Student happiness and motivation are so vitally important that without them, kids simply don’t want to learn.
If kids don’t want to learn, then they won’t learn. It’s that simple.
I remember reaching a point in my ‘A’ – Level studies at 17-years-old when I just didn’t perform well in Chemistry class. I was convinced that the teacher didn’t ‘like’ me, and her brutal critiques (like the time when I broke a beaker by heating it up directly with a Bunsen Burner), were enough to make me feel dejected and disinterested.
“Are you thick?” she said, as the glass bottom of the beaker smashed.
Now I can respond: “No, you were the thick one. You didn’t demonstrate the method before we all got to work on the practical. You just gave us the sheet and told us to get on with it, whilst you did some marking or something. We also didn’t receive enough practical training in high school in general. You’re lucky that nobody got hurt because then you would have been in serious trouble.”
Phew. That’s given me some closure after all these years. I can say those words with conviction today: I’m a chemistry teacher.
Keeping students motivated and ‘on your side’ is a multi-faceted, complex and full-time job in itself. However, it’s a lot of fun and it pays a lot of dividends: students get better grades and are better prepared for life at the end of their time at school.
I’ve made a video on the subject matter here:
This article plus the above video compliment each other well and will provide you with an array of powerful techniques to keep your students’ focus, well: focused!
Don’t let your students hold grudges against you for years because of silly little behavioural mistakes on your part. Let’s learn how to keep our students determined, focused and motivated!
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