What do we expect? Stop giving kids an out.

How many of us would quit if we thought we had the option?

So often in the world of education we hear the phrase “high expectations.” Teachers are meant to have high expectations in their classroom–  rigorous, challenging assignments to keep kids engaged and progressing. High expectations in the realm of the classroom are very important, for sure, but what about high expectations outside of the classroom? What about high expectations for life?

My first year teaching, I worked at an Innovation school that was meant to turn around the results of one of the city’s worst performing schools. During the opening assembly and, really, every assembly, the principal would stand up in front of our students and immediately point out how many of them would be dropouts if we kept going on the same trajectory as other schools in the building. Though these speeches were meant to convince the kids that their path could be different, this method shocked me every time. Without fail, we’d get back to the classroom afterward and I’d have a couple of kids go, “That’s gonna be me, miss!”

When a kid commits suicide, a school community is really not supposed to commemorate them in any way. No statues, no planting of trees, no assemblies. The point is that if you give that student extra attention then more students will think about suicide as a viable option for them. Why isn’t the same idea practiced when it comes to dropouts?

Attending these assemblies always made me think back to my own experience in high school. I don’t think we were EVER told en masse about dropout statistics. Dropping out was never even given to us as an option. I knew a couple of kids who dropped out, sure, but they were the overwhelming minority. We were expected to finish high school. Hell, we were expected to finish college, too.

I just recently proctored PSATs at the school where I currently work. Leading up to the test, the students who had signed up to take it were described as the “high achievers” and the “best and brightest.” This stood out to me because I seem to recall that taking the PSATs was an expectation. It was not some external thing to sign up for, it was something that every junior was expected to take (if you took it as a sophomore, you were just being proactive). I never questioned it. In fact, I would have questioned the decision not to take them a lot more.

I’ll admit that I went to high school in a pretty affluent community, but that should not make a difference on this issue. I knew many people, myself included, who did not come from wealthy families and were, in fact, first generation college students. A few of the charter school systems around my city are already pushing this expectation. Kids are not expected to just graduate high school, they are expected to graduate college. College banners hang on the walls, and college is a part of the daily conversation. Most of the kids they serve qualify as “underserved,” “at-risk,” “inner city youth,” whatever the current correct term is. The vast majority qualify for free and reduced lunch. What do you know? Their numbers for college acceptance and matriculation are staggering.

There is an old motivational quote from Les Brown, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” We’ll ignore, for a moment, that the moon is actually much easier to reach than the stars, and instead focus on the intended meaning. I ended up at a four-year private university, but due to the expectations set upon me by my high school, I still feel a little embarrassed that I didn’t attend somewhere more prestigious. I’m not saying this is the right way to feel necessarily, but I am saying that if kids are reaching for college graduation, even if they don’t end up making it, they will probably get a little farther than if the extent of what they were expected to do was graduate high school. Maybe kids will attend community college, maybe they will go to trade school, perhaps they will join the army, but the idea is that their development does not stop at their high school diploma, and they know that.

Now is time for my disclaimer. I know that college is not the right path for everyone. I know there are people who will pursue other careers and avenues and be fully successful adults. There are also plenty of people that I knew in high school who still haven't pursued much of anything despite the expectations set for them. The high school where I currently work has an excellent welding program, and for some kids that path is a killer option. Every kid is good at different things, and that should be celebrated. I’m not saying the paths that don’t end in college should be considered shameful at all, but I don’t think it hurts anyone to be told that the expectations of them go far beyond high school.

Delivering the message to large groups of teenagers (who biologically are not the best at recognizing consequences anyway) that dropping out is even an option does not set them up for success. High expectations should not stop at the classroom door (or in some cases, the doors of teacher education programs), high expectations should be upheld throughout. If we stop buzzing in their ear about the kids that have dropped out before them, maybe students will stop even thinking of it as an option and more will choose perseverance over surrender.