What Great Teachers Do Differently - High Expectations - For Whom?

What Great Teachers Do Differently - High Expectations - For Whom?
The next chapter in What Great Teachers Do Differently by Todd Whitaker talks about expectations.  This chapter, although very short, dealt a huge punch.  Whitaker talks about that as teachers we all have high expectations for our students, regardless if you are a superstar teacher or not.  But what sets great teachers apart from everyone else, is having high expectations for themselves.

The teachers with high expectations for themselves are the ones who when they see their students struggling, they say to themselves "what can I do differently to help this student".  Teachers with low expectations of themselves will often have the opposite reaction, "what is the student doing wrong that they aren't getting it".  The great teachers have such high expectations of themselves that they will do anything they can to make sure the students are understanding what they are trying to teach.  The same can be said about kids paying attention.  If the students are not engaged, great teachers look within and look at their activities as to why students are engaged.  Teachers with low expectations are quick to blame the students for not being engaged.