The Master Teacher Blog
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In Your Corner, Student Learning
A Student’s View: Expectations That Matter
Each of us has experienced expectations from people around us that influenced our behavior. Their belief in us and our potential influenced how we approached tasks and challenges we faced and may have even carried us to success. It is also true that each of us has experienced expectations to which we have given little attention or may even have rejected. Despite the expectancies and even demands presented, we failed to be influenced or change our behavior.
Of course, there are multiple reasons why we pay attention to and are influenced by some expectations and not others. For example, some expectations carry threats or consequences that make lack of attention or resistance a difficult choice. In response to these expectations, we may have complied in the moment or shifted our behavior until the threat passed or the person holding the expectation was no longer able to exact the consequence. At other times, we may have felt little connection to or reason to be influenced by someone who may not have our best interests in mind. In still other situations, we are compelled to give our best effort and continue to respond to expectations even when the person holding the expectations of us are no longer physically present or in a position to monitor our follow through.
Expectations can be a powerful force when employed thoughtfully and appropriately. Our ability to tap the power of expectations is important if we hope to have a significant and lasting influence on the success of our students. The secret to expectations that have a powerful and lasting influence resides in five key elements. Let’s consider how each of these five elements can have an impact from the perspective of students, especially for students who may lack the confidence to take on difficult challenges and are likely to struggle on their own.
The first element of influence is the relationship we have with our students. It is the foundation on which the other four elements rest. Without a relationship, students may perceive expectations as self-serving and manipulative.
From the perspective of students, relationships that influence may feel and sound like: “I am noticed.” “I feel like I belong in this class.” “My teacher is interested in me.” “I don’t care how much you know until I know how much you care.”
The second source of influence can be found in our commitment to having our students succeed. Expectations that influence go beyond having students feel noticed. Students need to feel our commitment to their success.
From the perspective of students, commitment may feel and sound like: “My teacher acts as though she cannot succeed unless I succeed.” “I feel like my teacher is invested in my learning.” “She always seems to know how well I am doing.”
A third element of expectations that influence is confidence that our students are capable and will succeed. What we believe about our students and their potential matters. We communicate our beliefs in thousands of obvious and not so obvious ways, including many of which we may not even be aware. The four most powerful words we can communicate to students are: I believe in you.
From the perspective of students, our confidence may feel and sound like: “I know you really believe I can succeed.” “I have doubts about whether success is possible, but your confidence in my potential gives me the courage to try and the hope that success is within my reach.”
A fourth element is the guidance we offer when students struggle, have questions, and face difficult choices. Students need to know that we are ready to coach, support, and offer wisdom when they are not sure what to do. This element offers students evidence that they can count on us.
From the perspective of students, our guidance may feel and sound like: “She always seems to have ideas and strategies I can try.” “Sometimes she asks me questions that help me find the answers I need.” “Even though she is no longer here, I can still hear her voice and imagine her advice.”
The fifth element is our readiness to offer encouragement. Students need to know that we are “in their corner,” paying attention, and that their progress matters to us. Our encouragement to keep going and celebrate success ties all the elements together and reassures students that they matter to us.
From the perspective of students, our encouragement may feel and sound like: “I love hearing that she notices my progress.” “It is reassuring to know that she will be there to support and cheer me on.” “Even though it has been years, I still can feel her presence and hear her urging me to keep trying.”
Expectations can be a powerful force. They can move students to try, risk, and persist when they might otherwise give up. Remarkably, expectations that influence can last long after our students leave us. When former students tell us that they can still hear our voice in their ears, they are telling us that our expectations had a powerful influence.
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
Six Keys to Remaining Healthy and Whole During Conflict
Not that long ago we celebrated “turning the corner” on the pandemic. The development of highly effective vaccinations held out the promise that the end was in sight. Vaccination appointments were at a premium. Students who had been learning remotely were slowly returning to in-person learning. We were optimistic that much of the conflict and divisiveness of the past year would subside into calm.
