Hi all,
So I've decided to write my own educational blog, following in the footsteps of Mr Barton and Just Maths etc. However, the blog is not so much a place to share good resources, but a record of my own musings that others may hopefully benefit from. I was given some good advice: when you have the time for headspace utilise and record it somewhere so you can make use of it when you need it. This blog is then the record of that headspace; a way to remain perennially fresh and motivated throughout the arduous academic year.
RSA Animate produced an excellent video (found here) for Dan Pink's lecture 'Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us,' in which the key elements of autonomy, mastery and purpose are highlighted as critical to better performance and personal satisfaction. Financial rewards, providing pay is not meagre, is not a motivator and can actually be damaging, really then quashing all current attempts to enforce performance related pay for teachers.
Autonomy is our innate need to be an active participant in our lives: self directing and in control of our own destiny. Unfortunately in teaching old authoritarian models of management are often used, but despite this there is scope for autonomy. Within the class room, as a teacher, we are actually free to shape the direction of the room and the classes we take. Although I plan to write a whole article on control without despotism, it may be prudent to remind ourselves of the advice: 'if something is troubling you then change it and if you can't change it then change your perception of it'. Taking both the praise and the blame - avoiding the usual external locus of blame - gives you a liberating sense of empowerment. Management may seem to bark orders from on high, but we can still decide how best to implement them. Normally managers, who after all are just people trying to do their jobs, are not too concerned by exactly how something is done, just that it is being done, so by taking ownership of it and devising a way that not only is useful to you - it is soul destroying to do something that is seen to be done and not done to be seen - but also appeases management, improves performance and self satisfaction but may even get you noticed for promotion.
Mastery is our desire to get better at things. A musical instrument or Wikipedia are both excellent examples of mastery as a motivator; people spend hours on complicated tasks for fun and give it away for free. What motivates people to perform better ultimately boils down to: challenge, mastery and making a contribution. In a class room there are so many challenges, such as behaviour, delivery of a topic, meeting SEN needs and so on. Sometimes there can seem too many, but this is just a perception and may be hindered by your own time management. It all goes horribly wrong in education when students are seen as 'annoying,' instead of a challenge that can be motivating and contribute to the betterment of that child's life. R Greene wrote an excellent book 'Lost in School' where he shows: 'students will behave if they can,' seeing students as people who need support to learn a skill they're lacking rather than being judged as badly behaved. Guiding a pupil to achieve mastery of this underdeveloped skill, is not a source of stress but joy. Patience is required and it is not always easy, but then nothing of any worth ever came easy.
Purpose is the transcendent spiritual motivator for getting us out of bed in the morning. Education lends itself so easily to having a clear purpose: shaping tomorrow or saving people etc. There are so many reasons to feel motivated in education since, as teachers, we do make a real difference. Unfortunately we can loose sight of this and can easily fall into cynicism when the whole job seems too onerous, pointless and just leaves a nasty after taste. Perhaps we need a morning mantra to blow away the cobwebs of cynicism and remind ourselves that what we do matters. A pre-defined purpose certainly helps and on this last point I hope to flesh out a clear vision for the upcoming year and beyond because this will be my driving motivator to succeed; 'success is doing the right thing even when you don't feel like doing it.'
Motivation is reciprocal; motivated teachers breed motivated students and vice versa. Therefore motivation is not only internal, but an external climate to develop within the classroom; an often overlooked element of the planning process.
