Students do not look to you to be an arbiter concerning precisely how smart they are. First and foremost, they look to you to inspire them to reach beyond themselves in general. But in more mundane terms, they look to you to lay out the rewards and punishments associated with your course in such a way that they themselves as well as their classmates are encouraged towards actions that facilitate a meaningful learning environment.

Wondering if that really tough activity that you just pushed the kids through was pedagogically meaningful or just an act of sadistic teacherliness?  Wondering if that “fun” game you just played in class had some objective beyond getting the kids to like you?  Look long-term.