Glance around your classroom, or house, or job. If you work with groups of kids, chances are you'll notice some things. - You will notice one kid picking his nose. Hard. If he's older, he may be trying to hide it. Under 10 years old and he is proudly showcasing his gold. Regardless, no nose … Continue reading Dear Kill-Joy, Take a Breather.
NOPE! N.O.P.E. I refuse. I won't. I don't want to. I can't. These are the words we teachers loathe to hear, yet seem to hear on the daily. Lack of motivation (amotivation) is one of our greatest plagues on the individual, educational, and societal level. What contexts cause it? And, is there anything we … Continue reading Four-Horsemen of the Motivational Apocalypse
Picture an average teenage boy. Probably smells like stale sweat doused in a layer of Axe Body Spray. Atrocious haircut. Eyes glazed by the flashing images of Call of Duty blaring from the screen. Poster child of "whatever." His parents, not wanting to raise a child into an adult pile of mud, want to see … Continue reading Searching for Sasquatch: Why unmotivated people don’t exist
Hundreds of yawning, red-eyed students are crammed in pairs, stretching the school gym. A dull hum, like distant locusts, murmurs the space as pencils scratch hundreds of little bubbles. It's state-test day, and there is an air of anxiety among more than just the students. We teachers have one thought: "How are they going to … Continue reading The “L” Word: Education’s greatest disease (and no, it’s not Lupus)
It's 4 a.m. I've struggled for the last hour to go to sleep. But, I can't. Yet again, I am tossing and turning, unable to shut down my brain. Why? Because I am stressed about my students. Really stressed. I'm so stressed that I can only think to write down what I really want to … Continue reading What Students Really Need to Hear
For well over three years, I've been wanting to blog regularly. It makes sense because I love to share ideas, I have a passion for Language Arts, and – true to my Millenial Generation-form – my ego needs the boosting that only social media can massage. Sure, I have posted a few times here and … Continue reading Why I can’t wait to fail
Boys are animals. Plain and simple. Anyone who believes otherwise has clearly never worked with the teenage variety of the so-called male species, nor seen them in their "raw" form. What's fascinating to me, though, is that these animals are experiencing what many might call a crisis: Boys are failing academically at a growing rate … Continue reading Boys will be boys . . . without jobs.
Henry Rollins is pretty bad ace -- not solely because he rocks hard; he is one of those individuals who embodies life-long learning, a concept I am more and more convinced is the critical factor in personal and professional success. Here, he lays out thoughts worth listening to: http://bigthink.com/big-think-tv/henry-rollins-education-will-restore-a-vigorous-democracy Here's what I gain from this … Continue reading How do we teach rock stars?
“I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will … Continue reading Is that a nunchuck in your pocket, or are you just happy to goal set?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
A sampling of Daniel Pink's synthesis of the research on motivation creates SO many questions and considerations for education -- at the individual, classroom, and district-wide level. Many thoughts to come about this . . .
