A Teacher's Drive to Student Motivation

I'm still trying to uncover the secrets to motivation with my students.  My management & leadership class is a new prep for me this semester.  I've taken the old curriculum which includes units on personal management using the 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens and units on management functions, leadership, communication, case studies and ethics.  This year I decided to launch a student-run business out of the class so we are using  Market Day for the business model because there's no inventory and customers can purchase product online which makes it a turn-key business for us.  I could provide anyone with more details and pro/cons of using Market Day but my focus here is the journey of discovering what motivates my students.

Last semester we had issues of lack of motivation primarily because students didn't feel connected to the cause.  For me, I thought the learning opportunity and the experience they gain to put on their resume was the big BLING for doing Market Day at all.  The students got to make decisions on marketing, customer service and gain real life experience - how much better can it get.  LEARNING BY DOING.  But there were a lot of other things that played into it.  Students wanted to make money themselves....I could go off on a tangent of the teen generation but that's really for another blog post.  So despite my talks with my students about the rewards of their hard work, they really didn't seem to care.  I've been reading Daniel Pink's book, Drive and I'm seeing now some problems that I did first semester - mainly the carrot and the stick.  I offered prizes and incentives but in the end it was just a short term band-aid for the problem. And by the end of the semester the hardworking motivated students where so discouraged by the other half of students, everyone gave up.

One month into second semester:  Here's my REFLECTION: 

• The start of the semester is to jam packed with the 7 Habits Sean Covey book and starting the student-run business
• I need to reevaluate using the Sean Covey book.  Some of the students feel that it is common sense and the stories are for a younger audience.  CONSIDER USING THE STEVEN COVEY BOOK OR LETTING STUDENTS PICK A SELF-MANAGEMENT BOOK OF THEIR CHOICE.
• Business organization charts includes a student President, and managers that run two marketing departments, an operations department and a finance department. 
• NEW: The student president has been a great addition to the org chart this semester.  David is helping provide valuable feedback and help the group stay organized.
• NEW: Rotating managers every 2-3 weeks versus every month. 
• Each month each student will do a reflection on the business - what worked, what didn't, how to improve, what did they learn.
• NEW: after the manager is done with their rotation they will do a reflection paper as well.
• NEW: When students are discouraged about lack of motivation I am explaining the Team goals and not emphasizing short term "carrot and stick" incentives and explaining why.
• NEW: We've spent a class preparing a one-month department plan including their goals.  The next class they work on executing the plan.  Students seemed to have more direction and motivation in completing their goals.
• NEW: Incorporated manager meetings to help with planning and to help provide managers with experience and opportunities to discuss concerns.  This gives me the opportunity to have those teachable moments and discuss concepts of motivation

To address one of my reflections above, do you have a book you would recommend relating to management, self-management, leadership or motivation that would be engaging for high school students?

Overcoming a Challenge

As a teacher I am always touched by amazing things that happen at schools that make a difference. In my blog I try to bring you inspiration and motivation from the classroom and from life. This story is of a motivational speaker that gave a speech recently at a Chicago Public School, Julian High School in the Roseland and Pullman communities, to speak of overcoming challenges and never giving up. According to the Chicago Tribune, 85-95% of the students at Julian H.S. live in poverty and many have one parent absent at home. Motivational speaker and Paralympian, Lloyd Bachrach, spoke of his story of being born with missing bones in his legs and how he over came adversity.

Lloyd is actually my cousin (2nd, 3rd or twice removed...I'm not sure how it goes) but I've known Lloyd's story all my life. Honestly, I'm not sure as a kid I really realized there was "a story" about Lloyd. I just knew that Lloyd was one of my really cool cousins (and he just so happened to walk with a cane - which I probably thought was a cool toy). As I got older I heard family members tell his story and I've heard Lloyd give his speech. But now it's different. As an educator, I am truly moved and inspired how a person overcoming life's challenge of a physical disability can inspire others to overcome life of poverty. Check out the Chicago Tribune's story. Pat Dunnigan did an amazing job telling the story. While Lloyd's challenges of a disability were different than Julian's students of poverty, life is the same - life gives you challenges but its what you do with it that makes a difference in your future.

In the article Dunnigan wrote: Bachrach also stressed perseverance. "When you quit is when you have failed," he told the students. "There is no one way to do things in life."

I have to give props to the Assistant Principal Ihechi Sadiki and Allie Whitehurst, coordinator of Julian's Culture of Calm program for the school for bringing Lloyd Bachrach to speak at their school and make the connection for students. They are trying to help students "fill the gap" to overcome adversity - that is truly inspiring.

REFLECTION:

• Life gives everyone challenges in one form or another. Don't feel sorry for yourself, don't feel sorry for others. Look around and get a reality check - accept and move on.
• Life's challenges can teach us something - what is your life challenge trying to tell you? Sometimes you can't always see it when you're standing right in the middle of the struggle. Take a step back, relax and give it time because eventually you can reflect to find the true lesson of your story. (Maybe it's trying to teach you that you are strong than you realize)
• Make your choice! Think of your life as a choose your own adventure book. Your future is unwritten. In the end of the story, where do you want to be? Overcoming challenges or being defeated by them?

