Children can find motivation on their own

With the end of the school year looming in the next three weeks, that old song has been running through my mind, "School days, school days, good old Golden Rule days; with readin' and writin' and "rithmetic" taught to the tune of a hickory stick."

Many of us can remember when teachers were allowed to use a "hickory stick" to remind us to stay in line and to study. That, for the most part, has gone from the repetoire of motivators.

So, how do teachers motivate students? There are many theories, but in the final analysis, the motivation has to come from within the student. I remember the parents of a son who had to prod, threaten, to try and get their son to study even to just get by. He barely was able to graduate from high school. Then he went off to a small college and ended up on the Dean's List during his college career. His parents couldn't understand the change! Somehow he caught the joy of learning and it made all the difference in his motivation.

In a book on motivation, Mark Lepper pointed out, "An extrinically motivated student performs 'in order to' obtain some reward or avoid some punishment external to the activity itself," such as grades, stickers, or teacher approval; whereas, "A student who is intrinsically motivated undertakes an activity 'for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, the learning it permits, or the feelings of accomplishment it evokes."

Remembering the boy who barely made it through high school and then went on to succeed in college, we live in hope that our children will find that inner motivation for it will serve them well throughout their lives.