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6 Motivation Techniques
Featured Author:
Joel
Joel is a band director in Texas. He began teaching in the 2002-2003 school year. His first two years were a self-described horrible failure. Though he knew lots of information, he did not have what it took to push him beyond that. He felt like an untapped reservoir of knowledge, with a bunch of students who didn’t like him, didn’t care what he knew, and usually liked to argue with him until they get their way.
That’s when everything changed. He resigned from that school district right before spring break and made it a personal mission to figure out how to be a great teacher.
Joel currently writes SoYouWantToTeach in an attempt to pass along his learnings to other teachers and future teachers.
More articles from this author:
Joel
“What are you doing to motivate students?”
I was talking with a friend this afternoon about her class. She is a second year teacher. She taught elementary last year and is teaching seventh grade this year. What a change! In the process of our conversation, I asked her, “what are you doing to motivate them?” She had no clue.
Why motivate?
Without motivation, your class is just another one block of time that the students have to suffer through. With motivation, you hear things like “hi, favorite teacher!” and “I love this class!” As a teacher, those are the kinds of things that we absolutely love to hear. They say that about half of all teachers stop teaching before their sixth year. I am on the home stretch or my fifth now. I would guess that most teachers who quit teaching do so because of the lack of these kinds of comments; they do so because they do not have enough motivated students.
Steps to motivating?
As I have written before, “Motivation comes from … loving what you do.” That is the crux of the issue. If you do not love what you do, then you cannot create blissful followers. So we now see some steps to successfully motivating people.
Without motivation, your class is just another one block of time that the students have to suffer through. With motivation, you hear things like “hi, favorite teacher!” and “I love this class!”
1. Love what you do
I cannot stress enough how essential it is to love what you do. This applies for everything in life. Dave Ramsey talks about it. Steve Jobs talks about it. Po Bronson talks about it. Andrew Wee talks about it. Success in any endeavor demands that you love doing what you are doing. If you don’t, and you don’t love the idea of doing it, then get out before you regret wasting time and wasting lives of children.
But what if you love the thought of teaching, but don’t enjoy teaching? If this is the case, then there is still hope for you. Stick it out. Before I started my first year, I was given the advice by a friend that when I accept my first job, I should make a mental commitment to myself that I will be there are least three years. This allows me to work toward long-range goals and respond to incidents accordingly rather than just reacting in a self-centered kind of way.
2. Emanate passion
Passion is defined as the trait of being intensely emotional. You must be intensely emotional about children, about teaching, and especially about teaching children. If you are, then they will feed off of that energy.
kimtaylor
about 1 month ago
268 comments
I agree with the last two points most of all. Start a project, and make a plan. That, in my opinion, is the best way to dig ones self out of a slump. If one wallows in the depression with out even looking for a way out that depression with last until something external changes.
If we focus on the internal causes, and solutions, for our own state of mind we can take more control over that state and begin to improve it.
Sometimes our external reality has to change as well, but if we make a solid plan to change our situation that act alone will start the long climb out of the doldrums.
travel accessories
paulaflawson
4 months ago
6 comments
Your 5th book reccommendation is interesting. Why did you suggest a book on Christian missionary work?
shaajo1967
5 months ago
2 comments
This is a great article.Itry to maintain a balance between strictness and being nice . Last year I allowed my students to kiss me on Kiss Day. They loved it . Ihad to teach class V students letter writing. They had never written a letter before. I asked them each to write to me . I received some lovely letters
Danimal
5 months ago
40 comments
I have to say that I love this article. I also liked #4, stop being selfish. I have a friend that is a TA and one of the students used to say, "I hate you!" The friend had a hard time brushing it off. Infact, the TA got mad. I had a student say that to me once, my reply was, "Bummer for you."
Classroom management has a lot to do with success. I will continue to educate myself to help my students.
jannette
6 months ago
2 comments
" This article is a great help for me as new teacher. It gives inspiration to keep on the track of my desire. Reading this would serve as my shield in coping the odds in this profession. And my tool in becoming an effective in this field of profession. I am grateful for this."
dad001
7 months ago
26 comments
I'm happy to see an article by a fellow music teacher. I am currently student teaching and find problems motivating my older elementary students. They're too old for a lot of elementary curriculum (mostly the cheesy songs) but not read to tackle secondary concepts. The article gave me some insight into how I might be part of the solution. I sometimes dread my fourth grade classes, but reading this made me realize that I need to smile more, I need to joke, I need to let them have fun while still guiding them through the learning process!
Melissa
7 months ago
22 comments
The most motivating activity in which I engage is going to conferences. Attending these conferences allow me to network with other teachers of the same subject matter (I am a music teacher too). I learn from teachers that have been doing this for much longer than myself and I get to learn from their mistakes and successes. Every year I come back to school from a conference, I am buzzing with ideas and want to implement them right away. I call conferences "charging my batteries."
Also, just as it is important to be prepared, there must be a balance between preparedness and burn-out. My principal has the phrase "sharpen your saw." You NEED to get away from school thoughts and give yourself downtime. I always come back to school with a fresh approach if I have taken the time for myself.
dhastings
7 months ago
210 comments
I'm not motivated to read those books.