The Other Wes Moore - Pre Reading

People usually do what others expect them to do. Most of the time, if teachers and parents expect a student to make good grades, the student will. If teachers or parents says, “Well, you tried. You couldn’t do any better,” or something like that, the student will believe that he is not smart, and will give less effort in their studies, believing they cannot do well. However, if teachers encourage their students, the students will tend to get better grades and feel better about school and themselves.
If people around you act one way, they probably expect you to act the same way as they act. This is why teachers often say, “You need to represent our school well on the field trip”. They know that where the class is going has probably seen some misbehaved classes, and that the curators will see you the same way at first. Your teachers want to break the stereotype. If the curators at the museum you are visiting treat you like toddlers and have low expectations, you might stoop to those expectations.
Also, where you are from influences what people think of you. The region that you are from may lead people to have stereotypes about you. Some people have prejudices towards others because of where they grew up. Certain accents tend to make people think certain things about you: that you are uneducated, or that you are unkind.

People need to worry less about what other people think about them, and more about what they think about themselves. If you like who you are, who cares if other people do? If you strive to be a kind and fair person, does it really matter what others might expect of you? If you have different interests than other people, that makes you special! If everyone did what was expected of them, there would be no diversity. If you have different interests in life or a different way of speaking than people around you, just be yourself. There is no need to change who you really are so that people like you. If someone doesn’t accept you for who you really are, then perhaps there is no need to consider them a friend. If people don’t appreciate your true self, don’t worry. You will find someone who does, and you might get a new friend because of it.