The stereotypical images we hold of certain groups are powerful in influencing what people see and expect of students. Unless educators consciously try to undermine and work against these kinds of stereotypes, they often act on them unconsciously. Our assumptions related to race are so deeply entrenched that it is virtually impossible for us not to hold them unless we take conscious and deliberate action. (Tatum, as cited in Noguera, 2015, p. 30)

People tend to make easy judgment based on their assumptions. It is understandable that teachers unconsciously base their expectation on students’ race, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, etc. In addition to those obvious labels, some teachers would like to further label students based on their “rich” experiences and what they observe. Unfortunately, when students are aware of their labels and accept them, many of their possibilities are being ignored. For example, my cousin is a second year student in high school in China, and his teacher labeled him as a great science learner at the end of the first year. Since then he was more interested in science and made great grades. However, he had less interest in literature and believed he could not learn it well, especially after seeing his lower than average grades in literature. I am not saying his teacher put a wrong label, but such label gave him an excuse for not giving it a try. Maybe he didn’t find proper means to learn literature; maybe if he believed in himself he could make it. Thus, teachers’ assumptions may restrict students’ potentials. What is worse, sometimes teachers’ assumptions and judgment are inaccurate, which lead to misunderstanding and mistrust between teachers and students. When a teacher observes that a student seldom speaks up in class, does it mean the student does not participate in class? Does is mean the student is shy? Does it mean the student just comes to class unprepared? It is not easy to have an accurate answer.

Thus, teachers need to fully investigate in their students rather than rely on what they see and hear, because human beings are complex and adolescents may be even more complex. Teachers need to have on-going talk with students, try to figure out what is going on in their mind, and then give them help. As educators, we need to resist the temptation to base expectations on our assumptions.