by Rachel F.
Motivation is in everyone, without it nothing would ever get done. Some individuals however will strive for higher goals then the rest of society and will push themselves to complete work to an absolute best. Motivation is what drives these individuals. If you were to walk into a class of high school students and look at the work they are doing it is clear that some kids within the school system lack the motivation to complete academic work.
To graduate from Fredericton high school all students need to meet the same requirements, meeting these requirements to graduate is the goal of most students. For some students just passing the class is not enough. “ I want to reach a high academic average, so that I have options as to what university I can go to, and hopefully receive scholarships,” said Ashley Corbett a grade twelve student at Fredericton High School. This is a common goal among high school students, achieve good grades so that you can go to a good university and eventually get a good job.
Every person at some point in their life will set themselves goals. Setting goals however is driven by motivation, if a person is not motivated to accomplish a task they will not set themselves goals. Within the grade ten-curriculum goal setting is taught in the mandatory health class. This is potentially a good thing, however it only applies to the students who are motivated enough to use the goal setting techniques. A teacher can explain goals and teach goal setting techniques as much as they want, this however will only be beneficial to some of the students. How does a teacher make certain that they will have motivated students? Can you teach high school students a personality trait such as motivation? These are questions that puzzle educators.
According to http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motivation.html Educational psychology has identified two different classifications of motivation. Which are intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from the person’s own interests. If someone receives enjoyment from a task they will be motivated to continue with the activity. Intrinsic motivation explains why some students will only be motivated to do work in the classes that they have an interest in.“ I am not motivated in school because I am not interested in what we are doing,” said Phoebe Marmura Brown a grade twelve high school student at Fredericton high school.
Extrinsic motivation is when a person is motivated to work hard for a specific outcome. A student who does not enjoy their classes but still completes the work, because they want a high academic average is an example of extrinsic motivation. “ I don’t like all of my classes but I still stay motivated to do the work because I want to go to university,” said Ashley Corbett.
The teacher in the classroom can influence motivation. “ I don’t think that a teacher should be responsible to motivate their students, but should want to,” said Phoebe Marmura Brown. If intrinsic motivation is based on the person’s interest, then a lively lesson plan could catch student’s attention. “I don’t think that teachers should feel the need to entertain their class,” said Ashley Corbett. Mary Radford a guidance counselor at Fredericton high school said that teachers should be excited and interested in what they are teaching, so that students will then be more engaged in what they are learning.
A teacher who is passionate about what they are teaching will generally have students who will want to learn from them. A teaching style that engages the students and uses multiple techniques will result in a wider range of students that are interested in the class. If a teacher uses multiple was of assessments a wider range of students will succeed. A teacher could also give the students choice in what they are doing so that the class becomes more invested in the class.
Interest is easier to implement on someone when the topic has an effect on the person. To have students motivated they should also be interested in the work, which means that they need to feel an attachment to the work they are doing and the school they are in. Getting high school students involved in their school is difficult because many students don’t want to be. “ I think that if my classes where ones that I was interested in then I would work harder, especially in grades nine to eleven,” Said Phoebe Marmura Brown. Having a broader range of classes that varies in teaching styles would be one way to get high school students invested in what they are learning.
Regardless of teaching methods there is currently students who are motivated and some that are not at all. Is motivation something that children develop from their parents? According to http://giftedkids.about.com/od/ nurturinggiftsandtalents/tp/motivate.htm parents can develop motivation in their children. And in high school students is it parental pressure that motivates students to achieve high marks? “ I don’t believe that my parents have a big influence on how hard I work in school, maybe they don’t push me though because I already work hard in all of my classes,” said Ashley Corbett. Pressuring high school students does not seem to be an effective way to motivate students to achieve high grades. Intrinsic motivation is something that everyone has because everyone has interests and enjoys certain activities. Extrinsic motivation however is a trait that not everyone has. A person with extrinsic motivation, has the ability to see further than immediate satisfaction and thinks of the overall outcome. This a trait that extremely motivated people have, they will set goals for themselves and accomplish them no matter how much they dislike the work to ensure a specific result.
Students who are not motivated in school may just not have extrinsic motivation. “I am not too concerned with my school work because school work does not have an effect on what I want to do in my life,” said Phoebe Marmura Brown. Many students say that they are not interested in schoolwork may feel differently if they had a wider range of classes to chose from or were taught in multiple ways.
The school system today does not help to encourage the students who do not have the motivation to work hard in school. Students who accomplish high averages and reach their goals receive rewards and recognition from the school. Their recognition is well deserved, however there is not as much done to help struggling students. Just getting them through grad twelve may not be enough. A teacher or principal cannot force a student to come to school but they can give them help to develop extrinsic motivation and goal setting techniques.
Motivation is something that does and will continue to effect students past high school. It is a valuable characteristic to be able to push yourself to work hard and accomplish goals. Some students are more motivated than other, which does not mean that they will be more successful; especially once students are out of the school system. Although beneficial, motivation is not necessary for everyone.
Rachel F. is a Grade 12 student of Fredericton High School.
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