Motivation is not the problem

There is another article in The New York Times about the incredibly misguided incentive (pay-for-grades) program being implemented in some NYC schools in the fall.

What strikes me about this program is that it is a solution to the wrong problem.  This (in addition to merit pay for teachers) implies that motivation is the problem in our schools.  The students aren't motivated, so let's pay 'em.  The teachers aren't motivated, so let's pay 'em more. 

Motivation is not the problem.

Students want to learn.

Teachers want students to learn.

Dangling money in front of either or both parties is not going to help.  This is where people whose experience is in corporate America (Joel Klein) or economics (our newly minute Chief Officer of Equality,  Roland G. Fryer, who's the man behind the incentive program) show that they just don't get what education is all about.  It's not about money or profit.  Those of us involved in education realize that the techniques used to improve sales is not what is going to improve teaching and learning.

The problem is that our focus is completely wrong and getting more and more wrong as we go.  If you really want to help solve the education problems we are supposedly facing (problems which are not new by any means), the first step is to get rid of standardized testing and/or the implications the results of those tests have on students and educators.  Assessment of this kind drives instruction and this kind of assessment drives instruction right into the ground.  Instead of the carrot approach of the incentives, it offers the stick of bad grades.  It makes life in the classroom boring, useless, and foreign to everyone's real motivation.

What is the real motivation in schools?  To learn and to teach.  Children of all ages (and, frankly, adults) have a natural curiosity about the world around them.  We want to learn about what is going on around us.  Schools should foster and encourage this kind of learning.  Then we won't need carrots or sticks.  The motivation will come from inside the learner and teacher. 

Offering rewards and punishments has never made anything better. You may temporarily get what you want, but the spirit that will sustain change will disappear as soon as the carrot or stick disappear.  We need to foster this spirit - the desire to learn about the world around us - in order to create real education change.

Comments

[BK Teaching Fellow]

Man- you hit it right on point. Standards "makes life in the classroom boring, useless, and foreign to everyone's real motivation." That is so real. I started NYC Teaching Fellows this summer, and my whole take on standards is BS. Its more and more folks getting rich off of these kids and calling it closing the achievement gap. The real problem is that standards are not giving these kids what they need- a relevant education that they feel is a useful vehicle for their success in life. I guess I'll teach to the standards, but sneak in my own shit.

[nani]

@ BK Teaching Fellow: That's what the good teachers do! *wink*

[Anderson]

While money may temporarily induce students to learn, the motivation is only going to last if it comes from within the student and teacher. As a current student in Education, I feel the best way to motivate students is to tie the material with the real-world and how it can help the students in life. These type of classes do a better job of educating students with more useful knowledge than traditional those whose sole goal is to boost useless, standardized test scores.

[Nick]

Motivation is a great factor in the success of students and teachers, the problem is their personal motivations will differ so much that there is no textbook approach a school can take to be successful at motivating them. We can’t say money won’t motivate students, just like we can’t say money won’t motivate teachers. Run an experiment at any school in America telling one-hundred instructors that they won’t be paid for an entire year. One-hundred people might show up the next day, most of them to clear out their desk. It is proven daily that money is a great motivator in our world; because of the things it can do for individuals. Students probably realize money made O.J. innocent and then begin to imagine what money could do for them. Some parents choose to discipline their children for bad grades, while others pay their children for receiving good marks. I’d like to be referred to a statistic comparing those approaches before I jump on the bandwagon thinking money is not a successful motivator. I also know money motivates students to compete, succeed, and in some cases over-achieve; but not necessarily the cash-in-pocket money we all assume we are talking about. As a high school student I didn’t like school, but society told me I had to learn (more like memorize test materials) to get good grades. These good grades would then get me into college and I must have a college education to be successful (have money) in life. I believe that to be a common example of students being motivated indirectly by the power of money. What about the college student that keeps up their GPA to remain eligible for a tuition scholarship? Again, money plays a big factor in the motivation of that student. Will money motivate every student? Absolutely not. There will always be some silver-spoon teen that will be successful in life no matter what their high school transcripts reads. However, this person seems to be an exception in today’s working class world.

[Praxis I test]

This is nice for Motivation .Motivation is a great factor in the success of students and teachers .Yes this article has good information and this link will be helpful for us.Nice Job!

[Jetpatcher]

Good blog mate, really good i like it.
Cheers.

[Praxis test]

Hi,
Motivation is the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior. Some time it is often defined as the psychological quality that leads people to achieve a goal.

[ACT SAT Test prep in Ohio]

I think the main issue with motivation is that it is so, so hard to fire ineffective teachers. In my experience, it would be so much better if the bad teachers could be let go somehow. Really good teachers often get really disenchanted with the mediocrity that surrounds them.