Motivation Is the Foundation for Your Child’s Success
Many parents are in disbelief when their child underachieves at school, especially if they did well throughout their previous school years and then “out of nowhere” their grades take a turn for the worse. There could be a myriad of explanations for why a child lacks motivation in specific areas of life, including:
- Very high level of difficulty in the subject matter
- Low level of interest
- Boring or mean teacher
- Being smart is unpopular among peers
- Feeling of rejection
- Feeling of boredom
- Social distraction
- Unchallenging academic material
Each child possesses her/his own unique motivations and what one child may find to be motivating in school achievement, another discovers in musical accomplishment and yet another realizes in athletic performance. But how can you help bring forth your child’s “spark for life” so he feels motivated to do well in school — because he truly wants to?
First off, kids nowadays are contending with so many things that are competing for their attention: social media, peer groups, sports, etc…As a public school teacher, I have formulated specific strategies for helping children get motivated to achieve at school. I have found these ten successful strategies very useful in helping excite children to want to learn and live up to their potential.
Related: Help Motivate Your Kids With This Powerful Tool [1]
1. Expose a child to new things.
– When children see something new or different, this piques their curiosity and increases their motivation to learn.
Examples: Taking a trip to the library to do some research, going outside to do some field work, changing up the arrangement of the class for different activities
– If it is a potentially boring topic and/or a difficult concept to grasp, I use at least three completely different methods of instruction to teach the same concept. Presenting something already learned in a new way can increase interest levels such as reading from the textbook, showing a video, playing an interactive game on the Smart Board, etc.
2. Foster a child’s interest in the classroom.
– The child brings in an extra credit assignment on something interesting and related to the topic and presents it to the class.
– Have available resources for the student to explore a topic of interest further.
– Take children on a virtual or real field trip to learn more.
3. Use short-term rewards as an incentive for achievement.
– Offer a game day if homework is complete.
– Play a game with the students during or after school.
– Credit a child effort points for improvement.
– Recognize children in different school related areas: character, participation, highest test scores, highest grade point average, most improved, etc.
4. Make connections to real-life applications.
– Ask questions applicable such as: “How does this affect you?” “What would happen without this?” “How has this shaped society?” “What would you do in that situation?”
– Show how the concepts influence them either directly or indirectly.
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5. Use praise to encourage a child’s efforts.
– Use positive comments: “Good job!”, “Your hard work pays off!”, “I see great improvement. Keep going!”, “I am proud of you!
– Avoid negative comments: “Can’t you be more like your brother/sister?”
6. Parents can ask their child to teach them about the topic.
– You can ask, “What did you learn today at school? Can you please explain that concept for me?”
– Children can teach not only verbally, but also through other authentic expressions such as art, music, poetry, acting, and/or writing.
7. Turn a “boring/challenging concept” into a game or friendly competition.
– Create a song or a skit to learn the material.
– Research the topic and then have a court case/debate.
– Work in groups with friends to design a game or an activity.
– Play a review game with students where the winning team receives bonus points on the upcoming test.
8. Discuss the importance of a topic and how it relates to a child’s interests.
– Emphasize the importance to having an appreciation for all things in life. Show how certain things are specifically interrelated in this world.
– Each topic is unique and has its place in learning and understanding our world. My favorite line to spark student interest for the year is: “Science is everything…from the air you breathe…to the bus that brought you to school…to the sound waves hitting your ear drums and the oxygen molecules entering your body, while your heart is beating and the food from your breakfast is digesting….”
9. Encourage visualization of a topic.
– Use hands on, interactive multi-media to generate intrigue and better understand more abstract concepts.
– Design a short story using analogies to describe concepts.
– Create a mini-movie demonstrating concepts.
– Illustrate concepts through a slide show or poster presentation.
10. Challenge a child.
– A talented and gifted child who is not challenged may become disinterested and channel energies in a wasteful manner.
– Provide a child with additional resources to what he is learning in school.
– Hold expectations high and allow a child to express creativity and show off his/her skills.
For more information on empowering your child and assisting in their maturation and overall development: Check out Doug’s official website: www.doughaddad.com [3]
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Douglas Haddad, is a public school teacher, nutritionist and the author of parenting/child guidance book Save Your Kids…Now! The Revolutionary Guide To Helping Youth Conquer Today’s Challenges and co-author of Top Ten Tips For Tip Top Shape: Super Health Programs For All Professional Fields.
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This post originally appeared on our March/April 2014 Magazine [14]