Setting Expectations

Your students will do what you expect them to do.

If you expect them to be noisy and disruptive, then they will do just that.  Even without you giving them permission.

If you expect them to be well-behaved and to listen respectfully, they will.

Our expectations can be overt: I expect you to practice four times this week at home.  Or they can be covert: By eyeballing a talking student you remind them to be quiet.  They can be negative as well as positive.

If you give your students high expectations, they will want to rise up and meet them.  If you hold low expectations, you will be forever wondering why you got lumped with the most useless students in the world.

As a teacher, we expect a lot from our students.  They have to remember the rules of coming into our class (where to set up bags/cases), when it’s appropriate to talk, not to play when the teacher’s talking.  The more of these rules that can be automatic, the better.  It’s definitely worth taking the time to set the groundrules right from the beginning of the year.  These may take a few weeks to settle down, but once the routine’s up and running, it will become automatic.

Expectations for individuals should be stated as and when needed.  A few weeks ago I was relief teaching and came across a disruptive student.  I told him I had three expectations of him: (1) that he would focus, (2) that he would listen, and (3) that he would try. 

Three is a good number – it’s not too many to remember, and it’s easily achievable. 

But what was more important was that I also told him of the consequences of what would happen if he didn’t meet the expectations.  Consequences (and the subsequent following through of them) are really important.  They tell the student you mean business.  Consequences should always relate to the expectations.

However, in this particular lesson I didn’t need to use any of the consequences.  The student rose to meet my expectations.  And the result?  A quiet, productive lesson.