In this article, I am going to touch some on expectations, particularly the expectations of the adults whose job it is to provide support to our high-school students and help them move along the path to higher education. Many times authority figures–especially those working with children from low-income families–have a terrible tendency to lower their expectations. They have this notion that kiddos from poor families just do not have what it takes (smarts, social skills, wherewithal, gumption, ganas, whatever) to attend school every day, to make good grades, to graduate, or to succeed in any way (it all gets back to that nasty “culture of poverty” theory that I have touched on in prior articles). These educated persons do not want to harm the child’s developing psyche and self-esteem-–neither do they want to take any blame for the child’s failures–-so they lower their performance expectations for these children.

What happens? The children then perform at a lower standard and the authority figures nod their heads and say, “I expected them to do poorly. That’s what these children do.”

Awful, is it not?

The simple lesson here is that children–-regardless of social, economic, racial, or any other background criteria you care to name-–are going to perform to your expectations. If you set the bar low, their performance is low. If you set the bar high, their performance is high.

What authority figures need to take away from this lesson is that in order for children to succeed, we must expect them to succeed. Do away with the “can’t” attitude and go find the “can.” Set the performance bar high. Hold the child and all responsible parties–including schools and teachers–accountable for success. Establish a system of administrative, educator, peer and family cohorts and coaches. Involve the community. Make education a true partnership where ALL parties that benefit from a student’s success have a say in the process and the outcomes.

Success takes work, but the recipe’s really not that complicated. Need an example? Check out what PS 428 in Balimore MD is doing–and doing very well! (See the article on this high performing school in USA Today).

Until next time!

Lynn Byrne

Preparing for college admissions? Trying to find direction? Need a little help with the planning? Check out my college planning series:

• College Planning Made Easy--the planning and preparation workbook for the take charge, college-bound student,
  
• Paying for College Made Easy--a college financing guide designed to assist students and families in preparing and planning for higher education expenses; and
  
• The Great Scholarship Search--my guide for students and parents researching and applying for scholarship funding.