Expectations are the silent contracts academics never signed but still honour.

They come from every direction — upwards, downwards, sideways — and they stick to professors like invisible Post-It notes.

Every teacher carries hundreds of such notes.

None of them written by them.

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Scene 1: Parent–Teacher Meeting — Indian University Auditorium

A parent says,

“Please make my child confident.”

Another adds,

“And employable.”

A third whispers,

“And please correct his attitude.”

A fourth says,

“And help her crack placements.”

The professor smiles softly, hiding the internal scream:

“I teach economics… not personality transplantation.”

Yet she takes down the notes.

Because expectations are duties no one declines.

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Scene 2: Silicon Valley Conference — Founder Meets Old Professor

The founder says,

“Sir, companies expect graduates who can think, analyse, collaborate, innovate, write, speak clearly, work in teams, handle pressure, adapt quickly… basically everything except sleep.”

The professor laughs,

“So essentially you expect them to be 40 at age 22?”

They clink glasses — the humour covering a sharp truth:

Industry expects fully-formed professionals from barely-formed adults.

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Scene 3: Alumni Dinner — Mumbai

An alumnus says,

“You changed my life.

But you could’ve taught us more about the real world.”

The professor smiles kindly,

“Beta, that is exactly what the real world teaches.”

Expectations always arrive in hindsight.

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Scene 4: Government Policy Retreat — Hill Station Conference Room

A senior bureaucrat says,

“We expect teachers to produce responsible citizens.”

Another adds,

“And we expect them to keep up with technology.”

A third says,

“And maintain academic integrity.”

A fourth says,

“And comply with this 387-page guideline we printed last night.”

The room nods.

The professors on the panel don’t.

Not because they disagree — but because they are exhausted.

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Scene 5: Staff Room — 1:15 PM Lunch Break

A young lecturer whispers,

“Students expect me to be funny, brilliant, inspiring, understanding, modern, strict, flexible, updated, patient, fast, slow, friendly, authoritative…”

A senior professor replies,

“That’s normal. Students expect their teachers to be Google with emotions.”

Everyone laughs — the sad, hilarious truth kind.

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Scene 6: International Conference, Stockholm — Quiet Corridor

A Cambridge professor confesses,

“My students expect genius every day.”

Her UCLA colleague replies,

“My students expect availability every night.”

A Tokyo researcher adds,

“My university expects productivity every quarter.”

A Delhi professor whispers,

“My society expects miracles every year.”

Expectations seem global.

But burdens remain personal.

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Where Do These Expectations Come From?

1. From Society

“Teachers must fix morality, culture, discipline, values.”

Society forgets — teachers are human too.

2. From Industry

“Teach skills we haven’t invented yet.”

The job market mutates faster than curriculum approvals.

3. From Parents

“Build character and career — and please do it gently.”

Parents outsource hope to teachers.

4. From Institutions

“Do research, publish, mentor, teach, administer, contribute, comply.”

Institutions expect multifunctional superheroes.

5. From Students

“Teach fast.

Explain slowly.

Be strict.

Be friendly.

Give freedom.

Give marks.

Give advice.

Give time.”

Students want a parent who grades lightly.

6. From Themselves

Yes — the harshest expectations come from within.

“I must stay relevant.

I must stay inspiring.

I must stay updated.

I must stay ethical.”

Self-imposed expectations weigh the most.

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The Emotional Reality of Expectations

A professor from Columbia once told her colleague from IIT Bombay:

“Everyone expects teachers to do everything… except rest.”

He replied,

“And yet we keep doing everything… except complain.”

That is the hidden heroism of academia —

the willingness to meet expectations that would break any other profession.

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But Here’s the Beautiful Twist

Despite overwhelming expectations,

the Reluctant Teachers still show up:

• with fresh lesson plans,

• with patient hearts,

• with open doors,

• with updated notes,

• with honest intentions.

They don’t meet all expectations.

They don’t have to.

They only meet the ones that matter.

Because education isn’t about fulfilling every expectation.

It’s about shaping the expectations of the future.

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The Final Truth

The world expects too much from academics.

Academics expect too little from the world.

And somewhere in between,

civilization continues.

Because despite the weight of unreasonable expectations,

academics carry the one expectation that keeps society stable:

“Help the next generation become better than the last.”

And that is an expectation they never complain about.

Because somewhere deep inside,

it is the one they hold dearest.