Expectations.

With the start of school approaching WAY TOO SOON quickly for most of us, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has started thinking about this year. I'm prepping my new room, designing curriculum, planning projects, making Picasso-esque bulletin boards, and getting back in the mindset of 'Ok. I have to teach little people today'.

As I'm preparing to start a new job in a new school, one thing that is heavy on my mind is expectation. What are my expectations at this school versus my last school? What are the expectations of me as a teacher? What am I expected to teach? How am I expected to be accessible to parents and students? When am I expected to be at work? :)

I'm big on knowing what people expect from me. One thing I hate is to let someone down, and so by having clear expectations I find that it's easier for me to work and be successful at my job. I like to know what I need to do to be successful, and being successful means meeting those expectations.

As teachers, most of the time we turn to our administrators, principals, heads of school, and school boards to set our expectations. They help to write the guidelines and rules that direct our instruction, so it is the norm that they set the expectations within our classrooms and schools.

As I throw myself further and further into the rabbit hole that is Design Thinking, I find that more and more I try to focus on my direct users when it comes to setting norms in my classroom. And who is more directly affected in my classroom than my students?

Think about it. Yes, you are responsible to your boss. Yes, you are responsible to your school board. But you are also responsible to your students. It is their future you influence. It is their lives you could change. So it only makes sense that as teachers, we HAVE to know what our students expect of us.

So I went to the experts. I asked students,

 "If you could tell the teacher you're about to have in the Fall what you expect of them, what would you tell them?"

Here's what some of my favorite not-quite-adults had to say.

"I want my future teachers to be relatable."

"One of my problems with teachers is that they forget that we are still young. As we mature we often make mistakes, whether it's in our assignments or in our behavior. We have to learn from our mistakes and keep moving forward. I feel that teachers should help students in that learning process. I would want my future teacher to teach me school lessons as well as life lessons."

"I expect my teacher to treat all students differently, because we are all different. It shouldn't be about having favorite students but finding qualities you like in each student."

"Can we have class discussions connecting (school) to real life and real problems?"

"Provide room for personal growth challenges so that we grow as humans."

"I want a teacher who isn't afraid to push my boundaries, but will also help me if I fall behind."

"I just want my teacher to know I expect them to be hard on us because sometimes we need it. But I also expect them to have fun with us, and not be uptight all the time."

Pretty insightful stuff, huh? 

I know that there is always tons of stuff to do on the first day of school, but maybe consider ditching the lame icebreaker and ASK your students to jot down their expectations of you and for their time in your class.

Post them in a place you can see them. Have your students keep you accountable.

Know your expectations so you can rise above them this school year.