Motivating Students: Dare We Change To Motivate Them?
Did you lose a student this year?
I did.
It always hurts my heart to say, "I lost a student." I had earnest talks about "motivation" in my classroom with him. His parents and I had an earnest talk at conferences about "potential" and "motivation." They looked at me with concern, nodding seriously.
I lost him. More than that, I believe it's my fault.
So I'm the exciting, overly dramatic, nerd teacher. Most kids love my class, but I have a few....some challenging few....whom I don't reach. I believe I know why. It's me. As radical as I am. As challenging as my program is. As unique as my flipped curriculum is....I need to find ways to reach those gamer kids who would rather be playing Minecraft than learning how to use social networking. But don't they NEED to learn some things besides Minecraft or Skyrim? Of course. BUT IT'S HOW I REACH THEM THAT MATTERS. It's true. The student I lost because he quit trying for me will spend hours playing Minecraft, losing over and over again. That's what I have to tap into. That's what I have to do. I need to make what I do so engaging that students are willing to throw themselves at it over and over again until they learn or find success. I'll call it "Lemming Education." More than that, if we apply this concept to our entire curriculum, we can shake the world. I found this both inspirational and challenging. Watch it. Open your mind. Can we afford to lose any more students?
I cannot.
I did.
It always hurts my heart to say, "I lost a student." I had earnest talks about "motivation" in my classroom with him. His parents and I had an earnest talk at conferences about "potential" and "motivation." They looked at me with concern, nodding seriously.
I lost him. More than that, I believe it's my fault.
So I'm the exciting, overly dramatic, nerd teacher. Most kids love my class, but I have a few....some challenging few....whom I don't reach. I believe I know why. It's me. As radical as I am. As challenging as my program is. As unique as my flipped curriculum is....I need to find ways to reach those gamer kids who would rather be playing Minecraft than learning how to use social networking. But don't they NEED to learn some things besides Minecraft or Skyrim? Of course. BUT IT'S HOW I REACH THEM THAT MATTERS. It's true. The student I lost because he quit trying for me will spend hours playing Minecraft, losing over and over again. That's what I have to tap into. That's what I have to do. I need to make what I do so engaging that students are willing to throw themselves at it over and over again until they learn or find success. I'll call it "Lemming Education." More than that, if we apply this concept to our entire curriculum, we can shake the world. I found this both inspirational and challenging. Watch it. Open your mind. Can we afford to lose any more students?
I cannot.
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