There was a post on Twitter about a mother who sent her kid to school knowing they had tested positive for COVID.
As I am wont to do, I dived into the comments.
A constant stream ran through the thread, noone should be upset with the adult. Instead we should blame society, the school, etc...., anyone but this adult who made the choice to send a kid to school with COVID.
Have we gone too far with expecting very little, or nothing at all, from our students and parents?
Was it too much to expect this parent to keep her child home when he had COVID? A disease that could be fatal to his classmates, their family, the teacher, and his/her family?
And this "not expecting much",didn't start during the pandemic, this "low or no" expectations, started years ago.
Why can't I expect my students to be on time?
To complete their work and do it to the best of their ability?
To ask for help if they need it?
To not lie on their beds while they are learning?
Why can't I expect my parents to read the notices I send home and respond?
To attend parent-teacher conferences?
To support their child to the best of their ability?
To ask for help if they need it?
And I know, we have to be flexible, especially now. I know everyone has a different situation, especially now. But this didn't start with COVID.
How many times have teachers found themselves blamed by a parent for their child's lack of progress, after not meeting any of the classroom expectations? And this, after the teacher has bent over backwards for the student and the parent?
What happens to our students later in life, when they have flowed through a world where noone expected anything of them? How do they adapt to a world where suddenly there are expectations that they are required to meet?
I have expectations for ALL of my students. Sometimes they are all able to meet them, and sometimes they are not.But the expectation is there.
Here's an example. I start class at 8:45 a.m. I open my Waiting Room at 8:40 a.m. which has a timer counting off the minutes. I expect my students to be on at 8:45 a.m. because that is when I start Morning Meeting. In the beginning, they would wander in whenever. By the 2nd month, most, if not all, are there at 8:45 a.m. every day. (5th graders)
If they're late, I don't fuss, I greet them. I don't know the circumstance that made them late. If it becomes constant, we have a conversation. (That's why building relationships are so important.)
I will ADJUST where necessary, especially now.
I will BE FLEXIBLE, especially now.
I'm just not letting go.
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