Haken 1

Makayla Haken Mrs. Watkins Comp II 1 February 2013

Fuel the Fire Within Setting high expectations for yourself and for those around you is a life lesson I was taught early. My parents, teachers, and many others around me told me that I can do anything and everything I wanted if I worked hard and believed in myself. I was challenged every day of my life and pushed to be the best I could be. I believe that students need higher expectations for them to be successful. Set high expectations for yourself and for those around you. Yes students will float to the mark that is set because children are naturally curious and eager to please those around them. There is an ember burning inside students just waiting to be ignited with knowledge. Though too many students are going unnoticed in the classroom because the teacher normally only recognizes two types of students, the smartest and the troublemakers. In every classroom there is the student that sets in the back praying to go unseen. They just want to make it through the day without the teacher calling on them to answer a question because they havent heard a single word of the lesson. The students in between the smartest and the troublemakers are seen as seat fillers, sitting there every day not learning and not being seen. Children have to be engaged to be expected to set through an entire day listening to a teacher. Too many classrooms are just a lecture room, the teacher talks for an hour while the students return the information and go on. Teachers are graded upon how well their students are perceived at doing. Schools systems only focus on the end of the year tests they dont really see the students and what they are actually learning. The teachers set a class goal to pass the test and no more. Through the fear of

Haken 2

losing their jobs the students are suffering because they are forced to regurgitate the criteria until the tests are over then the students forget everything that was said during the class. Thus, it is essential for teachers to set high expectations for all their students and expect students to reach these standards. Setting high standards and providing opportunities for students to be successful may be the catalyst needed for increasing student motivation. Teachers need to see that the students are suffering because of the adults actions. Every student needs to be treated equally and every student should be held to high expectations. I was by no means the smartest kid in the classroom; nonetheless I was never made to feel stupid or inadequate in any way. I feel that the fear of making students feel inadequate is the second most common defense for not setting a high goal for the students. I have always been expected to perform to the best of my abilities and to set a goal for myself daily. Setting a goal gave fuel to a fire within me to accomplish anything that was before me. Some may believe that daily goal might be excessive, but if we arent striving everyday then we are cheating ourselves out. One day can make all the difference in the world; many psychologists believe in the Butterfly Effect which states that one small action is causing vast impacts at a later date. I am the youngest in my family and I grew up in a town with a population of less than five hundred. Everyone knew me and my brothers and I cant remember a time when someone wasnt comparing us to each other. Though my parents knew that their kids where different from each other and that we had different areas of interests and pushed us to embrace our individuality. We were challenged to be our best, not our siblings or our best friends best. I think that is a distinction that many teachers miss; every student is different and they works in different ways and at diverse paces. Education is a joint obligation shared between the parents, teachers, and the

Haken 3

student. Parents need to be aware of their kids the same way a teacher does and above all the student needs to be willing to learn. Though knowing each individual student on a school level can be more difficult because there are too many students per teachers so engaging each child can be a problem and unfortunately motivation is lacking. Various times the only place at school a child can feel challenged is in sports. Competition is human nature if the student is actively learning than many times a student will compete with those around them and themselves to learn more and be better sometimes even without realizing they have set their own goal and expectation. Disappointingly there is no current motivation for a student they arent worried about the future. Unaware of the consequences their present action can have students dont care about grades or education in general. I will be the first on to admit I didnt care about grades either like Mark Twain once said, I've never let my school interfere with my education. Even at a young age I knew the difference between education and school. When I was a kid I just wanted to learn everything about the world past, present and future and that curiosity is still there. Though school is a good place to start I knew you cant acquire everything during a classroom lecture. My motivation came from competition within myself, I wanted to know more than I knew yesterday and be better than yesterday. Lucky for me I was also close with my brothers and that drew another type of competition. Yet I see that everyone is made differently some students dont deal well with the competition or expectation because fear holds them back from being. If students become engaged in learning I believe they will let go of their fears and grow motivated each and every day to learn more.

Haken 4

Motivation has disappeared in the school systems, students arent aware of the penalties that this can cause or they dont care. Their future is depending on education, twenty years ago a high school diploma was sound enough for many jobs but in todays society many times even a undergraduate isnt enough and many employers may require a masters. I think the crucial point needed for students is to be held to high expectations from those around them. No one wants to feel disappointment or to disappoint others, if given higher standards many children will achieve them just from human nature. After a taste of satisfaction I trust that many more will continue to reach higher and higher for a superior achievement.

Haken 5

Works Cited "AMLE Research Summary." Setting Higher Expectations: Motivating Middle Graders to Succeed. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. Twain, Mark. BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2013