Teacher expecations and how they infulence kids Essay

Teacher expecations and how they infulence kids - Essay Example Expectations of teachers manifest themselves in the way they treat their students especially lower grade students who are still undergoing cognitive development. Most teachers exhibit differential behavior toward students, depending on their intellectual abilities. Such behavior may be appropriate or not. If much attention is paid to the bright students only, the rest will be disadvantaged, and may lose interest in the learning. Teachers should expect the best from all their students, irrespective of their abilities. If a teacher publicly declares the weaknesses of their students, they lose confidence in themselves (Begley, 2003). Teacher expectations of their students vary, depending on the grade they are in and their capabilities in different subjects. However, high expectations occur in the subjects considered ‘tough’ and for students in final grades. These high expectations are meant to make the concerned students work harder and meet them. However, this is not always the case, as different students will interpret this differently. High expectations exert pressure on students, and get discouraged if they fail to meet those expectations. Low expectations make students lose confidence, and interest in learning. The differential behavior by teachers results in widening of the gap between the low and high –achieving students. Some teachers choose to concentrate on the high achievers only, while others concentrate on the low-achievers as a compensatory strategy. Concentrating on low-achieving students evokes negative treatment from teachers toward such students. Such students may perceive their special treatment to be a result of their incompetency. This makes them develop low expectations of themselves and may not be motivated to work hard. For teachers to have a positive influence on their students, they should set realistic goals for their