Be the Change: Cultivating High Expectations

How to create high expectations in today’s society

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll stand for anything.” Alex Hamilton

I love this quote and while it might not be apparent why I have put it in bold at the top of this article, hopefully by the end it will. We are in the grip of what so many people are calling the ‘Nanny State,’ and it causes a range of emotions to bubble to the surface for me. Banning clapping at school assemblies, banning running on the playground, and not keeping a score for school sporting events. Sadly, I could write a list of ridiculous standards and decisions schools are making that would stretch the length of this page and I wouldn’t even be scratching the surface of how rules are changing.

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How does this connect with high expectations in our schools? Let’s use the no scoring in school sports example. Parents and teachers might feel as though they are teaching students a valuable lesson about life, such as ‘winning isn’t everything. While I happen to agree with this life lesson, I argue that if you remove the end result of a game, then how do our students understand Teachers Matter the lesson of how to be a cheerful loser, and a gracious winner? This teaches our students one of the most fundamental life skills: resilience. Building resilient young people should be one of the most important outcomes schools chase with unwavering determination. If you fall down, get back up again. If you fail, keep trying.

When we set high expectations for our students and teachers, trusting they are capable of dealing with winning and losing with the appropriate supports built around these outcomes, everyone wins. This sports example has everything to do with high expectations because if we raise the bar and expect that our children can deal with winning and losing, failing and succeeding, then we send a very important message to them. The trajectory of our schools can be changed dramatically as we encourage and lead our teachers to be risk takers, even when they may fall short. This type of failure must be recognised as part of the journey toward becoming a highly successful school.

I have yet to visit a school where building leaders leave high expectations out of their future goals conversation. So, what do we stand for as leaders? How do we make sure that our actions and words demonstrate a commitment to high expectations? Do we have an unwavering commitment to persevere toward these goals despite the challenges that arise? How do we show our school community what we stand for? The first step is starting an honest conversation about what is happening and why change is needed. If you begin an honest conversation it can help form a powerful change coalition and reduce the number of people that will challenge the change. Not everyone needs to agree with the change but if the narrative around it is clear challengers will step back.

As the saying goes, ‘talk is cheap,’ so it is imperative that our words and actions match. It is these small actions across the school that make change more meaningful. How often do we see uniform changes or expectations crash and burn because only a few don’t enforce them or they lose focus on the reasons behind the change? Change needs a collective commitment.

Uniform changes, academic policy changes, and classroom expectations can all be impacted by a greater focus on high expectations. I guarantee they will be challenged by students and parents. This is where the unwavering commitment is needed in spades. Address these concerns openly and honestly but if the expectations that you set are non-negotiable, communicate that clearly.

Creating a culture of high expectation is not ‘rocket science’ but takes determination, strong belief, patience, and sharp focus. How will you help bring about change for high expectation in your building?

The Cheat Sheet for Cultivating High Expectations:

1. Communicate the need for change.

2. Build a coalition of those willing to cultivate the change.

3. Communicate your expectations clearly and concisely.

4. Tackle one hurdle at a time – slow and steady wins the race.

5. Celebrate the wins along the way with all stakeholders.

6. Stay the course: patience and focus are key.

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Ryan Martin


Ryan Martin, recently awarded with the Northern Territory Principal of the Year, is an experienced school leader with a proven track record in behaviour management, leadership and coaching. He has a sharp focus on changing the trajectory of students from highly complex and disadvantaged
backgrounds. Ryan has a passion for education but you might also find him surfing, skating or tinkering around with old cars.