How do I motivate high school kids?

[John Picard]

If (all) parents had to pay to send their children to school, and by that I mean write out a check every month rather than the money coming out of property taxes, you can be certain the teacher wouldn't have to try to motivate the students.

That's incredibly far from the truth.

Right. Ask anyone who has ever attended a private school that. And yes, I attended private school from grade 2 through grade 12. Private schools have the luxury of telling students that if the don't perform, then they're out the door. Mom and dad will become more responsive to the complaints of the teacher and get onto the kid, rather than arguing that the teacher is the problem.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

Could you do the 'reverse psychology' thing and ask them for 3 things they would do if someone was ignoring them? ~ at least you'd get some homework

 

[Starbreaker]

That sucks. That's why I hated high school. I wanted to learn and better myself, but I was surrounded by people who didn't ever do any of the work but then got A's because they played football or did an "extra credit" assignment at the end of the semester that was 100% of their grade or something ridiculous.

 

[May 20]

This is one of many reasons that I left the classroom and have so far resisted going back.

Five years is too far out for most teenagers to imagine. Try asking them where they think they will be one year from now. The stand-up comedy routine could be good, too.

One thing I had good luck with was retelling a story in a different voice. I had my sophomores listen to Andy Griffith tell 'Romeo and Juliet' in his Southern voice (which is a hoot, btw), then I had them tell 'Macbeth' in an assumed voice. So, maybe there's something to work with.

But, if they aren't doing the work, they don't deserve to pass. I understand that you're under the gun, too. As far as homework is concerned, is there any way to eliminate homework from the curriculum? Grade them only on classwork and speeches, maybe?

 

[sidious618]

If (all) parents had to pay to send their children to school, and by that I mean write out a check every month rather than the money coming out of property taxes, you can be certain the teacher wouldn't have to try to motivate the students.

That's incredibly far from the truth.

Right. Ask anyone who has ever attended a private school that.

I did and I graduated four years ago. You're wrong. A lot of them are NOT motivated.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I once had a really terrific Social Studies (Geography and History) teacher. The reason that he was so good is that he was able to make children enjoy learning.

Once he said we had to do a major research project in teams of four. We were to pick a subject and run it by him. My group looked at quite a few topics but in the end they took one of my suggestions to him which was "The History of Colour". My group put so much effort into this because the topic was novel and interesting. We also learnt a lot about cultures and history by doing it.

"Where will you be in five years?"

If a child has low self-esteem I would think that this is a very hard question for them to answer. If I was a teacher I would invent a range of interesting characters and asked the children (as a group) to decide where those characters would be a 5 years time. I would then suggest that they pick their favourite character and think of ways that they could improve that character's future. Let them present their character future in a fun way for them i.e some kids might like to produce a graphic novel etc.

Of course, maybe the curriculum that you have to follow won't allow this.

 

[ancientone51]

First, thanks for the input and ideas.

Some of them don't do the work in class, either.

I have a panel speech thing with the research that they do later...may offer some of the other ideas in connection to that.

One of my "things" is that they need to learn to do things they don't necessarily love to do as that will happen in the real world.

I spent four years in the USAF and about 8 more kicking around other jobs before I got to teaching. I know how tough it will be for these with too much self esteem (good or bad) and not enough pride or self starting skills.

Please, keep it coming. I can make a great omlet and the more ingredieants I have, the better I can do.

 

[Joshua Howard]

Do you teach them how to diagram a sentence, or do you teach them how to write? Do you teach them dates and periods, or do you teach them things that they care about? Humans need a constant to use as a reference point.

There is only one way to make them learn. You have to find out what they are passionate about, and then find a way to link their passion to the relevant things that they need to learn.

Chances are, the fellow who wants to rule the world won't have a lot of interest in hearing about the love affairs of some ancient King; but start talking to him about dictators and panzers, and he'll probably perk right up.

Naturally, most of your students - like most people - will go through class as they go through life; without any strong drive. You can't help them, so it is best just to let them float along. They will eventually find places in the lower tiers of society and be content to play their parts there.

Your duty is to the few, possibly even the one - if any - who are actually extra ordinary. You need to find the ones that obviously find life interesting, and make their lives even more interesting.

A person who reads one page and remembers everything on it for their whole life is much more knowledgeable than the person who reads all the text of ten volumes and remembers none of it in future years.

I never went to formal school, and I am probably almost young enough to be one of your students. If it is any proof of my point however, I'm a fluent writer and know more about history than most; and that isn't because of what somebody taught me. It is because I retained the things that really interested me in a personal way.

If you have never watched the film "Goodbye Mr. Chips", you should do so. I am sure that you would find it to be relevant and encouraging. Good luck.

 

[Galactus]

this is why i don't anymore. I would fail them and dare the administration to fire me. If they did I would sue. Simple as that.

 

[Kelthaz]

It's called Communication Applications (Speech) class and is meant to give them the skills to communicate in the real world. We cover listening, non verbal, job interview etc

So you're teaching a really boring class to a bunch of teenagers that know they're going to pass regardless of how little work they do and you're surprised they're not motivated?

 

[Triskelion]

The admin wants no responsibility in the matter. The kids want no responsibility in the matter. And they both need a scapegoat in the teacher. Point everywhere but at their actual involvement.

It's just a small step for the admin to lower the bar and make failure a pass for the whole class, regardless of what the teacher records. I've seen that, too. It would be understandable for a teacher to become cynical in that situation.

If they want education to be entertaining, pop in a DVD every day. That way they can still learn how to contribute to society - by being good little mindless consumers.

