Introduction
The following is from a blog post by Dave Stuart, Jr.. Stuart is a high school English teacher who helps teachers do their work better through his website, books, and online courses for teachers on student motivation, time management, and classroom management.
Dave begins his article by asking the question: As we’re working to up our student motivation knowledge and skills, how do we not become demotivated ourselves? Here is his Top 10 list.
These 10 Things
Expect obstacles and problems and mishaps.
Approach all problems with student motivation as if they are logical. What happens if you assume that, were you that student, you would be presenting the same motivational profile as they are?
It’s not about you — you are a minor character in your students’ lives. You’re not even in the Cliffs Notes.
View student motivation issues as a puzzle. What if they were fun and interesting rather than exhausting and frustrating?
Promote vs. guarantee — one of them is our job, one is impossible. The difference between these two words is critical to us not going crazy.
Cultivate humble-boldness. It’s a thing. It’s important.
Take this class with a friend. And no, not just because misery loves company.
Decrease time spent with compulsive complainers. Heed Lewis’ warning — don’t become a walking, talking complaint. (Here’s an extended case against complaining.)
Do a post-mortem and then move on. After things go bad, write down what happened, why you think that happened, and what you can do differently next time. And then discipline yourself to move on.
Weed your garden. A journal helps.
Stuart, Dave. "10 Ways to Stay Motivated as You Work on Student Motivation." Dave Stuart, Jr. Blog, 12 Dec. 2019, https://davestuartjr.com/ video-10-ways-to-stay-motivated-as-you-work-on-student-motivation/.
Want More Dave?
This post is an introduction to the newly released free video-course for teachers called 10 Tips for Staying Motivated as a Teacher When Times are Tough. The titles of the 10 tips and videos are to the right.
You may also want to check out Dave’s book, These 6 Things: How to Focus Your Teaching on What Matters Most.
