Chapter #4- Creating A Culture of Success

Trust and Expectations are the two major ingredients for success as outlined in Chapter 4. Teachers are expecting the students to learn and comprehend the lessons, trust that they will put forth an honest effort, trust that the students will keep an open mind when attempting a new type of lesson, trust that the efforts the teacher puts into the class will be reciprocated by the students. Teachers should expect the student to be in class on time, be prepared for to learn, expect the students to put for the honest effort and expect the students to not become a distraction during the class. However, it is important to keep in mind that trust and expectations are not a one way street. The students should have expectations of the teacher. They should expect the teacher to be on time, provide accurate information, provide a conducive learning environment and expect that any questions asked will be treated as an opportunity to provide further learning and not an opportunity to ridicule or humiliate. They should be able to trust that the teacher will keep them safe, trust that the teacher values the educational experience and trust that each student will be given every opportunity to learn and comprehend the material provided by the teacher. The second half of the chapter deals with the outside stress of the classroom for the student, with most of that stress falling on family issues. The chapter closes with the students discussing acceptance and how difficult it is to balance the pressure of school with the pressure of peers.

As we continue in the practicum experience and are placed in increasing levels of responsibility all of these issues are going to become a growing influence. It will be extremely difficult as a student to get a full grasp of exactly how to balance and get a handle on the many different factors expressed in this chapter. The benefit for us is that we are still learning and still have many of the same pressures that the students are experiencing. This is both a blessing and a curse in that we are one day feeling those pressures and the next we are attempting to manage those same pressures from a teenager in our class. We are presented with the unique opportunity to learn as we read and apply what we are learning now, when it is okay to make a mistake, and have that experience under our belts when we begin a teaching career.