A Teacher's Expectations of Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Teacher's Expectations of Students - Essay Example 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 t heir 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