Some kids are self-motivated, some aren't. (Goodness, aren't adults like that, too? Why are we surprised when we see kids being like this?) And some days, even the self-motivated ones get burned out. I have started to learn that it's my job as the teacher at this point to motivate them again, or even to kindle that flame for the first time. As Socrates said, "Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel."
The fact is, teaching would be easy if all kids were born self-motivated. But I have to remember that it is not realistic to expect all kids to be delivered in cookie-cutter shapes. They are all different, and we know this. Isn't it my job to expand their minds, get them to explore the boundaries of their interests (and if I do my job well, those boundaries won't exist!), and to give them the tools to becoming who they want to be, deep down inside?
But how do you motivate someone? We've seen it done - coaches have this ability, as well as teachers, parents, wives....the list goes on.
Rule #1: You have to be motivated yourself. As a piano teacher, if they see me love playing Bach, they might start to ask themselves, "She loves it; could I?"
Rule #2: There's no formula - it involves some personality reading, some talking things through, and getting them to think outside the box of their own heads. Essentially, teach them to be objective. (What's that? Be objective? Isn't that a National Standard? Or rather, an age-old principle of higher thought....).
I was discussing with a particular student yesterday about subjects like math, where it's hard to see the "real-life" application past fractions and simple math. I'll be honest and tell you that when I was a math student, I never received a good answer to that question I'm sure every math teacher dreads hearing: "When will I actually use this, like in real life?" Similarly, my students have asked me, "What's the point of me playing [insert classical composer] if I know I'm not going to become a professional pianist?" My student yesterday was talking about math, in particular, and it struck me to ask her a few questions about the point of learning in general:
I ask, "Do you think learning math makes you more dumb?" She offers a faint reply, "No."
"Even if you're never really good at it, do you think it benefits you in any way?"
She shrugs and says, "Yes, it makes me smarter, I guess..."
"Won't being smarter and more well-rounded make you better at anything you do in life?"
She finally looks up at me, eyes wide, and says,"Yes!"
And I think she really got it. It was definitely one of those "moments." And with music, it's
the same -- learning Bach will not only develop your brain, but it will also make you better understand today's music, make you a better listener of music, and overall a more interesting person and better citizen and contribution to the human race! (Ok, I got dramatic there, but it really is true!). We need to communicate to kids that all learning is beneficial, and you can't pick and choose what is valuable to learn. It's all valuable, you may just have to look a little harder sometimes to find it. And here's a secret: the things that you have to work for are sometimes the very things you end up loving the most.
A similar way of thinking is the comment I've heard all too often: "You can't expect kids to work as hard for piano, because it's not like they are getting a grade for it or anything." So we want our kids to only work for excellence when they are getting a grade for it? Great message to send to them -- only
work if you are rewarded by someone else. And even worse, we are telling them that learning is only enjoyable when there is an outside reward -- whatever happened to the excitement of learning? The pure joy that comes when you do conquer a difficult measure you've been toiling over for days? Call me an idealist, but I'm not wavering on this one.
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