Reflections on High Expectations

                There have been many times where I have felt like that teacher that everyone talks about in the staff longue because I was just so relentless with the subject material. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had been the topic of unfriendly discussion because I refused to give a curve or give an extra credit assignment to bump some kid up to exemption status. As a kid I was always told to do my work and get good grades so that I could go to a stellar college and have an amazing future, but it seems that this thought process is not exactly the same as it was a decade ago. I had to earn every grade, and if I wasn’t proud of that grade, then I would do better next time. Improvement in a subject was also viewed as progress. Due to these thoughts and motions ingrained in me all through my schooling, it doesn’t surprise me all that much that I’d play hardball when it came to being a teacher. I have a high bar for my students because I know that they can reach it with the right motivation, resources, and skills. Kids are only as smart as we allow them to be.

                High expectations are integral to student success because they show kids to the point that can be reached, and then they say pass that point and go until there is no tomorrow. The higher the bar, the more to reach for. I learned this in my 7^th grade Spanish class. We were all finished with the material, and the kids had mastered all the year’s requirements, so one student raises his hand and asks me, “Hey Ms. Randi, can you show us how to use the past tense and the present tense together?” The rest of the class, save for one student, nodded and reached for their notebooks. I was shocked, but in a good way. They knew they had exceeded my expectations and their expectations, and they were still hungry to learn and be involved in the class. Once students see how much they can do with themselves and their education, there will be no limits to what they can do.

                Students having goals and being proud of all that they have accomplished is another super side effect that comes from participating fully in a subject. That Spanish class at the start of the year couldn’t read another language, and they made it their goal to be able to read portions from their favorite book by the end of the fall semester. By the end of fall, we were quoting The Hunger Games in the hallways, shouting dialogue across the classroom as code. They were so into being able to read in another language that one student went out and found the Harry Potter series in Spanish on the web, and I’d read it to them each week so they’d improve their listening skills. Their desire to reach this goal was inspiring so much more than a high test grade or a perfect project because this was what they wanted out of the class. And they were silly happy when they got to eighth grade and shocked their Spanish I teacher into getting them their summer reading book in Spanish so that they could continue their studies. They wanted to keep going and proving to themselves that not only was this a reachable goal, but it was a goal that could be surpassed and built upon for the future.

                This unit’s definitions of high expectations were exactly what I imagine for my own classroom: kids engaged and comfortable in their surroundings, accomplishing anything they put their minds to, all while exhibiting good behavior. I’m not crazy. I know that having these traits in spades in a classroom is rare and will probably only happen in a lifetime because though we can raise that bar and they can surpass it, they are still kids. They need to let loose and have fun and be irresponsible. One of my favorite parts about that Spanish class was the fact that they were unruly as heck. Their beginning of the year gift to me was a gavel and a megaphone because they were so loud, but at least they were shouting about sentence structure and subject/verb agreement. Most of the time anyway.

                I really enjoyed this unit because I got bashed on a lot at the last school I was at for raising the bar and doing extra material with the spare time left in the school year. This unit was my answered prayer because it showed me that I was doing the right thing. I was listening to my students. They were comfortable and eager and willing to raise their bar, so who should I be to stop them from doing that? We are taught as teachers that students are becoming more and more independent in their education because of all the tools that they have at their fingertips and all the resources that are within their grasp. Sure, I planted the seed of “wouldn’t it be cool to read your favorite series in Spanish”, but I never said let’s become bilingual readers. That thought is their accomplishment, their work ethic, their pride in their work. I’m just here for the ride!

Group Project Review:

I am not the biggest fan of group work especially when we are all on different schedules and live in different time zones.  Life just gets in the way! Lauren had completed her parts by Friday, as had I, and Charlotte is still working on her parts.