As students enter your classroom, encourage then to think about one thing/event/person they are excited for and looking forward to (doing/attending/seeing) in the near future. After most students have arrived, call on various students and ask them what they thought of. After students share, ask:
- Do you think this (fill in the blank with activity/event/person/etc.) will live up to your expectations? (Invite students to share their opinions. There are no wrong answers.)
This skit isn’t meant to be realistic, rather, it uses humor to get you to think about the ridiculousness of the expectations we sometimes have.
Share this video with your students [4:59]:
Expectations vs. Reality
- What do you think was wrong with this teenager’s expectations about his first day at a new high school? (Answers will vary, however, most students will say that he was a bit too optimistic about how much everyone would like him and how easy his first day would be.)
- What did you find most humorous about his unrealistic expectations for his first day? (Answers will vary.)
- Can you relate to this boy when it comes to your own expectations for what high school will be like for you? (Answers will vary, invite honest answers here.)
- Is it important to have expectations? (Answers will vary. Students may note that it is always good to “play things” through in our heads before we actually encounter them so that we can think through what the reality of the situation may be like.)
Frequently we are disappointed by expectations we set that are way too high for a person or experience to meet, and—just like in the video—we end up being disappointed. Imagine a situation where it is impossible to expect too much! Today we’re going to talk about just that: not being able to set our expectations high enough. Let’s look further at what that means.