Make or Break the School Year Before it Begins

I was at my local coffee shop doing some work and overheard a group of teachers talking. I love this time of year because teacher teams will gather and begin planning for the first days of school. That is what this conversation was supposed to be.  Instead, there was one dominant voice in the group and she was talking about the class roster she had just received in her email.

“Once I saw Sammy Smith (named changed of course) on the list I knew this was going to be a rough year. No one in the school, not one teacher or student likes this boy.  He will give me trouble from the first day to the last, so I am going to start the year looking out for his antics and call him down fast and hard first chance I get.” 

As if this conversation wasn’t bad enough being held in a public place, this teacher also looked like she was an experienced lead teacher. As she continued to talk, and the other three teachers just listened, I watched the face of the one that looked like a novice teacher. Her reactions went from excitement to bewilderment to nervousness about what was ahead of her. 

Dr. Milt Uecker, in his book Teaching Distinctively, wrote, “The content and tone of verbal interactions create an atmosphere of encouragement vs. discouragement, joy vs. anger, peace vs. fear, and warmth vs. coldness.”  The teacher controls the atmosphere of the classroom, and this teacher is setting herself up for a difficult year. Even worse, this teacher is setting up the student for a terrible year.

The great teacher Howard Hendricks used to talk about the Law of Expectation. Students will raise or lower their performance to the expectations placed on them by the teacher.  If we begin the year expecting a student to be a troublemaker, then they will respond by becoming exactly what is expected of them.

Little Sammy clearly has a reputation in his school, and it may be well earned. But it is also possible that Sammy has only had teachers who see him as the problem child they would rather not have in their classroom. I know some teachers who have had years where they under performed, and they look forward to starting a new year so they can do better and improve their performance. Every child in your classroom deserves this same opportunity. They are placed there by God for His purposes.  Give your students a fresh start at the beginning of the year and expect their best. They may just surprise you and make it a great year you will always remember. And who knows, you might be the tool in the Potters hand that is used to make a beautiful work of art.