“Unchallenged kids get the message. If adults expect little of them, expect that they must be reminded, hectored, hassled, expect them to be goof-offs, then they will goof off. Of course, some people will goof off no matter what expectations are set. But teachers should assume the highest standard of performance until they are shown that it is not forthcoming. This is the proper start for each young person’s education. If that standard is substantial and persuasive–if it symbolizes the dignity of a demanding expectation–more often than not, adolescents rise to the occasion.”
Excerpted from: Sizer, Theodore. Horace’s Hope. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
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