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| I know, I know this is a movie, But I've tried to be as energetic as this in my own classroom. It works! so let loose! share the energy! |
There is a reason why I compare the unmotivated students with the crowds in a bad stand up comedy show. The jokes are like the motivation they need, the crowd is only responsive towards good jokes. We the teachers, are the comedian. We need to put up one hell of a good show and we can't blame the crowds when our jokes are lame.
The Motivated Student :
1) Self driven learning - Ask questions , understand where they need improving
2) Excellence work ethics - Organ
5ized and works are done in time.
3) Ambitious - Set long term goals and committed to achieve it.
4)Active in and outside of school
The Unmotivated Student :
Total opposite of the
motivated students. Poor energy , poor concentration , as though they are
forced to be there (sadly they are forced to be there)
They are not the
problem. they are just victims of poor jokes. Solution to bad jokes? Improve
the jokes and improve those who deliver it. The teachers.
Learning and the
disconnection to the real world.
How do you feel if a
person tell you a joke that have been told by somebody else before. You respond
would be “keep smiling , laugh just to appreciate his effort….bleh..”
That is how our students
feel when being taught out of the text books, it’s boring and dull. Teachers! Keep
yourself updated to the latest discoveries in your field. Trust me , big bang
theories, images from the hubble telescope will feed your student imagination
and your classroom will be the highlight of the day for them.
Maybe too often that we are
mistaken by their lack of drive in the classroom as the lack of curiosity , if
a child can be excited by a new app on their phones, trust me, lack of curiosity
is the last problem you will face in a student.
So, how do we reduce the disconnection to the real world and arouse
their passion for knowledge?
1. Relate your lessons to the current mainstream
news.
Ask of their opinion and understanding of the situation. When we make their opinion matters,
indirectly they feel a sense of importance and will be more interested in
learning deeper into the subject.
2.
Deeper is better!
Show them topics beyond their current curriculums, something with
a “that is super cool” factor and how what they are learning at the moment will
lead them into.
3.
Leverage their ambition.
If there is one thing I realize in my time teaching is that, most
children/student have ambitions but they don’t really know in depth of the
career path they aspire to take. Relating the topics to the work scope of a
career they are interested in will definitely arouse their interest.
They key aspect in this
method is to have a teacher that is updated and naturally excited about a new
discovery and to transfer the excitement into the students. We force them to
take what we feel will benefit them in the long term but we too forget to make
the knowledge we teach them rational in their life.
Create curiosity when
advising students and they will surely listen, force them to swallow and they
spit it out when you leave. Ignite the fire inside them with your own fire. Be curious and never stop learning.
*This is the first part of many, I will update more soon
