Motivational Monday

The important thing is not so muchthat every child should be taught,

as that every child should be given the wish to learn.

-John Lubbock

Last week during Motivational Monday, Jen, at A Teacher's Life left us with this quote. I commented that over anything that is a struggle for me as a teacher. I know what to do when behavioral concerns arise, I have a variety of options. I am concerned though when a student doesn't come to school with a desire to learn. In the first grade this is just sad to me. I can understand why they didn't want to learn when they were in the fifth grade, they had had years of experience with failure. But what about the first grade? My only conclusion, a home that doesn't support or push the student towards education.

My comment for Jen was this, "What can we do to help those students that don't wish to learn?"

I then said that I needed to think on this, here are the thoughts that I came up with:

-Foster a trusting community.

-Be a teacher that doesn't argue with children. Be a teacher that states their expectations clearly.

- Be someone they can trust, not someone that is unpredictable.

- Show your love of learning, and show them you can learn something from them.

- Be in constant contact with their parents even if you drive them nuts. Kids need to know that you and their parents are communicating.

- Find out their interests and make them look important in front of their peers.

Got any other advice? We could sure use some thoughts about this topic. Below you will find a quote from Obama's book. My friend Mandy read it over the summer and left it at her blog. It is haunting to think about...

"When their eyes stop laughing. Their throats can still make the sound, but if you look at their eyes, you can see they've shut off something inside."

-Dr. Martha Collier

An excerpt taken from Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance