What expectations did you have for your students this past year? Were your thoughts about them higher, broader and deeper than their thoughts about themselves? What about your goals and dreams for your school? Have you acquiesced to a lower expectation nothing will ever change attitude? Or, are you expectant, believing that something good is just around the corner?
Being our best and aiming for the highest can only be realized when we will not settle for less than the best. And, to realize the best takes time. Timing is a big part of the Ka lā hiki ola (reflection) and KÅ«lia i ka nu’u (empowerment) processes.
The season of reflection (Ka lā hiki ola) is often a period of waiting, like a flower which must have a budding time before opening. A new year is about to open to you. What expectations do you have?
Here’s a practical place to start. Change the way you look at the previous accomplishments of your students as a floor, not a ceiling. If a student tends to do poorly on standardized testing, avoid seeing that as a ceiling (He’ll probably do just the same in my class.) Instead, look at it as a floor on which to plan the greatest year of his life! This is the attitude of Teaching with Aloha!
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