It’s that time of the year, again, at least in Australia, when students are in the home stretch and heading for their final exams. IT’s also the time of year when many teachers really begin to express concerns about their students – either for the level of ability, or for their motivation.
I’m not going to write about level of ability – I’m not sure how relevant that is at the end of 13 years of schooling, as you would hope that provisions have been made and students have been entered into courses and subjects that allow them every opportunity to succeed, but motivation is something that I find myself talking a lot about at this time of the year.
There are lots of things that teachers can’t really address: level of ability is one of them, but also things like the socioeconomic status of students, the support their parents provide, the distances students travel, the number of students in the class and so on. Sometimes, when you compile a list like that, it’s easier to focus on what students are capable of influencing.
I say influencing, because I don’t think that anything a teacher ever does operates in isolation. So, what kinds of things are there that teachers can do that will positively influence their children? One of these is motivation… well, sort of. It is true that most motivation for adults needs to be intrinsic, rather than extrinsic, but that’s not completely true for adolescents. Indeed, one of the key things that we do, as educators, is help ‘form’ young people into the adults that they will become. Is that old-fashioned? Perhaps, but I still think a strong relationship with a number of adults will more surely encourage a young person to be a positive influence on their environment than the absence of such relationships.
So, teachers have a responsibility to motivate students. That sounds horrible – I can see people imagining people being whipped because hey are not complying, but the reality is more complex than that. Teachers need to have the kind of relationship with their students that a coach might have with a young sportsperson – with one eye on the long game. So what can teachers do?
1. Link work to real world experiences and the future – where possible.
2. Encourage a culture where we work hard in the present for the future.
3. Share your enthusiasm. And if you’re not enthusiastic, manufacture it.
4. Break down the walls between schools and community.
5. Offer choice.