Chapter 4

Ch 4: Raise your Expectations

It is important to set school-wide expectations for writing that are reasonable and rigorous. This way teachers, administrators, and students are all on the same page and are working towards the common goals. All students needed to be held accountable and teachers must expect excellence. Every student needs excellent instruction, but those that are disadvantaged may need more of it. I had to agree with the author when she said that we sometimes further disadvantaged students by feeling sorry for them and expecting less. We need to never give up on a child and if they are struggling, we need to work twice as hard.

Children achieve faster and benefit from lessons and materials that are interesting and relevant to them. The author could not of said it better, worksheets are not good enough! When expectations are set high and the work is interesting, the students succeed, even those that are disadvantaged. I enjoyed reading about the first grade teacher that attributes her students excellent writing to: reading aloud at least three texts a day, writing poetry, having good peer models, focusing on audience, modeling frequently, intentional teaching, and holding high expectations for all students. One thing that I found interesting from this chapter is reading about how some teachers say their goal is to have their students write three complete sentences with capitals and periods by the end of the year. They are capable of so much more! If teachers are reading everything the students write, the students are not writing enough. Kids become writers by writing every day, not by completing exercises about writing. Students who are excellent writers write a lot.