Motivation: It's Not About Carrots and Sticks

When my principal first called me this summer to share an opportunity to take a classroom management workshop, my first thought was, "Uh, what are you implying here?..." Of course then I remembered this was actually a topic I had brought up during one of my observations, so my defensiveness waned. I looked into the conference a little, and discovered it wasn't just classroom management focused, but more about motivation-how could I create an atmosphere of safety, positive growth, and choice within my classroom that would keep kids engaged?
Today was the first day of the workshop (I'll be going back to finish up tomorrow), and I learned a lot, but more importantly, it has been a great way to jumpstart my brain for the new school year.

First up was presenter Paul Gasser who was there to talk about Love and Logic. Back in college Love and Logic was something that I always associated with elementary school. It wasn't until I became a middle school teacher, and heard more about the Love and Logic concept that I realized it's really useful for all ages. I was excited to actually hear more about the strategies that I have dabbled with in my classroom, but never fully implemented. The whole idea essentially boils down to creating relationships with students. A kid will never do something for you in the classroom if he/she doesn't believe you're trustworthy or that you care about him/her, especially if that student is coming from a home where the parents aren't trustworthy people. This isn't rocket science. Teachers learn about this in their undergrad classes, but to have it paired with specific strategies left me feeling like I now have tangible things to use in my classroom beyond giving detentions and sending kids to the intervention room; I always try to avoid doing that as much as possible anyway. The best part about Love and Logic is that it helps kids become their own problem solvers. If there is one gripe I have about this generation's students it's that so many of them don't know how to figure out a problem on their own. They're so used to immediate feedback of the technology that surrounds them, that when they don't understand how to find the indirect object in a sentence they don't look at their notes, they don't ask a neighbor, they immediately raise their hand with a pouty face, and say defiantly "I don't get this!" There were many surprising statistics in Mr. Gasser's presentation, but the one that hit me the hardest was that most kids psychologically drop out of school in kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN! That means that the first year of schooling, those kids are looking around to see if they belong, do other kids act, look and achieve like they do. If not, they check out. By the time I get them nine years later, trying to undo the damage that's been done is a huge undertaking.

Another thing I really like about Mr. Gasser's presentation was that he discussed how many students who have the "I can't do this" mentality about a certain class or school in general, really need to see that they can be successful in some way. He gave us little strategies for "noticing" the good work a student is doing (even if they totally bombed a test), and that praising the effort, not necessarily the final product is the most important part. A kid needs to see value in their hard work, and they will continue to work hard to reach a goal. I also really liked how he emphasized the need for kids to screw up if they've made a bad choice. (For example, the story he told of his son who didn't get ready ahead of time to go hunting, wore his tennis shoes through the fields, and was stuck wearing sopping wet shoes and socks for the rest of the day. Bet he's going to learn his lesson for the next time!) We can't reason or argue or get mad at a kid, but instead need to let them make a choice, and be okay with letting it fail

The other presentation was by Jackie Drummer who talked about engagement and motivation in the classroom. She also had a lot of great tips and ideas, but the thing that struck me the most was this video that she showed:

Not only did it get me thinking about how I motivate my students, but it got me thinking about how I am motivated in my life. Rewards or punishments don't always work with me. I've always struggled with finding the motivation to do chores or tasks, but what I don't struggle with is finding the motivation do to the things that interest me. This blog, for example, singing, drawing, reading, etc. all are things that I love to do. And why? Because I can do them how and when I want, and have practiced and practiced to become fairly good at them, and I feel like I do them for a purpose. This resonated with me so much when it comes to finding writing projects my kids will be engaged in. I LOVE the idea of having Fridays be a day where kids can work on projects of their own creation, and later present them to the class. I have a feeling I'd get some pretty cool presentations.

Here's hoping tomorrow is equally as stimulating as today's presentations. I am completely mentally zonked, but it a good way. I have all these crazy ideas running around in my head now, and am completely energized to use new techniques in my classroom. Now the question is, can keep this energy going until September 1st (and beyond)?

**Note: Due to the mentally zonkedness, I feel like this might not have been the most articulate summary I could have written. In the next week or so I may revisit these ideas on the blog to come to some more coherent conclusions. :)