To give you momentum for the New Year

If you've been reading my blog you've heard me talk about my career change from ad sales to teaching.  Ever been in a crossroads in your life?  When you are halted by fear of the unknown or scared of making that change?  The event in my life that finally tipped the scale to make a career change was attending a Tony Robbins' seminar over six years ago.  The weekend was such an amazing opportunity to reflect within myself on my life, what was really important to me and what I wanted to do with it. 

THE BIG TAKE AWAY: Tony Robbins talks about momentum - that thing that gives you energy to push forward.  I often crave momentum, especially when life gets you so run down.  The beautiful thing about December, more than all the gifts and holiday cheer, is how the holidays leads right into the new year.  It's a perfect time to reflect.  (and that's a big part of what this blog is all about - because without reflection how do we grow, motivate and inspire to do better and be better.)

Check out this video from Tony Robbins.  To give you the gift of momentum, I challenge you to join me on Friday.  Put yourself in a coffee shop, carve out an hour...half hour or even fifteen minutes.  Take a laptop, ipad,  pad of paper or a good old fashion journal.  Wear your headphones and just sit and write. 
Don't think - just write.  Here's three questions Tony suggests you ask yourself:

1) WHAT WERE YOUR MAGIC MOMENTS FROM THIS YEAR?
Write down all the big moments but the little moments too.  Make it happen by looking back in your calender to see what you did, take a look at pictures or talk with your partner to brainstorm.  Don't have time to sit at a coffee shop, sit down with your kids and brainstorm together - make a family art project out of it - frame it.

2) WHAT DIDN'T WORK THIS YEAR?
Make sure to answer question #1 first.  Build yourself up with the positive.  Don't beat yourself up but really reflect.  This didn't work...but I learned XYZ from this.  Tony says, "Get the lesson."  (Love this - from a teacher what a perfect way to say learn from life.)

3) WHAT ARE YOU COMMITTED TO FOR 2011?
Tony says to take out your tools in your toolbox and make it happen!  Make a decision and make a change.  This is my favorite part - you get so built up and the energy is flowing from questions #1 & #2 - so go ahead - set some goals! 

TAKE ACTION: Make a ritual. 
Tony says rituals make it real.  Get in a routine.  When you get so determined to set a goal, think about how you can get there.  Get into a great practice (I love the word practice because it reminds me of people that establish a practice in things like yoga or meditation - what great examples of a ritual that helps you reflect and grow as a person.) Tony gives a suggestion for connecting during the morning in what he calls the "hour of power." You can get a free download of it on his website.  Personally, I'm really going to try and put aside 20 minutes for myself everyday to reflect and to create my life.   What rituals are you going to do to make your life happen?

So join me on Friday or any other day from now until New Years and ask yourself three simple questions.  Let's reflect - grow - motivate - and inspire!  Comment on my blog and let me know how it goes.

Hallelujah

Our Choir Director at school passed along this very cool Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU.   This is the recent "Random Act of Culture" where members of the Philadelphia Opera Company sang the "Hallelujah Chorus" in a Macy's department store.  Check out the expression on people's faces when they see this surprising and beautiful moment.  It's inspirational and heart warming - perfect for this holiday season.  Enjoy.   

Recognition - it works!

I've always been motivated to work hard simply for someone to tell me I'm doing a good job.  It probably started when I was young, being the youngest of three girls.  I worked hard and did "good" to get positive responses from my parents all the in the quest for fighting for attention in a house of three kids.  I wanted them to be proud.  So something as simple as getting my report card posted on the refrigerator was very motivating for me.  Recognition.

It's funny how I forgot this simple secret to motivation - Recognition.  I actually was telling my students when I worked for the Daily Herald as an advertising sales executive.  I was motivated each month to reach my sales goal not just because I wanted to make money but especially because I wanted to get my name on a certificate which would be posted on the bulletin board in the office of all reps that reach their sales goal for that month - Recognition!  I even told my students how I even want recognition from my husband.  When I clean the house all I want is for my husband to come home, see it, appreciate it and say "wow, the house looks great." - Recognition.

So after last weeks blog post about how I was struggling with motivating a group of students, I thought more about it and discussed with with my Market Day rep.  We launched Market Day this year as a student-run business, which is a monthly grocery purchase program.  The Market Day district manager proposed a sales incentive to my high school students - increase sales and win a food party for our class. Where the kids motivated? NO.  I was disappointed.  They said they already work during class time and they don't think it would make them go "above and beyond."  I even asked - does it hurt to take the challenge?  Would you rather have a pizza party or no pizza party at all?  Its a no-lose situation.  One student even called it a "bribe." And of coarse I explained, especially from doing sales for eight years prior to teaching - its not a bribe.  It's called "incentives."  So anyway - food was not all that motivating to high school students.  The district manager pitched another idea to them - hit your sales goal (increase from 34 customers to 54 customers which is only 2 more customers per student in my class) and the district manager would place an ad in the student newspaper congratulating the class (and listing their names).  The light switched on!  The students loved it.  They wanted the recognition.  So I pitched another idea to them - I'd get them company t-shirts that said on the front Management Class / Market Day and on the back FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS.  Again - they liked it - recognition.

