It’s a wonderful thing when a child exceeds your expectations, isn’t it? When they manage to do something that they have hitherto struggled with, it’s a joy to behold.
I always expect a great deal of children. Yet they can still surprise me with what they are capable of achieving.
I’m sure you’re aware of all the research showing that “level of expectation” and “level of performance” are directly linked (Carol Dweck et al.). So it seems like the right thing to do – to communicate to our children that we expect great things from them.
But what about individuals like poor W, who answered my question of “What makes you feel sad in school?” with “When I can’t do it.”
If he feels that he is repeatedly failing to live up to expectations, he’s in danger of coming to believe that he is “someone who can’t”. His expectations for himself are negatively reinforced. So, what can we do to prevent this from happening?
Spreading the expectation over a broad spectrum of challenges is one way to offset a habitually negative self-image.
There are certain areas of classroom life where expectations need to be high across the board – rule-following, manners, considerate behaviour and so on.
But beyond that, it’s worth focusing on different specialisms. This is in order to draw the best out of as many children as possible.
It’s not always a matter of capability – it can be something as simple as timing. Different children develop different skill sets at different speeds.
We know this to be true. Yet very often we are asked to measure achievement against an inflexible set of markers that does not take this into account.
If we can apply some creativity to our classroom projects, it’s possible that we may uncover hidden talents. Or, at the very least, we’ll give children the opportunity to shine in unexpected areas.
Drawing on the Olympic Games for inspiration, I worked with an infant school on a project we called “The Learning Olympics”.
Our aim was to give the children as much autonomy as possible. We supported them closely as they invented a range of events, figured out how to score them, and made medals for the winners, working towards a single day of activities.
Our expectations were high, and they didn’t disappoint. The Storytelling event was, for me, the highlight of the day.
Very few children had indicated that they wanted to take part. But when the time came, they dutifully got up in front of the class and told the stories they had prepared.
Then magic happened. Everyone listened intently, applauded each competitor rapturously, and gave generously high scores.
After the storytellers had all finished, the teacher speculatively asked if anyone else would like to have a go. We were astonished, not only that so many leapt on the opportunity, but that it was the children we least expected to expose themselves who wanted to get up in front of everyone and tell stories they made up on the spot.
It was a beautiful thing, but tricky to unpick. The learning I took away from this project and into my general practice was that it’s not just the expectations of grown-ups that are important to children. The expectations of their peers can be equally as impactful.
Children’s ideas about themselves – their identity – is formed in response to the views of others. If you can create an environment of mutual support within your classroom, the shared norm of high expectation can be achieved without creating counterproductive pressure.
This gives the opportunity for each child to bloom according to his or her proclivities and capabilities.
Nikky’s book Create, Perform, Teach! (Jessica Kingsley Publishers) is available now. Nikky heads up the How to Speak Child initiative and has been collecting interviews with children about how adults communicate with them. To find out more visit facebook.com/Howtospeakchild
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