While we are closer to the end of the pandemic, not everything has gone as planned. Continuing conflict over masks for younger students, lack of clear guidance from state and federal agencies, and uncertainty and conspiracy theories surrounding vaccinations for older students remain flashpoints at school board meetings, stimulate heated discussions on social media, and provide fodder for cable television.
Meanwhile, on the heels of the pandemic is growing conflict and controversy about the role of anti-racism and the teaching about historical racial issues in classrooms, athletic participation of transgender students, and other cultural conflicts. Much of the energy and organization around these issues are not even originating in local communities. National and regional organizers are recruiting and energizing people to protest at board meetings, make public records requests, and engage in other efforts, sometimes even when none of these issues are on local school district and school board agendas.
Of course, the mix and intensity of these controversies and conflicts vary from school district to school district and community to community. However, the impact on educators and educational leaders caught in the middle can often be devastating. This has already been an exhausting year. Repeated rounds of intense and spreading conflict can take a significant toll on our emotional and even physical health.
In the near term, our ability to reach resolution and dissipate the conflict may be limited. Nevertheless, there are steps we can take to remain healthy and focused despite what is happening to and around us. We are not powerless and do not have to accept being victims. Here are six actions you can take to keep yourself healthy and whole in the face of the conflict and chaos you may be facing:
- Find and maintain a manageable routine. Large scale conflict can become all-consuming. If you already have a set routine of exercise, a regular sleep schedule, and a habit of healthy eating, make maintaining these activities a priority. Time with family and friends also can provide balance and reassurance, so make this time a priority, too. Meanwhile, resist skipping from problem to problem and issue to issue. Decide what most needs your focus and attention and give these issues your full attention. If you panic and lose focus, expect those who depend on our leadership to do likewise or retreat in fear.
- Focus on controlling what you can. Certainly, there are plenty of elements and aspects of conflict that you cannot control. You need to remain alert, but worrying about what you can’t control is unproductive and can be destructive to your leadership and well-being. Remember that you always have choices about how you will respond to what happens to and around you. Herein lies significant power. The choices you make and the actions you take can have a powerful influence on the thinking and actions of others.
- Make listening a priority. During conflict, listening can be among the most difficult challenges, but it is also one of most important actions we can take. We are often experiencing strong emotions. We may have much we want to say. We may feel that others do not understand and need to be corrected. There will be a time for speaking, but our commitment and ability to listen can be a powerful force. Listening communicates respect. Maintaining a high level of respect during conflict can make resolution easier to achieve. Further, focused listening can often give us access to information and clues that will help us to respond more productively and may even lead to solutions.
- Uncover underlying issues. Often the stated reason for conflict is really a symptom or symbolic of the real issue. Fear may lie beneath accusations. Feelings of powerlessness can be behind emotional outbursts. Past grievances can drive current assumptions about motivation. When we understand what is really driving the conflict and chaos we are experiencing, we often gain access to steps and strategies that can move the situation forward.
- Resist responding in kind when we are the object of suspicion and accusations. When people doubt our integrity and accuse us of misdeeds, we can find it difficult not to defend ourselves and employ similar language and behavior in response. Unfortunately, when we do, we are likely to make the situation worse. Doing so can legitimize what others are saying and leave those who depend on our leadership to doubt us.
- Maintain a long-term perspective. Remaining calm and focusing longer-term can be challenging in the middle of significant conflict. The situation can feel all-consuming and the end may be nowhere in sight. Still, we know that what we are experiencing will eventually pass. We and others involved will move on. Meanwhile, we need to be certain not to make decisions or accept resolutions that “sow the seeds” for the next conflict or compromise the integrity and effectiveness of the organization in the future. Sometimes staying in the conflict a little while longer can mean not having to reengage in the near term or live with diminished effectiveness going forward.
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Student Learning
In Your Corner, Student Learning
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Share your story and the tips you have for getting through this challenging time. It can remind a fellow school leader of something they forgot, or your example can make a difficult task much easier and allow them to get more done in less time. We may publish your comments.
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In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Student Learning
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
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As much as we sometimes want to take control and tell students what they should do when they face a difficult challenge, it usually is best to position ourselves as coaches, reflectors, and supportive advocates.
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