Best Reasons to Avoid Assumptions

Information is needed for responsibility. In fact, accountability can be damaging without the correct knowledge or training. That is why a person must not assume she has all the necessary intelligence on a given subject. If an individual is perplexed, she should ask questions. Otherwise, the result may be an inferior product or service.

Gina is a friend who has a high-school aged daughter named Caroline. She barely keeps track of her daughter’s assignments. Gina expects the young lady to be able to motivate herself and find her own answers to everything. Certainly, a high schooler should be given some accountability. However, they don’t always have all the facts necessary to make the wisest choices. Caroline’s grades declined because Gina wrongfully presumed she was fulfilling all her academic duties. 

Recently, I finished a writing assignment. It was the first time I had put down words in this particular style. I was confused and lacked sufficient facts. The lady I was working with had only given me a minimum of information. I had written many thoughts based on false assumptions. Therefore, only half of my writing was accepted. 

When I was student teaching, my direct supervisor expected me to have much more data than I did. In her opinion, I should have been ready to step into a teaching position without any further training. The truth was that I hadn’t been taught much of what she supposed me to know. The following is a direct quote from my book, Accept No Trash Talk: Overcoming the Odds: 

Student Teaching--I almost became a secondary education teacher. I even rose to the level of student teacher at a high school. (Student teaching is the final step education students take before graduation. It is seven to eight weeks of hands-on training in a classroom.) There is no general handbook for teachers. Non-specific college classes and on-the-job training is all there is. However, I found that my supervising teacher, Betsy, expected me to be fully trained in the complicated job of teaching. She expected me to be prepared to step into a full-time teaching position immediately. Betsy gave me no positive feedback. She expected me to plan lessons, teach a creative writing class, do administrative work, and do word processing on a computer with no training in any of these areas. Betsy gave me no help, but she was always quick to criticize my efforts to me and my supervisors. The more she censored me, the slower and less confident I became. I declined to graduate with a teaching certification attached to my degree.

My Conclusion

Are your plans based on correct expectations?