Introduction When I started my journey toward becoming a teacher I had expectations for what I would encounter as a student teacher. I assumed that there would be all kinds of students with different abilities and motivations. What I did not expect was the amount of apathy some of my secondary students were prone to. The apathy increased the older the students were. High schools were the worst. Students were unmotivated to participate in the projects and lacked any motivation to do. While middle school and elementary school students needed some motivation most would catch on to their peer enthusiasm. I experienced a greater sense of apathy from the students in 9- 12th grades. Discussions with other teachers lead me to believe that this was a general consensus among most students. I was not naive enough when I started my student teaching to imagine that all of my students would be excited about the projects, but I had an expectation that most would be somewhat interested. After all that is why I want to teach to see the students become excited. So imagine my surprise when I started my student teaching and a large population of the students just didn’t care. They had no motivation to participate in class, turn in assignments, get a passing grade, or produce any work. So what is their “problem”? I noticed some just didn’t care, some wanted to sleep, some socialize, play with their phones, etc. All of these don’t seem reason enough to not participate, I know that I wanted to pass classes. As a student I was also particularly interested in the classes I chose, extracurricular especially the arts. This study is a look into the motivations of students, and why they make the decisions to not turn in work, participat... ... middle of paper ... ...wth. New York, NY: Macmillan. Jarvis-Saunders, M. (2009). Motivated by choice: Will allowing fifth-grade, visual art students a choice in their assignment increase motivation and enhance learning?. Culminating Experience Action Research Projects, Volume 14, Spring 2009. Online Submission, Retrieved from EBSCOhost. (p. 284 - 310) Marzano, R.J. (2007). The art and science of teaching: A comprehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD Miller, J. J., & Education Commission of the States, D. O. (2006). State Policymakers' Views on the Arts in Education. Issue Brief. Education Commission of the States, Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Moorefield-Lang, H. M. (2010). Arts Voices: Middle School Students and the Relationships of the Arts to Their Motivation and Self-Efficacy. Qualitative Report, 15(1), 1-17. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Students are motivated by many different things, for example Carly is motivated by chips. I remember when I was younger and took flute lessons, my teacher would give me candy if I practiced in between classes and improved. It also takes some students longer than others to learn things. It took Carly until she was 10 to really express herself. Even once she started typing she had to learn how to spell the words she wanted to write, she also had to learn to form sentences from those words. Some students might take longer than others to learn, as a future teacher we must be patient with the students and find the best way for them to learn the material. Another part of the book I found upsetting is when the general education teacher said she could not teach Carly anymore. She gave up on her without trying much to help Carly. As a future teacher, we must try to help all our students, even if they have
Neill, Monty. "The No Child Left Behind Act Is Not Improving Education." Education: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2005. 162-68. Print.
The attempt to base a standard for assessing the value of works of art upon sentiment (the feeling of pleasure or displeasure) was famously made by David Hume in his essay "Of the Standard of Taste." Hume's attempt is generally regarded as fundamentally important in the project of explaining the nature of value judgements in the arts by means of an empirical, rather than a priori, relation. Recently, Hume's argument has been strongly criticized by Malcolm Budd in his book Values of Art. Budd contends that Hume utterly fails to show how any given value judgement in the arts can be more warranted or appropriate than any other if aesthetic judgements are determined by sentiment. This is a remarkable charge, since Hume explicitly sets out to introduce an aesthetic standard for "confirming one sentiment and condemning another." I examine Budd's arguments and conclude that Hume's position-and the empiricist tradition that it inaugurated-can withstand them.
An outdated education system is the largest problem Michigan faces because it affects not only the present, but also the future of the state. Important issues cannot be solved, nor policies created to remedy them, if the people attempting to solve them are not equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to make informed decisions. The state cannot run itself, let alone the nation as a whole, if its’ people are uneducated. The Constitution, the very basis of our government, relies heavily on the assumption that citizens of the United States are able to make knowledgeable and well-reasoned decisions, the types of which cannot be made when a person does not receive a proper education. This proper education is unattainable when low educational funding occurs. Lowering educational funding leads to lower standardized test scores, lack of resources, and an overall poorer education (Roy 2003). Even with these results educational funding has consistently been put upon the chopping block at all levels of government. Governor Rick Snyder’s budget cuts $470 per pupil for the 2012 fiscal year, while promising only small incentives to be added when re-balancing the budget in 2013 (Resmovits 2012). Snyder’s cuts in education stand in sharp contrast to the budget and policy passed in 1994, by then Governor John Engler. Engler, along with the House and Senate, created Proposal A. This policy increased funding to all levels of education, reduced the large funding gap between poorer and richer school districts, and opened schools of choice. Proposal A was largely effective in its’ objectives, but was unable to maintain the projected budget needed to maintain efficiency due to the recession, and Michigan laws requiring education cuts when school ...
