Quite frankly, I cannot believe that she opened this chapter the way she did. Saying that teachers don't have high enough expectations for their students. Not one time have I ever NOT set high expectations for EVERY student in my class. Nor do I know of any teachers that I have taught with not to do the same. Of course we want our students to do everything and anything better than they did at the beginning of a year. It doesn't matter whether it is academically, musically, in sports, or whatever they choose to do.
"Our teaching style and demeanor toward our students determine their attitudes and efforts toward learning. In too many classrooms-where students may be disruptive, resistant, learning English as a second language, or have parents who have difficulty communicating with teachers-we give students permission to fail." (page 82)
The first sentence I could not agree more with. We teachers set the tone for the whole year of learning. The second sentence though I COULD NOT DISAGREE with more. Having taught in districts where my whole class were ELL learners, never once did I set my expectations low or even consider letting them FAIL. I expected the world from them. The same went for their parents. Just because there was a language barrier is no excuse. You do what you have to do to get those kids ready for the next year and to be able to survive in life. I had several parents who would come up to me and tell me that they were learning along with their child because of the skills I had them doing at home with their parents.
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Isn't it interesting how the beginning of the chapter offended you so. It sounds like you could use that as an example for your kids (not directly quoting it, but telling them how it affected you) on the importance and impact of the beginning of their writing.
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