Anyone involved with education, child psychology, or related fields has heard much about the motivation problem. Statements like “Kids are lazy and not motivated to work hard” or “Teens are disengaged and only want to play video games” are frequently heard and read.
I want to point out a couple of fascinating correlations. First, have you seen an unmotivated infant or preschooler? Children are born with a drive to learn about the world. It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective: the more you know about things around you, the more likely you are to survive. Take a three-year-old almost anywhere and watch the drive to explore and the many questions; you will see this is true. No adult coercion is needed.
Children are born with a drive to learn about the world.
Fast forward now to kindergarten or even pre-kindergarten/transitional kindergarten. The four- or five-year-old enters the classroom full of wonder and questions. However, if they ask a question, they are told to raise their hand and take turns. They want to try something but must wait quietly while the teacher demonstrates. Early reading, writing, and mathematics attempts are judged against a standard and graded. Soon, they realize this place is different from what they have known. They may begin to act out or withdraw if they fail.
Things get steadily worse from here as the child proceeds through the grades. They may get used to it, but it could be more inspiring most of the time. Even with a great teacher, the content has been decided, and children have little choice or autonomy.
By the time they're teenagers, it's hard for kids to figure out why they should bother. Advanced students may get some more exciting options to help them remain engaged. But sadly, those who need the most help being motivated to stay in school also have the least intriguing curriculum.
Kids who are “disengaged” at school often have deep and passionate interests outside of it.
Now, we come to my second point: kids who are “disengaged” at school often have deep and passionate interests outside of it. They will work hard, wake early, and do many other things we wish they would do regularly. Are these children unmotivated? I would suggest that they have certain things that are important and meaningful to them, just like adults do.
What happened to that curious toddler? School has trained them to be quiet and listen instead of speaking up. Grading and testing have taught them to take the safe path instead of taking a risk or trying something new.
Motivation is not the problem. School is the problem. We must set children free so they can learn how they were meant to learn - with wonder and curiosity, experiencing the world.
For more information on motivation, Alfie Kohn has discussed this issue at length. Here’s one: https://www.alfiekohn.org/blogs/lots-of-love/
For more information on setting children free to learn without schooling, see Peter Gray’s Free to Learn and John Holt’s How Children Learn.
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Thank you so much Beth for this inspiring piece. Couldn't agree more. And thank you for the link to Alfie John's work, I was unfamiliar with this scholar, glad I discovered!