth through sixth grades, this is a trying time to get the students to become more independent with their studies. They will be learning that they are in charge of completing their own assignments. It is also a crucial time when harder homework starts trickling in and the students begin to realize the importance of taking initiative to complete their assignments on time. In these grade levels, it is also still a time when it is normal to reward students for excellence by offering trinkets or other awards for a job well done. Students respond well to positive reinforcement. While they are not yet young adults and are not still young children, this age of students are in a transitional period. If a teacher rewards a student for a perfect score on a vocabulary test, it is evident that he or she is encouraging the students to push themselves to also receive perfect scores. This can then influence their academic achievements and improve their grades. This also gives them incentive to get a better grade next time. Sometimes teachers give their students materials that go beyond what other students their age are doing. If a fourth grader is given an eighth grade level book to read and write a report on, it is fulfilling because they are working with more advanced materials. This increases their mastery and productivity by exposing them to curriculum that is beyond regular achievement. Why reach for the clouds if you can touch the stars? If you dream it, you can become it. These are both statements that propose reaching for higher expectations. Students will achieve more if they are pushed to their boundaries and beyond. In the process, students will become brighter and more intelligent when exposed to curriculum that is above their grade level. Some expectations that would positively influence a student's achievements would be to increase standardized test scores. In order to do so, a teacher has to push the students to become more familiar with items that appear on these tests. Another positive expectation would be for students to take initiative in order to complete their homework the next day and this would then improve their grades. If a student does not turn their homework in on time, they are given zeroes and no student wants to ever report bad grades to their parents. Another expectation is to have students read a certain number of books in the given year and write reports on them. The teacher can enhance a student's imagination with the journey that a book can take them on and perhaps encourage a love of reading. Teachers might even expect their students to read more non-fiction so that they can read true facts about certain areas that might inspire them and spark interests. Another expectation is to encourage a student to grow socially. Teamwork projects could help the students learn to work better and understand that each student is different and that with a common goal, they can unite in order to complete their team project. The next expectation should be that the teacher will expect a student to grow mentally and emotionally in hopes that they have learned enough by the time of the end of the semester or school year to be better prepared to move on to the next grade. To move on to the next grade level, a student must always have a strong foundation for which to build on. When a teacher tries to maintain a positive and upbeat classroom, it can help students become more excited about learning. When the student is more excited about learning or are exposed to new ways of learning other than just by the textbook, they have the tendency to get more out of the lesson and it will become deeper ingrained into their growing and learning minds. An excited student is usually a better performing student. Works Cited Stipek, D. “How Do Teachers' Expectations Affect Student Learning.” Education.com, 2002. Web. 2 May 2012. Read More