Slice of Life is sponsored every Tuesday by Stacey and Ruth from Two Writing Teachers
Motivation is something I think a lot about. What motivates
us? What motivates my students? What do you do when motivation is gone? How do
I motivate myself?
A few years ago I read Todd Whitaker’s book What Great Teachers Do Differently. This past year I was assigned his book geared
towards principals. Both books are strikingly similar in relation to praise and
motivation. He says praise needs to be, “authentic, specific, immediate, clean,
and private.” I think all too often I have fallen back on the ease of
complimenting my entire class, telling them I appreciate them. Or writing “good
job” on top of their papers. Really, this does not help to motivate my
students. Getting to know them, taking an interest in their lives, telling them
when you see them going above and beyond – that is what is the key. The problem
with that? It takes time, just like anything worthwhile. I need to find the
time again.
And sometimes I need to find the motivation for myself. Not
for work, necessarily. I’m pretty driven there. I need to find the motivation
to take care of myself. To make exercise, eating right, getting enough sleep a
priority. I’ve begun this year putting exercise in the forefront. I’m treading
carefully, I tend to get burnt out if I jump into something and overdo it so
I’m aiming for some type of exercise every other day. My mind tries to tell me
that I don’t have the time, I can just get caught up tomorrow, but I’ve found
what motivates me. I listen to podcasts. I know – not your typical running type
of music – but it works for me. I love Katie Davis’s podcasts about Kid Lit. I
enjoy listening to Franki Sibberson on her Choice Literacy podcasts. And Franki
is also another part of my motivation; I know I am not alone on this journey.
She is running too and I’ll be seeing her in five short months. I want to run
in a crazy Team Sparkle skirt at our conference this summer. So, I jump on the
treadmill.
Thinking about myself and what motivates me to run, I think
back to my students. Those hard to motivate kids that I can’t ever find that
carrot for. What gets me running? Someone to cheer me on. Something I love
waiting for me there. Gentle but reachable expectations. Someone who gives me
specific and private praise and names what I’m doing well. A good feeling about
what I’ve done. I need to ensure that the environment in my classroom is set up
to motivate my kids and for them to motivate themselves. With that, we can
reach our goals. 