So how have you been recognized that lead to motivation?  Or how were you motivated to get recognized?  Share your experiences with us.

REFLECTION - People are motivated by recognition.  Here's some ideas to recognize people:

• I always try to thank people for their hard work - a little thank you goes along way.  So send a quick email or make a phone call - it works.
• Awards, honors, announcements  - try bulletin boards, announcing at the end of class who did the best project, awards ceremonies, announce at the holiday party all the employees that got promoted over the year
• Let workers leave work an hour early for their hard work
• Create a "Fun Friday" at work or in the classroom.
• Tell your spouse/partner what you love about them

RECOGNIZE WHAT YOU THINK IS GREAT and SHOW PEOPLE YOU APPRECIATE THEM

What's in it for me? Personal interest = more motivation

What's in it for me?  What do I get if I do this?  Why work hard?  Why should I care?



Photo by Jorbasa, from Flickr Creative Commons



Oh, I have heard things like this all the time or at least I've felt it from people.  I'm finding if people have a personal interest (positive reason) or something at stake (negative reason) motivation increases. Take bees for example!  They work so hard to just to get nectur from a flower and store it in their "honeystomachs." They have to visit anywhere from 100 to 1500 flowers to fill their tummys only to then have the worker bees get involved to turn it into honey.  Thats a lot of work!  But they have a goal, a personal interest and guess what - it produces results!

 

So let's take a look at a few more examples of positive and negative things that drive motivation:

• Money- commission for sales goals, allowances for children
• Grades- the harder you work, the better your grade
• Charity - a personal cause that has affected you or your family member
• Non-tenured teachers- fight for keep enrollment numbers so they don't loose their jobs
• Loss of privilege- Bad report from school leads to parents taking away rewards
• Rewards - you behave, you get XYZ (My nephews got to sleep at Papa's house)

The sad thing is that on the opposite side of this. What happens when they don't care about grades?  Or Charity?  Or have a passion for learning?  I'm struggling with this in my classroom lately.   I hear that the class is "to hard, to much work" or I hear "I'm not learning enough."  Then I have another class, Management, where I'm having them manage and run a business.  I've given them more opportunities than I can count to come up with ideas of motivational rewards we could incorporate into class and choices on how to run the business and projects they'd like to do in class. Yet, I feel like I'm putting in so much energy to motivate and nothing is sparking the fire in them.  So I've come to realize that they are not personally vested.  But how do you get all your staff personally vested? Everyone has their own inner-beliefs and opinions.  So while I am trying several different strategies to reach everyone, I guess I'm still thinking there needs to be a simpler way of motivating a group of people.  Anyone have ideas or suggestions?  How do you spark a fire in a group of people when everyone has different motivators?

REFLECTION

• If you have a personal interest or something at stake - it motivates!
• Then - How do you motivate a group of people with different motivators?

A motivational visit from an Alumni

For every day that is challenging as a teacher, the day I get a visit or email from an Alumin makes it all worth it.  To know that I made some impact in a students life that they want to keep in touch means that I did my job.  I try to stress to my students that I truely care, understand and respect them.  I'm not sure if that's what brought Michael Isreal back to GBN today but he wanted to share his story with me.  He wanted to share how he's changed - and he's changed for the better.  Here's my recap of his story:

HIGH SCHOOL:
Grew up in an affluent area.  His high school experience consisted of social life #1 and school acadamics coming in dead last of his priorities.  I remember Michael as being all about the girls and not so much about the school work. He shared with me how he would hide his report card and lie about his grades to his parents. 

COLLEGE:
The lights went on!!!  He joined a fraternity and got his first leadership role which showed him that he had some natural talent.  Then he had an upper classman mentor him - showed him how to study, learn and be committed.  This mentor showed him that you get respect from doing well versus when your bad.  Michael worked hard to get accepted into a Big 10 University after a year at community college.  In talking to Michael I could tell that the phone call he made to his dad to tell him that he got in to IU was one of his best monents in life.  He now spends hours each day studying not just for college but to fullfill his life long dream. 

THE FUTURE:
Michael wants to be an entreprenuer...or should I say he already is one.  He's already created a start-up online business and sold it.  He's onto his next few ventures already.  Michael's ultimate goal is to be a CEO of his own company that has a positive impact on our country.  He's currently out there networking with top executives to learn from the best of the best.  SMART.

MY COMMENTS
Often I see the potential in my students.  Michael was one of them...and he heard it all the time from people - "you aren't working up to your potential".  It wasn't until he had his "moment" that the light switch turned on.  And I'm so glad it did.  I shared with Michael that many parents don't get the joy to have the story turn out positive for their kids - they must be so proud.  And so am I.  Michael - this is only the beginning. And I truely mean that because I see qualities in you (drive, passion, determination, and committment) that many famous and successful people have. Thank you for sharing your story. 

REFLECTION:

• Change can be good.  Moving to a new environment can create new opportunities to grow.
• Mentors - learn from people that know
• Recognition - makes it all worth