Opinion
Teaching Profession Opinion

Helping Students Realize Their Most Capable Selves

By Kyle Redford — October 04, 2017 4 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Most of us have had an experience where an adult—a parent, a teacher or a coach—thought of us as more capable than we actually were. So we were. The mere suggestion that we could play a song, score a goal, or learn another language opened a door to these possibilities. As a colleague of mine likes to say, we often ask students to “fake it ‘til they make it.” However, most students only risk doing something poorly if they think they will ultimately succeed. That is where we, as teachers, can make a real difference.

Students would ideally not need external permission to believe in their own abilities, but most teachers know that they often do. Our students regularly look to us to gauge what is possible and help them develop their most capable selves. How we name and frame what is possible for students often shapes their own sense of possibility.

Conversely, communicating limited potential to our students can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. No matter how clever or considered our teaching is, if our students do not believe they can learn something, it is unlikely they will. Students who have unconventional learning needs are most vulnerable to adult expectations. From the first day of school, they look around the room and see that sounding out words or writing sentences or remembering math facts is more difficult for them than for their classmates. Consequently, they worry that they possess limited intellectual potential. Teacher expectations regarding their abilities, both implicit and explicit, can help to diminish their anxiety—or reinforce it.

Creating Classroom Conditions That Grow Student Potential

Growing student potential through high expectations is not as simple as a shallow cheer of “You can do it!” In addition to communicating to students that we believe they can do whatever they set their minds to, there are several factors that need to be in place for positive expectations to translate into reality.

Perhaps most importantly, students need a safe classroom culture where the messiness of learning can be normalized. In the fall, I have my new students write me letters to introduce themselves. The letters tell me about their interests, hopes, and goals for the year; their strengths and challenges as learners; and what helps them learn best.

Almost every letter includes a request for a “safe learning zone” as their main hope for the new school year. They want learning spaces where they are safe to struggle, fail, and ask for help without being ridiculed by their peers or shamed by their teachers. That seems like a basic request, but meeting it can be surprisingly difficult. Classrooms need to be places where students can confidently employ the tools and supports they need to learn without embarrassment or judgment.

Students also need to feel known. My 5th grade students want me to appreciate their strengths, but they do not want to hear empty praise. Observing and acknowledging their struggles and trying to find ways to support them helps build trust and credibility. I admit that I sometimes exaggerate my observations to help students visualize their possibility for growth, but I always use real examples that my students can recognize.

For example, I make an effort to reference their letters during that first week of school by making an authentic observation and building on what they have told me:

“Based on your letter and my conversation with your teacher from last year, I get the sense that you have struggled to be attentive during instruction, but I can see that you have already made a shift with your body language and clarifying questions during explanation. It is amazing what kind of growth can happen over the summer. So many 4th graders who struggled to pay attention overcome that struggle when they enter 5th grade. I am excited for you! Let me know how I can support your new attentiveness in terms of seating or using a special visual cue to redirect you if you start to drift off. You are already on your way!”

It can be very empowering when a teacher identifies a positive attribute that the student might not have previously considered. Even if the student is not sure that the observation is true, there is a desire to make it so.

Embracing Challenges as Opportunities

Students also need to understand that their struggles to read fluently, spell correctly, process information quickly, or memorize information easily are separate from their intellectual abilities. They may struggle with all of these skills and also be the most creative and the deepest thinker in the classroom. Understanding this can help students embrace the potential for assistive technologies, academic supports, or workarounds to help them express their unique ideas.

Cultivating a growth mindset in the classroom is also fundamental to helping students reach their potential. Students who understand that struggling is not a sign of inability are more likely to grasp the value in trying new strategies and approaches when challenges arise.

For example, when students struggle to express themselves in writing, they often decide that they are “bad writers.” Employing a dictation app can allow them to focus their mental energies on their ideas, rather than the physical mechanics of writing. Though the process of converting spoken language to written words can be time-consuming, many students discover that finding a way to express their ideas is worth some extra work—and that they are actually good at it.

When we consider our students’ academic challenges as opportunities for problem-solving, we also model our own growth process. Through our words and actions, we can communicate that learning something difficult can be messy, but is ultimately achievable. That is often all it takes to give students permission to believe it themselves.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
The Future of the Science of Reading
Join us for a discussion on the future of the Science of Reading and how to support every student’s path to literacy.
Content provided by HMH
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
From Classrooms to Careers: How Schools and Districts Can Prepare Students for a Changing Workforce
Real careers start in school. Learn how Alton High built student-centered, job-aligned pathways.
Content provided by TNTP
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession GOP Renews Push to Revoke Federal Charter for Nation's Largest Teachers' Union
Lawmakers announce repeal bill amid conservative protests against National Education Association.
5 min read
Scenes from the National Education Association Representative Assembly on July 3, 2025, in Portland, Ore.
Scenes from the National Education Association Representative Assembly on July 3, 2025, in Portland, Ore. GOP lawmakers have ramped up attacks on the nearly 3 million member union.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Teaching Profession Opinion What Teachers Need to Know About Navigating Political Turmoil
Educators share guidance on how to deal with the present moment.
1 min read
Photo of U.S. Capitol building.
Education Week + Getty
Teaching Profession Want to Teach in Oklahoma? You May Have to Prove You're Not 'Woke'
The state is partnering with PragerU to develop an assessment for incoming educators.
3 min read
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters holds his hand over his heart during the National Anthem at inauguration ceremonies on Jan. 9, 2023, in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters holds his hand over his heart during the National Anthem at inauguration ceremonies on Jan. 9, 2023, in Oklahoma City. Walters announced plans for a new test to screen teachers from states considered “woke.”
Sue Ogrocki/AP
Teaching Profession ‘You Can Lead Now’: Inside the NEA’s Plan to Engage New Teachers
In an aging workforce, the nation's largest teachers' union seeks ways to engage younger educators.
3 min read
Em DePriest of Kansas speaks on behalf of a proposal to create an early career teacher working group. Members of the National Education Association's Aspiring Educators Program move to bring an initiative to a vote during the NEA Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025.
Em DePriest, a teacher in Kansas, speaks in favor of a proposal to create an early-career teacher working group. Members of the National Education Association's Aspiring Educators program moved to bring the initiative to a vote during the NEA representative assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week