"I don't Know"

When I was a student at The Juilliard School, my teacher told me a story I'll never forget.  He explained how he was called into a school where the students were not reaching their potential.  The teachers at the school - as well as administrators - were frustrated and could not figure out what the problem was.  No matter what strategies they tried, they could not get the students to improve.

When my teacher arrived, the first thing he noticed was the children's behavior.  In many classrooms students were seemingly allowed to do whatever they wanted.  There was no control, no order, and certainly no respect.  After seeing a few classrooms like this he sat all of the teachers down and collectively asked "What is your job?"  As expected most of the answers were a variation of "Teach the kids."  He then took all of the teachers into various rooms and after (finally) getting the kids to settle down said "These are your teachers.  It is their job to teach you.  Can anyone here tell me what your job is?"  He was greeted with silence.  Finally, a girl raised her hand and said "To be students...?".  "What does that mean?" he asked.  "I don't know" came the response. 

What does it mean to be a student?  What is their job?  After all, being a student is a "job" isn't it?  There is work involved as well as responsibility.  The ability to work with others and take instruction are crucial and there is even "pay" - although not monetarily.  Are our students being told what's expected?  Are they being made aware of their work?  We often here how poorly our students are doing and maybe it has nothing to do with education and more to do with a poor job description.