Motivating

How do you motivate someone?

If it's an adult, you can motivate them by presenting something to them that is so desirable that they're willing to take action to get it, achieve it, acquire it. The action would have to be proportional to the worth of the benefit. No one would undertake a marathon to earn a chocolate chip cookie. If they see value in what's being offered, if they see that the effort they'd need to put out (personal, physical, financial) is 'worth it' to them -- they'll do it. That's not a straightforward algorithm, of course; else, Madison Avenue might be known for something great, and not for being the home of advertising and hucksterism. (When was the last time you heard the word 'huckster'?)

But what if it's a kid?

I have occasion to think about that because (once again) I've been mulling over how to motivate the kid who's my mentee. This morning, I had the chance to think about it a little more, and though I don't have an answer, I am glad for the opportunity.

My daughter had done disappointingly in her last marking period, achieving second honors instead of first. It was blindingly obvious to her that I was disappointed in her performance. I told her that if this continued, she would not be able to stay in Color Guard. Today, when I told her that I was going to talk with my mentee tomorrow about his interim grades, she looked up, startled, and said Oh, Yeah!, darted over to her bookbag to get her own interim grade sheet. The good news is, it likely would have gotten her first honors, not second, if they gave them out for interim grades. The bad news is, 'likely'. Two As, four high B's, one not yet released. What did I think, she asked with some apprehension -- adding, 'Other than I have to get them up a little bit?' Yes, I said, thats exactly what I would have said. (Which isn't, exactly, but close enough.) She lit right up. 'Oh, good', she said. 'Because I know that if I didn't do well, you'd tell me I had to stop being in color guard, and I really want to do color guard.' She’s motivated to do well because this is important to her.

But how do I instill, nurture, foster this attitude in my mentee? How do I make him care, believe in his own ability, and be willing to put the effort into making it happen?

(And, as a side note: how do you encourage useful and productive communication with teachers? Because I'm really not happy with what I see here -- and I get the feeling these people are doing pretty well at it, all things considered.But there's got to be a 'best practice' center, wouldn't you think? And not just one that only works with a 10:1 student:teacher ratio? Or a major endowment? )

(And as another: I just asked my daughter if some teachers are better than others, and she said yes, definitely. Why? I asked. Because they make it interesting, she said. They don't just read from the book, or act as if they're just reading from the book. How do you reward a teacher like that? Seriously, how?)