Once this becomes the norm for teachers they tend to become uninteresting, and students are the ones reaping the consequences. Rose acknowledged this cycle of learning apathy, writing, “But mostly the teachers had no idea of how to engage the imaginations of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond”(1989, p.2).
State School. (2013, 31 August). Retrieved September 6, 2013, from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org?wiki?Public_education
All effective educators need to find ways to motivate their students. The kids that fill our classrooms have different strengths and weaknesses. It is critical that teachers recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their students so they can use the right classroom management strategies to motivate their kids. In this particular case, the student named Jodie is inattentive and uninterested and neither the teacher intern or classroom teacher have a clue how to handle this situation. Ms. Marcia Thomas, who is the young intern feels that Jodie is just a problem child that lacks motivation and there is nothing she can do for this particular student. Ms. Thomas and the lead teacher Ms. Egan both lack the needed classroom management strategies that are necessary to motivate and engage students in a positive learning environment.
Prior to the implementation of No Child Left Behind, changes in educational policies were occurring across the United States. While equity and adequacy remained at the forefront of purposeful legislation, states continued to fight for an equal distribution of funding from the national and state levels (Dittmer, 2004). Consequently, school finances became the nucleus of many debates relative to appropriate distribution of funds. The sole purpose of these funds was to ensure the children received adequate resources and, implicitly, states would ensure that these resources were equalized, eventually leading to equalized performance and outcome (p. 175). However, findings over the years have shown significant constraints across states related to the fairness and adequacy of funding. One state in particular, Florida, has been plagued by numerous school funding cases over the pa...
All throughout the United States for the past several years, states are “hurting because of falling state revenues,” (Emeagwali), and schools are trying to cope with tremendous budget cuts that are resulting in less funds provided for educational services. These cuts are putting pressure on everyone invested in the education system, including students, teachers and any other administration within them (qtd. in Johnson 2), and the reduced budget is not solely affecting any particular level of schooling either. All levels of education, ranging from primary learning to advanced, have been affected (Emeagwali). Additionally, it is not just one or two states having to adjust their budgets; by 2002, “at least 40 states [had] been forced to consider budget cuts,” and these cuts have taken their toll on the amount of funding designated towards educational opportunities (Feldman). As pressures hit hard on state governments, a rise in educational budget cuts has resulted in deleterious effects on the level of education provided to students. As a result, researchers and infuriated teachers and parents have begun supporting education as it is ignored by government administration.
The job of a teacher is never easy but we have seen how cooperative discipline and enabling students to feel capable, connected and contributing can improve classroom management and maybe even our own moods. If we create an environment of mutual respect and give our students legitimate power of voice and choice in the classroom we will see positive results in improved student behavior and student achievement. Because when our students believe that they can succeed, they will.
As the time approached, my attitude toward student-teaching was one of confidence and in some ways overconfidence. I believed that I was equipped with all of the tools necessary to be a superior teacher. Little did I know what truly goes on behind the scenes of a teacher. Between grading papers, attending meetings, and preparing lessons, I would often feel overwhelmed. Still, student teaching would prove to be much more valuable than I anticipated. It would teach me to appreciate the wisdom of mentors and experienced teachers, value or being organized and prepared, and lastly the resilience of students.
This is exceptionally relevant to beginning teachers as we are new to the school culture and environment. As much as we tried to be caring and keeping them engaged, there are students that will ignore you and deem you every other teachers that gives up on them. No matter how much you reflect on where went wrong, it will still make you feel unappreciated, disrespected and exhausted. What can be done is to have enough patience in building a strong and positive rapport with them and slowly break down their walls. We should always remind ourselves of drew them to teaching in the first place, to make a difference in every students’
Education is a vital tool for lifelong success but there are many areas of concern in the current system of public education. Education reform has been a constant occurrence since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Every year, specialists develop
The “roots” of education, meaning actually going to school, studying, making great grades, and giving it your best, are bitter and tiring. Those students that have not yet become uninterested in learning are the ones that have seen past the strife in the beginning and have the rewarding end in mind.
In many cases, it has become very complex to keep students interested in their education. So the teacher must be creative and find ways to keep pushing the student onward as well as upward. In order to devise the ultimate plan for educating students, a teacher must acknowledge that the “students” are what teaching is all about. The most important factor in the equation is unequivocally the STUDENT! All humans are different in some sort or fashion. But the fact still exists that we all have only this place to function in. So help by putting forth an effort to make it a better place for us all.