Skip to main content

How to Create High Performance in ALL Students


Here's a true story that I read in a “great” book entitled, Developing the Leader Within You, by John C. Maxwell.

A principal of a school called three teachers together and said, “Because you three teachers are the finest in the system and you have the greatest expertise, we’re going to give you ninety high-IQ students. We’re going to let you move these students through this next year at their own pace and see how much they can learn.”

Everyone was delighted––faculty and students alike.

Over the next year the teachers and the students thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The teachers were teaching the brightest students; the students were benefitting from the close attention and instruction of highly skilled teachers. By the end of the experiment, the students had achieved from 20 to 30 percent more than the other students in the whole area.

The principal called the teachers in and told them, “I have a confession to make. You did not have ninety of the the most intellectually prominent students. They were run-of-the-mill students. We took ninety students at random from the system and gave them to you.”

The teachers said, “This means that we are exceptional teachers.”

The principal continued, “I have another confession. You’re not the brightest of the teachers. Your names were the first three names drawn out of hat.”

The teachers asked, “What made the difference? Why did ninety students perform at such an exceptional level for a whole year.”

The difference, of course, was the teachers’ expectations.

Reflection by Ken Willers 
Our expectations have a great deal to do with our attitudes. What type of expectations do we have for our students? What kinds of attitudes do we project onto our students? By believing our students will succeed we transmit an attitude that instills in them confidence, discipline, and hope. 


Our attitudes are opportunities to bestow success on our children. In other words: ‘Our Vision for our students becomes their Reality.’

Comments

  1. Bryan December 14, 2013 at 7:25 AM

    K, you nailed it. I love this story. I'm actually going to try it in a future circumstance and see if I get similar results. Personally and professionally.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Resources for STEM

Please find the following links for STEM/STEAM resources: http://www.theatlantic.com/ sponsored/chevron-stem- education/the-jobs-of-today/ 196/#   https://www.nsf.gov/ attachments/117803/public/Xc-- Linking_Evidence--Fairweather. pdf http://www.aaai.org/Papers/ Symposia/Spring/2007/SS-07-09/ SS07-09-022.pdf http://opas.ous.edu/Work2009- 2011/InClass/Bybee-Integrated% 20STEM%20Plan.pdf http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ ejournals/JOTS/v36/v36n1/ rockland http://youtu.be/5GWhwUN9iaY . STEM? http://youtu.be/biWQZlUl-vE   Tools for Change  http://youtu.be/Ldf01YYtImY   Why STEM Education http://www.youtube.com/ playlist?list=PL7ck4NnpyNff_ F653mGHRf4EDwuS6IQfJ . Great videos about STEM ed http://youtu.be/SA3EPf9tsI8   Gaming Challenge.  http://www.stemedcoalition.org  Coalition http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ stem/  Teachers Organization on PBS http://mobile.nytimes.com/ 2013/12/08/opinion/sunday/w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Forget Textbooks--Discover the Well

Books and Wells by Ken Willers        O nce Upon A Time , there was a man who said he wanted to search for deep Wells. Before he set out to seek his desire he thought it would first be wise to consult all the great books that had been written on the subject of deep Wells. The man read many books on where to find Wells and the differences in depth that they possessed. One day while he was strolling casually along engrossed in his reading of Wells he failed to notice a large deep Well right in front of him. When he bumped into the deep Well his book flew from his hands and fell quite far into the deep recesses of the Well. The man quite upset at the loss frantically lowered a near by bucket to retrieve his book but his attempt was in vain. The man went away very sad that he lost his book for he thought, without his book, how could he ever hope to find a deep Well. Is this the type of learner today’s schools are manufacturing? Textbook dependent learn...
Post a Comment
Read more

What/Who is 21st Century Learning?

What/Who is 21 st  Century Learning?  - by Ken Willers Did you know, that today’s Kindergarteners will retire around the year 2074? Astonishing to think, huh? But, it serves as a stark reminder that we, as educators, are called to prepare today’s five-year-olds, as Ian Jukes stated, “for THEIR future and not our past?” If a school is not living out this call, or even worse, resisting it, that school has no right to exist.  In 21 st  Century Learning students who can think critically and communicate effectively are better able to build on their base of core knowledge. Within the context of 21 st  Century Learning of core knowledge and faith instruction, students also learn the essential skills for success in today’s world, such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration. When schools build on these skills by combining the necessary support systems—standards, assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional developmen...
Post a Comment
Read more