One day, in Buffalo, New York, a substitute teacher was offered a position that all substitute teachers dream of….a permanent position. Well, sort of. The position was a fill-in for another teacher who just took a leave for the birth of her first child. The position was contracted for the entire school year. The former substitute teacher jumped at the full time job offer and accepted on the spot.
As part of school procedure, the teacher met with the principal of the school to review goals, lesson plans, as well as the student roster. The class was for 12th grade English, with a second course in American History. The teacher was thrilled as he gazed upon his roster, a roster that appeared to contain the names of the best and brightest students from the entire school. He was excited and could not wait to begin! What an unexpected present….a full-time teaching position, working with the smartest and brightest young adults, teaching courses he loved to instruct. What a year this was going to be!
And what a year it became. The new teacher challenged each and every student to achieve, not only their best,but the best the entire school had to offer. He selected books, projects and assignments that were meant to test limits and he set objectives far beyond what was required in the course curriculum.
Tests were designed to explore the creativity and dedication of every student in class and parents were involved from the very beginning. Year-long projects and papers were required and many long nights were spent crafting just right responses to homework, extra-credit assignments and class volunteer outings.
With each new challenge, his students responded and excelled. The students who started to fall behind were assisted by those who learned at a faster pace. Our intrepid teacher stayed late every day, helping, advising and supporting his class. His dedication slowly became legendary and soon other students, not a member of his own classes, also came to the tiny classroom after their school day ended. He turned no one away. He taught everyone.
As the school year drew to a close, his students began to receive acceptance letters from the colleges of their choice. Of the 26 students in his class, 23 were accepted by colleges and universities and one of those colleges was Harvard. The 3 who did not get their letters, all chose to join their parents in the family business. One was in retail food, another in the construction trades and the last, an accounting firm with hundreds of clients.Parents recognized their children’s skills, too. Two students were offered National Merit scholarships, the first that school had ever seen, and one student received a national writing award and is today, a best-selling author and screen-play writer. You would recognize her name instantly.
Needless to say, the teacher was offered a full-time, permanent position at the end of the school year. He was thrilled and immediately accepted it, before he even gazing at the contract. The principal, as he did with all of this teachers, sat down at the end of the year and reviewed faculty progress, always offering advice for how to improve next year. This time, however, he asked only one question of our now, full-time instructor. “How did you do it?” he inquired,leaning back in his chair, waiting for a long explanation.
The teacher replied, “It was easy…you gave me the best students, how could I not succeed with such a talented group of individuals?” The principal looked puzzled and replied, “Talented? I think not. These were among the worst performers we had in our entire school. Many were projected to drop- out before the year ended. Some were in your class because no one else would take them. They were the least motivated group of students I have ever seen.” “Why do you think they were so special?”
The stunned teacher replied, “Because of this.” He reached into his pocket and took out the original class roster, now faded and worn and pointed to the last column on the right of the spreadsheet. “Just look at those IQ’s he stated. 165, 168, 183, 191. They were almost at genius levels.” The principal leaned across his desk and replied, “Let me see that list.” As he gazed over the list, a smile slowly came over his face as he exhaled. “Those are not their IQs, they are student locker numbers. See, the numbers ascend from 165 right up through 191….. 26 students, 26 lockers.”
So, those marvelous students were not the brightest in the school, or even close to it. They were, as the principal pointed out, some of the sorriest, most under-achieving students that the school contained. They were not gifted, not even close. They merely performed as gifted and in that one remarkable year, changed their lives forever. And it all began with one teacher and an idea.
To answer the principal’s one question of how he did it, our teacher would one day look back and discover that it really all began with expectations. He expected his class to be the best because he believed in his heart that they truly were. He challenged them to achieve as the best…and they did. It took a little time for every student to accept that she could really achieve. She had never been challenged to achieve before. Once the successes started to build, new challenges arose….. and then they, too were overcome and defeated. One new expectation was presented and soon, that expectation became a reality. One success built on another and goals were systematically accomplished.
Can this happen for you? I firmly believe it can happen for everyone. We are often the prisoner of our own limitations. “I am not good at math.” “I could never speak in front of an audience.” “I could never jump out of a plane.” Why? Is there a warning label somewhere on your body?
Those young adults were expected to behave like students with high IQs, and not knowing any better, they lived up to their teacher’s expectations. Nothing, not even past expectations, could stand in the way of their success once they go the ball rolling. And as they say, “The rest is history.” Expect the best, ignore past limitations or beliefs, keep at it and one day, you will look back at your life and say “Why didn’t I start this sooner?” Why didn’t you? Start today. Start now!!