Roller skates, guitars, gold stars and snickers bars. "Ha ha, your education is a comedy."

Hang in there!

 

[Locutus of Bored]

When you ask them questions in class, do they at least have the level of respect to respond to you with an answer then? If so, perhaps you should transition away from homework assignments and work where you have to trust them to complete the assignment on their own, and instead take a more direct approach.

If they are supposed to learn job interview skills, have them fill out a job application in class and then choose certain students at random to sit down with you in front of the class and give an interview. Follow-up with questions to the other students in the class about what the student giving the interview did right and wrong in order to test their listening skills. You could do the same with college applications.

Tying into your "where do you plan to be in five years" question, perhaps have them at least specify if they'd like to go to college, enter the workforce directly, join the military, or some other option, and then make them fill out real applications to that end (though they don't have to submit them yet obviously). Tell them what they should expect in each of those pursuits, thus tailoring things to their specific needs or desires. Maybe that will make them more interested.

On the show 'Lie to Me,' they do some great segments where they demonstrate non-verbal communication using examples from politics and the media. Perhaps you can find some YouTube clips to play to do the same thing. By showing well-known real world examples of the type of body language and facial expressions you're teaching them about, they might get more interested in the subject, whereas an abstract discussion might not impress them.

Hang in there, and good luck.

 

[Major Chord]

Being a high school student myself, even though I don't share the attitude of your students, I can understand it. Are they seniors? If so, that may contribute to some of the problem. They just want to get out of there (even the more studious ones), and prefer to have a choice in the classes they take...so a class that isn't the most interesting subject in the world will probably be a bit frustrating to them.

I'd suggest restructuring your grading a bit so that homework doesn't count as much. I had one teacher who started everyone at a 65% at the beginning of each marking period (that's the pass/fail mark here...not sure what it is where you are), and had us earn our grade. The 65% was automatically given just for being present in class, and also counted as basic class participation. Most homework also counted as class participation on top of that 65%. If it was completed when checked, the student got the participation credit (I think it was 5 points or something), and if it was incomplete, they got nothing. Tests counted heavily, however, we spent plenty of time in class preparing for each test, so grades were normally good.

Our grade was computed out of a total amount of points...so there was, perhaps, 500 points in each marking period, 325 of those were the baseline participation, and the rest were comprised of other assignments. There's the 5 point apiece homework assignments, 10-20 point apiece quizzes, and tests were between 30 and 50 points. Since each assignment just contributed to the total point pool, failing a quiz, or even a test, wouldn't totally kill the overall grade for the marking period.

It seems like you don't want to just give these kids a free ride, which is understandable, so perhaps you could modify this system to make the baseline participation 50% of the overall grade, so that they actually have to do something to pass...but it isn't a whole lot of work. Those that choose to do the bare minimum will get a shit grade, but they will still pass.

Just my $0.02. Good luck!

 

[Jetfire]

http://www.responsibilityproject.co...ts_C=Education_G=CashForGrades_Bribes_M=broad

I don't agree with it.

 

[Trekker4747]

I say flash a boob, but I'm in a mood right now.

 

[Australis]

Comedy. You learn something better if it's associated with humour.

Okay, the following may be a bit old for your students, but I hope you'll see where I'm coming from. The basis of the class is: communication is important. Yes? I've been rewatching 'The West Wing', and there's an ep where the Deputy Communications Director has to take a press briefing. Part way through someone asks a question which he replies a little sarcastically to by saying the President has "a secret plan". The press are all over this like white on rice, and hammer him for another half an hour looking for details about this secret plan. For a Communications Director... he failed badly. Didn't understand how the briefing worked, didn't understand how sarcasm is taken (literally). I should add I know TWW might not play well in Texas, but I digress.

Now, that's a fictional example, but it does have some humour behind it, as well as some hubris. You could then discuss real-life examples where things are said in the media and have to be refuted or corrected, and maybe attach some cartoons to them, if it's a political issue (someone somewhere will do a cartoon).

Speaking of cartoons, as usual I refer back to Larry Gonick's Cartoon Histories. They convey history in a clear if abbreviated manner, which is also very funny and entertaining for the teen reader (mainly because, alongside the jokes, they're filled with sex, violence, murder and nudity). There may be a class there: how can a guy take a 'dry' subject, and make people want to read it? Use a few examples from this series.

Hope that helps.

The one thing you haven't said is, how smart are these kids? Or maybe a fairer question is, how able are these kids at absorbing stuff?

 

[Sephiroth]

strippers and beer?

but seriously, swap your routine up a bit, try to make the class interesting

 

[ancientone51]

Thanks again for all the advice.

I'll work in what I can. While I'm a damn good actress I am lousy at improve and work best from a script. Obviously mine is out dated.

They are all ranges of ability and interests. It's a hodge-podge of everything, that just makes it trickier.

Keep the ideas coming. Thanks again.

 

[Jetfire]

I would suggest a pizza party every 9 weeks for the top kids in your classes...but that might come of as unfair in some how get ruined. When I was in HS myself and another student were the only ones to maintain an 100+ average for the year and the teacher got us pizza and soda and we where aloud to bring 1 friend a each to celebrate...that was cool

 

[Major Chord]

I like the pizza party idea. Do you teach multiple classes of the same subject ancient? Why not throw a pizza party for the class that maintains the highest class average by the end of the marking period. Order a sheet pizza...buy a few litres of Coke...ask the winning class to bring in what ever other snacks they want. Might motivate them. Food and a day off are always good motivators.