I am a sales rep. I have to get my students to buy into what I’m trying to teach them. Psychologists call this motivation; educational professionals from central office call it “activating strategies”. It all amounts to the same thing, though: convince your students that what you’re teaching them is
- interesting,
- useful, and
- worth their time.
I don’t really recall any teachers doing that with me. I don’t remember having “activating strategies.” We walked into class and the teacher told us what we were going to be doing that day. I don’t recall the teacher worrying so much about whether she’s “hooking” us. I, for one, paid attention because I knew at some point, there would be some payoff. It was more difficult in some classes than in others, particularly in middle school (or junior high as it was called then), but I had some kind of strange faith that the teachers knew what they were doing, and that I would, eventually, use all this stuff.
Today, though, we talk about hooking students, competing for their attention, differentiating our instruction to keep it fresh and interesting. These are all good and worthy things, but when they start to be the focus of evaluation and training, it starts to be a little much. Add to it standardized testing and NCLB accountability, and you start to get the feeling that students’ failure to learn something is your fault, and your fault alone.
Even not doing homework is your fault. You see, when a student flatly says, “I’m not going to do it,” you have to “find another way to structure it so the student can learn it.” He refuses to do the homework; you have to trick him into learning the information another way.
You didn’t differentiate to account for different learning styles; you didn’t hook your students; you didn’t provide think-pair-share debriefing.
How about, “The students just didn’t do the work”? How about, “The students just didn’t care”? Well, you have to find a way to get them to do the work; you have to find a way to make them care.
I’m not sure a teacher’s job is to motivate, though. We spend all the time motivating and massaging and coaxing, and in the meantime, the Chinese and Polish students who sit in quiet, disciplined rows for hour after hour outperform our students in that Holy Grail of NCLB achievement, standardized testing.
The difference is, to some degree, cultural — a thought that is both soothing and depressing.
I get the motivating thing, but I don’t like to be a seller. I, too, don’t remember my teachers “selling” to me…I learned because I had to. I memorised the timetable because I had to. I listened to my teachers because if I didn’t, my parents would give me hell. Things have changed, though.
I don’t mind motivating students but some students walk into a classroom determined not to learn. Not so much where I teach now, but when I taught in the UK, it was a success to get some kids to write down the date and colour in some structures on the diagrams that I’d hand out to them. Some (bright) students would talk all the way through the lesson, despite what I tried to do. Some were just very disruptive and refused to co-operate. They walk in with that “c’mon, just try and make me” attitude. It was head-bash-into-the-wall frustrating.
I actually think that’s the intent. In Virginia, the Teacher’s input into the SOLs was pretty much ignored, and most of the talk behind the NCLB chatter is about how public education is crap and public school teachers are lazy government employees.
NCLB and standardized testing proceedures don’t treat teachers like skilled professionals, they treat them like recalcitrant retail-clerks.
Kinuk, it seems to me that motivating someone (other than providing external incentives) is selling them. Motivation is something that one has to find for oneself. The kids you talk about that you could get them to do their work obviously had some kind of motivation before they walked into the room. The kids who refused to work, didn’t. So in motivating them, it seems we’re trying to sell them on a particular incentive. “Do this so you can graduate.” “Do this so you’ll have a sense of self-fulfillment.” “Do this so you’ll understand the next thing we’re going to do.” Motivating, it seems, is selling.
I envy you your students, though. I taught in Polska for seven years, and I never had 2% of the behavior problems I have here.
I get the feeling, Thud, that sometimes I’m viewed as literally a cog in the standardized testing machine. The kids come along and I’m to stamp them with this and that so that the inspector (PACT test in SC — I think it’s the “Palmetto Achievement Crap Test” but I could be wrong) makes sure all the grooves are in the right place. If I do my job right, others down the road can do it right.
hey guys
i teach in a language school in poland (this is my second year) and the waters are pretty calm. polish students are generally intelligent and well-informed plus they have a great sense of humour.
i have noticed something, though. the more energy i give off in a class the more energetic the students are. it makes sense, i suppose!
p.s. that meat looked fantastic!!!!!!!!!
There is a certain appreciation of education in Poland that, I believe, is generally lacking among American students. Enjoy it. :)
I can do nothing but agree with everything said here. Some days I fantasize that I can ship every behavior-problem-smart-assed-ungrateful-little-brat off to a third world country to see what they could be doing instead of sitting on their butts and learning.
Sorry. I’m done ranting. I need to go figure out how to motivate my students to use the strategies we’re teaching and endure our massive standardized tests in May.
In May? Why, you’re behind. We’ve already started. We’ve got the ITBS on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week; in March, we do MAP testing; in April or May, we’ll be doing PACT.
Somewhere in there, I’m going to be doing some teaching. Theoretically.
We have our writing test in March, but the core subjects are in May. Our SOLs have to be taught by then. Then we have the next two or three weeks to “entertain” the students, who are certain that when tests are done, they’re done learning for the year. Sorry about your testing schedule. Mine stresses me out way more than I should let it.