In my opinion, based on my own personal experience, kids function best when they're real clear about exactly what's expected of them in any given situation or under any particular set of circumstances.

Every year since he began school, in the day or two prior to the beginning of each new school year, I've sat down with my son, who's now eight years old, to "lay down the law", so to speak, about exactly what I expected of him in school and to issue him his "marching orders" for the upcoming school year.

This year won't be any exception. Although my expectations for him haven't changed over the last few years, with a new school year about to begin, I've been thinking about them in preparation for our annual talk and thought I'd share them with you.

Here they are:

Expectation #1 - I expect him to behave himself and treat others as he'd like to be treated.

The first and single, most important thing I expect of him in school is to be polite, mind his manners, and treat others as he'd like to be treated.

All three elements of this expectation are very closely related and because he understands *why* they're important, he has no trouble whatsoever living up to them.

Here's why...

One summer day, shortly before he started school, we were driving somewhere (probably a toy store :-)), when, seemingly out of nowhere, he asked me what I knew about this "God thing", as he phrased it.

As simply as I could put it, I shared with him my personal belief...

Essentially...

That One is All and All is One. That one Intelligent Substance manifests itself as what appears to be many elements of the material world.

Simply put...

We're all made from the same Stuff, a Thinking Stuff.

After I finished my simplified explanation of this concept, he sat there quietly for a moment or two, staring out the car window, then he looked at me and said...

"Daddy, that makes sense!"

And, with "ah-ha" written all over his face, he added...

"So that's why you're always telling me to love my neighbor as myself and to treat other people the way I want to be treated, because we're all one, right Daddy?"

At age five...

He got it! :-)

Expectation #2 - I expect him to do his best.

Unlike many, if not most, parents and teachers, I could care less what his grades in school are...

Really!

You should see the look on people's faces, especially his teachers, when I tell them this. :-)

So, what do I expect?

Simple...

I expect him to put everything he's got into everything he does and do the best work he can do.

Throughout his writings, Wallace D. Wattles, best known for his classic masterpiece "The Science of Getting Rich", repeatedly stresses the importance of doing all you can do each day and doing each separate act in the most perfect manner possible.

That's *exactly* what I expect of him!

If, everyday, he does *all* he can do that day and if, everyday, he does each separate thing he does in school in the most *perfect* manner possible, with the purpose of learning...

And that, in the opinion of his teachers and/or the school system, earns him an "A"...

Great!

If it earns him a "B"...

Great!

If it earns him a "C"...

Great!

If it earns him a "D"...

Great!

If it earns him an "F"...

Great...

I really don't care! :-)

Why?

Because doing everything you can do each day and doing each separate thing you do in the most perfect manner possible with a purpose is the secret to success in anything and if he just learns this one lesson and applies it, he'll be successful in life regardless of what his grades in school are.

Expectation #3 - I expect him to have fun.

Life is meant to be fun, not a bore, and I expect him to have fun in school.

Now...

Please understand...

I don't expect him to be the "class clown" or a "wise guy"...

But, I do expect him to look for ways to make his "work" fun.

If he learns how to make his "work" fun, he'll never have to "work" a day in his entire life.

Well...

There you have them...

My eight-year-old's "marching orders" for the upcoming school year.

In prior school years, because he's been very clear about exactly what I expected of him in school and because he's been very clear about exactly why I expected those things of him, he's never failed to live up to my expectations and make me very proud of him...

I don't expect this school year to be any different. :-)