During my first few years teaching I thought the best way to get those reluctant students to work was through motivation. As educators we often try different methods of motivating students. For example we may offer a piece of candy after completing an assignment or school bucks to be cashed in during a class auction. Though these methods can be useful Mike, Garth, and I would argue the true objective is to move beyond motivating students and towards inspiring students. If you are anything like me, you are thinking what’s the difference? At least I remember thinking that when Garth and I had our first conversation on this topic. The difference is this, when you motivate a student to learn they aren’t focused on the value of learning because they see the object as the reward. Thus we deprive them of being able to see the true value of hard work and learning. What happens when you take the reward away does the behavior continue? Probably not, but when we move away from offering these rewards and students are inspired to work on something they see the true value in learning. Below is an email I received on a Saturday afternoon along with my response to a student who I believe has truly been inspired to see the value in his education. He was not asked to work a head nor was he given any extra credit points for completing these tasks prior to their due date, and the best part about all of it... he would never expect extra credit points for his work. In fact he has asked me every day since what else can I do?
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