On the Same Page

The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

On the Same Page

Toward a Shared Vision—Part 2

December 1, 2004
David W. Magill, Director of UCLS

An advantage of growing up on the East Coast was the opportunity for my family to see the opening of Broadway musicals. One of my favorites was Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady. I don't think that I was even ten years old when I first saw this play performed, but I still vividly remember the two stars of the show—Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison.

My Fair Lady is based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion in which a speech and elocution professor (Henry Higgins) transforms a flower girl (Eliza Doolittle) into a young lady who was able to mix and mingle with the upper crust of London's society. Not withstanding Professor Higgins' questionable methods and motivation, it was an early example of how a teacher's expectations influenced a student's performance.

My first undergraduate education course in 1968 was named "Current Issues in Education." New research on the relationship between teacher expectations and student achievement had just been released. It was the cause of great excitement among those of us entering education. The researchers, Rosenthal and Jacobson, concluded that the intellectual development of a student is, in great part, a response to what teachers expect and how those expectations are communicated. Their published research was appropriately enough entitled, Pygmalion in the Classroom.

More than any other educational research before or since, my entire career has been influenced by this original Pygmalion study. While I have no empirical evidence to support the dramatic effect of a teacher's expectations on the performance of students, I recall many anecdotes from teachers and former teachers who can positively point to the difference that high expectations can make. I can also tell you about the thirteen fifth- and sixth-grade boys who I directly and positively influenced after they were assigned to my classroom because I was a "man who could handle them."

In reality, I couldn't handle them better than any other teacher. I just refused to believe that they were going to "hell in a hand basket" and instead helped paint a picture in which they could see themselves read and write. By the end of our year together, their skills improved well enough for them to return to the mainstream of their grade.

The vision for the Laboratory Schools includes "having high expectations for student achievement." It is a vision that needs to be repeated each year and by every teacher who works with our students. It is also a vision that needs to be reinforced at home.

Since I believe that sharing this responsibility between the school and home will yield the most effective results, let me suggest several ideas for determining the nature of those high expectations.

Be realistic and consistent–Individualize expectations; help them stretch but not break; and exert pressure in a firm but fair manner. Negotiating the limits occurs at the outset, not while in transit.
Behaviors are more important than grades—This is a tough one to sell particularly in a school community where letter grades take on extreme importance because of how they may affect college admission decisions. So, at the risk of being told I'm crazy, allow me to assert that teachers and parents really do need to be sure that the desired behaviors are given more consideration than the grades. Give me a child with character, with an inquiring mind, and who approaches problems completely over any child who takes shortcuts in playing the grade game.
Pause and celebrate progress—Too often we overlook this important stage of setting goals and holding high expectations. Really doing well in school and in life is not a race. Taking the time to measure progress, evaluating what went well and not so well, and finally, celebrating allows one to start over again. With every waking day, we have the chance to start over again.
Understand that results are often not on your time—In the last several weeks, I experienced a special moment with our youngest daughter. She graduated from college nearly two-and-one-half years ago and, for the first time in years, I could sense that she was really happy. She told me that she never really liked school but she was glad that her mother and I kept encouraging her to stay with it and to complete what she had started. She never really understood the value of her accomplishments until she was out of our home, on her own, and taking real responsibility in her chosen profession. Along the way, I would have loved to know that, but her epiphany wasn't on my time. It was on hers, and now I understand.

Having high expectations is just half of the equation. How they are communicated is the other half. Suffice it to say and needing little explanation, they are communicated from our hearts.

You see . . . apart from the things one can pick up, the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a common flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he will always treat me like a common flower girl, and always will. But I know that I shall always be a lady to Colonel Pickering, because he always treats me like a lady, and always will.
—Eliza Doolittle, My Fair Lady

David W. Magill
Director

Acting upon the core of our mission statement and remaining an "experience centered, rigorous, and well-rounded education for a diverse community"

Having high expectations for student achievement

Placing high value on our partnership with parents and the community by providing extended-day and year-round programs

Creating and maintaining a school culture and climate in which character and leadership are promoted

Identifying, hiring, and retaining quality faculty and staff

Being introspective and continually seeking improvement