How to Motivate Students to be Excellent
Research shares human traits as (1) intuitive (2) self-centered (3) emotional (4) social (5) MOTIVATED and (6) hopeful. If humans have these traits in common, is it not logical to infer that many students may be capable of learning better in school if they focused more on their human traits rather than focused unknowingly on identified misconceptions about who they are and how they learn?
Student data claim many students are floundering in school, and many reasons abound; most specifically mentioned as culprits of the floundering are economics, deprivation, parentage, apathy, and ignorance.
However, is it possible that some students are capable of passing school tests yet lack only stimulation from their higher selves? In other words, is it possible that with a virtuous curriculum, instruction that recognizes human traits, that students’ interests in school would improve?
If students naturally embraced their innate abilities to learn, they would most likely accept the challenge to extend their best—academically and behaviorally. Long time studies posit that the brain underlies the mental capacity to learn, to create, to think, and to utter thoughts others have never considered. A person’s mind is all—By naturally learning and testing inwardly, research statistics would sing a different lyric and orchestrate a milder, instrumental tone when assessing students’ abilities to learn.
Therefore, instead of blaming, criticizing, stereotyping, and denying, begin instructing virtuous lessons that will remind students of their inner excellence and allow them to bring forth the excellence that lies within their souls. In this manner, students will use their human traits to reason, to solve problems, and to manifest an improved learning experience and embrace deserving school experiences that await them.
To ameliorate a school’s curriculum to better reach students, the strategies below will magnify how students may use their human traits to succeed academically in school:
(1) To gain students’ respect, prepare yourself as teacher to be a professional in dress, in subject content, and in classroom and student management (self-centered).
(2) To impress students, learn who students are—background. This way, you will have a better map to use to decide directions to instruct your students (social).
(3) To delight students, build a relationship with students based on trust and leadership, for it is “the way” (intuitive: social).
(4) To touch the students’ souls, introduce the Virtues—prudence, diligence, fortitude, humility, patience, and kindness, etc. Create virtues as instructional, daily assignments (intuitive).
(5) To prepare students for standardized tests, purposely teach them reading strategies, and teach overall learning strategies every-single-day (motivated).
(6) To appropriately recognize students, reward students for their class participation to help keep them motivated to learn (motivated).
(7) To validate students’ efforts, give them passing grades (self-centered).
(8) To nurture students as individuals, compliment their learning where appropriate, and reprove their mistakes privately with constructive ideas for them to improve (self-centered).
(9) To connect with students, remain in contact with their parents by delivering good news to their parents and by asking parents for support of their children (social).
10) Encourage students everyday—just because (emotional: motivated).
Cynthia Mathews, Ed.D.