Great(?) Expectations?

I've found that students won't....ahem...CAN'T rise to low standards. There's no reaching for low. I've also found that children respond to whatever accordingly. If they sense that you genuinely love and care for them, initially they may work and hustle so as not to disappoint you. But as time goes on and as your care for them becomes more and more evident, the wise teacher lets them know the real reason for the work and hustle!!

They also respond to disdain. If you have no great expectations for behavior, for academics, for manners, for respect, the lack thereof is what you'll get every time. In some cases, I've found this to feed some "racist on the low" type mentalities. You believe many students of color act a certain way or academically perform a certain way, therefore that's what you will always see and always expect. Shame on you! Get out of teaching, especially my kids!

Furthermore, if my children come to a building that is unsanitary (I know one)
a building that is disgusting (I know one)
a building where folks allow vomit to remain and dried up even a week later (I know one)
a building where bathrooms are deplorable, for staff and students alike (I know one)
a building where calls to have juice mopped up or blood cleaned up go unanswered (I know one)
a building where there are water fountains, but 3/4 of them don't function properly (I know one)

all of that says to a child and to the faculty, "I don't care nothing about you! Go kick rocks!"

But so long as teachers have SWBAT and IOT and have an edged in stone "Gradual Release Block", then all is well with the world. Not only that, but you'll have you-know-what to pay if you DON'T have it!! There are teachers who have been on the receiving end of distorted observations because of this (I know one).

These don't sound like great expectations to me!
My kids deserve better! I deserve better! The staff deserves better! We're not caged animals.