Thread: motivating students???

We may be in the most lazy period of our nation's history right from the rip. Wanna be left alone? Mention work! Mentally lazy, physically lazy. Intellectually lazy!

Anyhow, I have that challenge too teaching at the prison. I have no magic formula. However, what works for me is being MOTIVATED myself! That's how I sell learning, I show an interest in it myself. Teaching I believe involved a degree of "acting." Yes, you gotta be yourself, but if you go in and approach the work and students as drugery, that's the results you'll get. If you get started right from the rip, get up front, show interest in them and the subject, it rubs off. I'm always using phrases like "this is cool stuff!" Or, "Dude, do you know how FEW people can figure out this fraction problem? YOU can!"

My guys tell me (whom I teach at the prison) I make learning fun. And that's why they stick with it. It's OK to laugh, laugh at your self, at them, lighten up the atmosphere here and there. Face it, we were students for a long time too. We knew what excited us about learning, so use it!

Good Luck,

TPFKACSW

Thanks. I have set the stage that it is okay to have fun and it's okay to laugh. The class is comfortable. They are great kids. I'm just a tad worried about the fact that they appear to have an aversion to putting any effort into anything. I'm sure it will come when I don't back down and they get their first bad grade for not producing quality work. I just want them to want to learn and want to work... not because I require it... I know, I'm being a Pollyanna.

It's been my experience that if you set your standards high that a good number of the kids will rise to those standards -- at least to some extent.

Some won't reach any standards.

The thing is that you have to walk them through how to meet them. You have to give them notes on things like how to take decent notes or keeping a notebook. Then you have rubrics and you return things when they aren't done properly.

Remember this is the "I want it now and easy" generation. Somehow, you have to get them to buy in to doing their best.

You might be expecting a bit much; on the other hand, with a pretty good group of kids, that should work. As for kids being lazy, sounds like a universal thing. My 9th graders whine and moan if they have to do anything other than sit there and talk to each other, with some activities such as actually marking on a piece of paper being belabored as far too strenuous. Welcome to the forum, btw.

My 10th-11th graders have asked me a time or two "Can't you just print the notes for us?"

I gave said studetnts a notably perturbed look and informed them that if I did that, NONE of it would make it into their heads, which was where I wanted it.

There was a trend for the past 5-10 years around here where the teachers have been handing out copies of the notes to all the students. The kids didn't have to do ANYTHING to receive the information, and you can bet they didn't read a word of the pre-printed notes. As a result, I am now fighting that battle at the start of every year with each new incoming group.

My experience as the mother of a present 8th grader....

EVERYTHING is boring. Getting excited about school in front of friends would be social suicide. They are playing a game, and it's called acceptance.

You may have to come up with something that they can't help but be excited about. Something that will tickle their dendrites into action. If you can get them to "accidentally" get excited about your lesson, you may find it is easier to coax it out of them in future days.

I don't have a specific suggestion for you, but I can tell you some of the things my son likes VERY MUCH right now...

He is very "into" music, hygiene, music personalities, drawing/creative expression, being unique (ironically, just like everyone else), and hanging out with his buddies. If you can make a lesson that taps into one of these interests, I bet you might find your "magic" moment.

Good luck!

I do have them psyched for our Egyptian Unit that will be coming up soon. We are going to build pyramids to scale, make a mummy and a sacophagus (complete with a plaster cast of one lucky student's face), and dress up in period clothing (maybe even go to the Halloween dance this way).

My daughter is in the class, and I'm frustrated as a Mom, too. I am concerned about the attitude that "life is boring" and that "work" is some foreign idea. And the "We're tired in the morning..." has got to go! As for my home, if she is too tired in the morning to be ready to learn, she'll be hitting the sack earlier at night! If it continues, I'll be contacting other parents too.

Maybe they are "bored" right now. I am covering the basics they will need to know to succeed in my classes. I am fighting the temptation to "go over it" too quickly.

Last year was my first year in 8th grade. I faced the same difficulties and I'm afraid I lowered my expectations way too soon. As a result, I got I asked for.... mediocre work, at best. I don't want to make that mistake again.

No indeed you are not expecting too much. What might help is to provide them with extensive and detailed rubrics to specify what they have to do to get an A, B, C, etc. This will, if not motivate them, at least let them know what they have to do. It also removes subjectivity from grading (and makes grading easier and faster) and they can also easily assess their own work with the rubrics.

If they argue the standards on the rubric, then you can take some time with them to brainstorm what A work looks like (for a specific assignment they will be doing). Then fill in the rubric with their help for the grades (A, B, C, D, F). At that point, since they created the criteria, they have no room to argue if they don't make a good grade because they know (and agreed to) the specific assessment criteria.

This gives them ownership of the assignments and promotes responsibility because there is no question about what they need to do to earn the grades they want to earn.

If they show no motivation to contribute the rubric, then just tell them you'll do it but that they cannot question your criteria. Eventually they'll come around and start showing more interest and becoming more involved in the assignments.