“I shouldn’t need to…”

We hear it every year. “These kids just don’t know how to act in a classroom. I shouldn’t need to tell them what to do! They should know by now!” The notion that teachers “shouldn’t need to” teach and enforce behavioral expectations is a pervasive myth that teachers are guilty of spreading among themselves and cuts to the heart of why too many teachers overlook the CULTURE element as an essential piece of their practice.

But think about that argument for a second. Saying “I shouldn’t need to…” implies that at some point, someone should have taught them how to behave. You’re indicting all of your students former teachers for not doing their jobs (and next year, the teachers in the grade above you will be indicting you for the same thing). This argument also implies that those same exact expectations they they should have been taught long ago should apply to every classroom thereafter for all of a student’s schooling existence! You’re guilty of assuming that behavioral norms are completely static in both time and circumstance, effectively saying that there is only one specific way that all kids should be expected to behave always.

Sounds kind of illogical doesn’t it?

(I know your next retort is that it’s the parent’s job to teach them how to behave and I could go on and on about how flawed that argument is as well, but I won’t right now.)

The commonly heard definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. So if we keep saying this year after year, maybe the problem isn’t with the kids, but rather with what we’re doing (or not doing in this case).

The fact of the matter is that kids of all ages, whether you are a second grader or a senior, need clear expectations set for how they should be operating. And they need to hear it time and time again. And have it reinforced. And have it upheld consistently. And over time, probably long after they’ve walked across the graduation stage, realize why the adults in their lives did that for them. (They’ll thank us later…) There’s a reason we don’t consider kids to be full-fledged adults yet — they haven’t yet fully internalized how to make the best decisions for themselves. They need loving and capable adults to set those expectations and uphold them.

So, no, you probably shouldn’t need to tell what your expectations are to the class yet again. But that doesn’t deny that fact that you DO need to.

The next time you find the thought “but I shouldn’t need to…” cross your mind, consider the larger CULTURE you’re seeking to uphold. And get in the habit of preempting that situation and responding if (and when) someone inevitably should know what to do.