October Sky: Motivational Movement
By Stacia Roth
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
June 11, 2009
I think that motivation is the key ingredient in teaching and learning. Watching the movie in class brought so many issues in motivation to the table when we had a class discussion. Motivation is the reason behind our behavior. In the movie, Homer’s motivation to pursue his passion in rockets can be attributed to a number of things. I think that his strong will to get away from mining and the life he was forced to grow up in was a major motivational factor. I also think the lack of recognition from his father throughout his life also motivated Homer to prove himself and be noticed for something other than mining or football. Homer’s teacher, Ms. Reilly also motivated him because she encouraged him to take action and believed in his potential. While most of these factors could have caused Homer to be de-motivated and accept his destiny in life and status in the family, they in fact were used in a positive movement to change course and do better.
As a future educator I will be faced with many stories of students with discouraging and de-motivating circumstances in their lives. I not only have to motivate these students to learn, but also motivate them to do better than what they believe their predisposed fate holds. Often times teacher’s focus on what they are doing in the classroom and forget the important roles that family life and social status plays in their student’s lives. It is commendable and necessary to motivate students to learn subject matter and make great effort to get them excited about school. However, it is equally as important to make personal connections with students and learn about who they are, where they are coming from, and where they are expected to go. The student who comes from a working class family and has grown up to believe that they are destined to do what his/her father or mother do may not be as easily motivated to learn something that has no relevance to them. It is crucial to make goals reachable and relevant in order to ignite and maintain motivation.
We have to always remember to take the time to know our students and find out what will really motivate them, not only to learn what we need to teach them, but also to have dreams and goals and aspirations to go further. It is not enough to make a general “stab” at motivating our students to learn. It takes careful design that requires digging deeper into our student’s thoughts, perceptions, experiences, and preconceived notions. If Homer didn’t perceive his undesirable circumstances as a motivating force and display an interest to break out of the cycle, would Ms. Reilly have encouraged him to find his own way? Would she have maintained the expectation that his destiny held or would she still have planted the seed in his mind of alternative avenues in life?
Long Island University, C. W. Post
June 11, 2009
I think that motivation is the key ingredient in teaching and learning. Watching the movie in class brought so many issues in motivation to the table when we had a class discussion. Motivation is the reason behind our behavior. In the movie, Homer’s motivation to pursue his passion in rockets can be attributed to a number of things. I think that his strong will to get away from mining and the life he was forced to grow up in was a major motivational factor. I also think the lack of recognition from his father throughout his life also motivated Homer to prove himself and be noticed for something other than mining or football. Homer’s teacher, Ms. Reilly also motivated him because she encouraged him to take action and believed in his potential. While most of these factors could have caused Homer to be de-motivated and accept his destiny in life and status in the family, they in fact were used in a positive movement to change course and do better.
As a future educator I will be faced with many stories of students with discouraging and de-motivating circumstances in their lives. I not only have to motivate these students to learn, but also motivate them to do better than what they believe their predisposed fate holds. Often times teacher’s focus on what they are doing in the classroom and forget the important roles that family life and social status plays in their student’s lives. It is commendable and necessary to motivate students to learn subject matter and make great effort to get them excited about school. However, it is equally as important to make personal connections with students and learn about who they are, where they are coming from, and where they are expected to go. The student who comes from a working class family and has grown up to believe that they are destined to do what his/her father or mother do may not be as easily motivated to learn something that has no relevance to them. It is crucial to make goals reachable and relevant in order to ignite and maintain motivation.
We have to always remember to take the time to know our students and find out what will really motivate them, not only to learn what we need to teach them, but also to have dreams and goals and aspirations to go further. It is not enough to make a general “stab” at motivating our students to learn. It takes careful design that requires digging deeper into our student’s thoughts, perceptions, experiences, and preconceived notions. If Homer didn’t perceive his undesirable circumstances as a motivating force and display an interest to break out of the cycle, would Ms. Reilly have encouraged him to find his own way? Would she have maintained the expectation that his destiny held or would she still have planted the seed in his mind of alternative avenues in life?
0 comments:
Post a Comment