A couple of years ago, an experiment was conducted at an high school.
The Principal called three teachers to his office and told them, “Because you are the best three teachers, we’re going to put ninety of the top performing students in your charge for one year. These kids are all high-IQ students, and we’re putting you in charge of them because you’re the ones we trust to be able to handle them effectively.”
The three teachers were super-excited! High-IQ students? That means they will have an easier and more enjoyable time teaching these kids.
And that they did!
For the next year, it was a delightful journey for both the teachers and students. Teaching these brilliant students was awesome! Learning from these amazing teachers was amazing!
At the end of the one year, these students had performed 20-30% better than their counterparts in the vicinity.
The principal once again called the teachers into his office and asked about the students’ performance.
“It was fantastic!” said the happy teachers. “These students really are the best students.”
“Well, I have a confession to make,” said the principal. “You see, there was nothing special about the students. They were regular students, who were picked at random.”
“Then we must be really good teachers.” They said.
“I have another confession,” the principal told them again. “Your names were the first three drawn out from a hat.”
“Then what made the difference?” wondered the teachers.
The difference, of course, was the expectations of both teachers and students.
The story is told of a man who, one day, could not find his favorite wrench in his shed.
Because Josh, the neighbors’ son, was a known delinquent, the old man suspected him of being the one who took the wrench.
For the next several days, every of Josh’s actions became suspicious to the old man. The way he talked, the way he walked, his body language, everything.
After one week, the old man finally decide that he would confront Josh in the evening. And in the afternoon, he found the missing wrench behind a stack of boxes.
Of course, Josh’s actions immediately stopped being suspicious. They suddenly looked very normal.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
PlanetDynamo 