being a teacher, change, inspiration, motivation, Student-centered

Some Thoughts on Motivation

Pernille Ripp



Honestly, this post has to start with a disclaimer.  I have only been teaching for a little over 3 years in a middle-class school at an elementary level.  Because of this I have had few run-ins with highly unmotivated students, as well as older students.  And yet, unmotivated students surround us, they show up in our schools at an alarming pace and already at the elementary level we struggle to reignite the fire.  So perhaps an elementary perspective is not so awful after all.


“Mrs. Ripp, this is so boring.”  That sentiment greets me on semi-regular basis from one child.  Most days he is passionate, funny, and involved, that is, if he likes what we happen to be during.  Today is no different, he has been involved, engaged, and eager most of the day but now the fatigue has set in and the writing prompt just does not want to get done.  This is a regular occurrence throughout America, passionate students that are mostly motivated at all times but sometimes hit slumps.  This post is not about them.


Instead, this post is about those kids that put their head on their desks, that groan when we give directions, that could not care less about threats, rewards, punishment or motivating pep talks.  Those are the kids we all meet; the truly unmotivated.  Those students that do not see the relevance, the importance, or even the wisdom behind school.  Those students that feel that this is just a temporary illness, something to be waited out for real life to begin.  And yes, we have them even at the elementary level.


The other night, I shared on Twitter, “I always wonder if having unmotivated students just mean that what I am teaching is unmotivating, I think it does.”  Lo and behold a man I admire greatly, Tom Whitby, was kind enough to engage me in my train of thoughts.  As we discussed, my own thoughts became much clearer:


Motivation is linked to the teacher whether we we believe it should be or not.


If a student fails, the teacher is most often the first to be blamed before any outside factions are investigated.  


We have the most control over what happens within our classroom.


As part of this discussion, Tom Perran offered up this article discussing how teachers only have control over 10 of 16 motivating factors.  And yet as teachers we do have to own up to our part in motivation.  Last year, when I sat through another round of book report presentations I yawned often, stretched to stay awake, got droopy eyelids, and yet admonished the students for getting restless and unfocused  Hmm, that doesn’t seem right.


As teachers, part of our job is to provide engaging lessons, but it is this definition of engaging that seems to mess us up.  I used to think that by engaging it meant me lecturing for a while and then giving the students work time, as long as I kept the questions coming, the students were engaged, right?  For some reason most of the time my results were less than stellar.  I also used to think that as long as I provided some sort of choice then the students would find their motivation.  And while our more self-reliant students did because they already have a sense of duty instilled by the teacher, some students didn’t.  Enter in punishment and rewards.  If a student didn’t turn in their work then recess was taken away, and if that didn’t work then a 0 was given.  Ooh a failing grade.  They even got their name on the board and were not offered a chance to enter the weekly drawing for the monthly pizza party, confused?  So was I.


The problem with punishment and reward though is that it often only motivates in the short term.  A student knows that as long as they hand something in, even if it is awful, then that counts as a finished product.  As a teacher, I often lost sleep over what to do with these students.  they seemed already by 4th grade to hate school, finding it a punishment for childhood, and worst of all, they knew how to work the system.  So what to do?  Again, I realized that the problem wasn’t the students, it was the curriculum and how I taught it, so really it was me.  See, I am the biggest in school motivator there is.  While I may not be the one that decides what to teach, I most certainly am the one that decided HOW to teach it.  And if I thought that lecturing (which even put me to sleep in college) was going to capture the imaginations of 9 year olds then I was an idiot. 


So after almost a year of changing things up, this is what I have realized as far as motivation:

  • Choice matters.  When students choose not just what they will do for a project but also what they would like to learn about within a perimeter, you get buy-in.  This continues to be one of the most exciting simple realizations I have come across.
  • Motivation is contagious.  When one student gets excited and has an opportunity to share that enthusiasm, it catches.  My students get to blog about projects, we have huddles where we share and we are a bit louder than we used to be.  But guess what?  Those loud noises are usually students super excited about something.
  • Eliminate punishment and rewards.  This short-term motivator seemed more harmful than helpful to me.  This year we have class parties when we feel we want one, I have lunch with all my students several times a month because they ask me to, and no one is excluded from anything.  When homework doesn’t get done, I ask them how they plan to fix it, most students choose to do it at recess.  Fine by me, they are free to go if they choose.
  • Be excited yourself.  The fastest way for kids to lose interest is if you are bored.  I realized that I hated some of the things and taught and how I taught them (goodbye grammar packets), so something had to change.  Now my students joke about how I almost always introduce something new with “I am so excited to do this…”
  • Look at outside factors.  Some students have a lot more on their plate than we could ever realize.  Ask questions, get to know your students, and be a listening ear.  When my husband lost his job, it was hard for me to be excited about things as well because I was too busy worrying.
  • Control what you can.  We will never be able to control what our students go home to but we sure can control what happens in the room.  All the teachers I know choose to create a caring environment where all students feel safe.  This alone means students let their guards down and feel it is okay to work hard and have fun.
Loss of motivation doesn’t just happen overnight, I believe all students start out motivated and then life gets in the way.  At some point during their school years they start to hate school feeling it is stagnant and irrelevant.  I therefore do everything in my power to ensure that students leave my classroom still liking school, perhaps a small goal, but an incredible important one.  If they like to be in your room, then it is up to you to figure out how to keep them engaged.

being a teacher, change, Passion, questions, Student-centered

Would You Like Being a Student in Your Own Classroom?

Pernille Ripp
It was a simple question really, “Would I like being a student in my own classroom?” that stopped me in my tracks.  Last year when the students had left, the chairs had been put up, and the exhaustion hit, I realized that no, this was not the type of classroom I would have wanted to learn in.  And so began a quest of soul-searching, revising, and rethinking, in order for myself not to become a statistic; another new teacher who quits.

I don’t know where I went wrong.  After all, in college, teachers loved my lesson plans and raved about my ability to connect with students.  I graduated with a big heart and a big head.  I was going to save the world.  And yet, something didn’t click.  In social studies last year I remember scolding my poor students because they were obviously uninterested.  I kept telling them that this was important and they better listen, thinking that yelling at them would make them snap to attention.  Or the student who once again didn’t do his homework, he got an earful as well because that would show him.  Oh how off track I was.

It really hit home when I read a parent magazine last summer in which a question was posed, “My child dreads going back to school, what should I do?”  The answer?  “Remind them that they will see their friends and how much fun they will have during recess, art and music class.”  Recess?  Art?  Music?  What about writing, reading, math?  What about the majority of the time?  Would they be glassy-eyed robots just waiting for the next bubble of fun outside of my room?  I had to change.

So I looked inward, reflected, and realized that i had it all wrong.  School wasn’t about me, or about the knowledge I was going to impart on my students.  Instead it is about them, the students  Those eager kids that show up ready to learn if you let them.  So I had to get out of the way while still acting as a guide.  I have written many posts about my transformation and how much it has affected me as a person and as a teacher.  Most importantly though it is through this transformation of my own ego that real change has happened.  Now I look around my classroom and I celebrate.  There is the girl who was too shy to even look at me busting out of her shell as she acts in a fractured fairy tale.  There is the boy who barely could add two numbers nailing most math concepts.  Or the shy and kind boy, who’s biggest wish now is to be on more committees so he can decide things.  That is what it is all about.  My students are ready for 5th grade, they are ready to leave me with their new knowledge, their energy, their inquisitiveness.  I got out of the way and it worked.  Now when I ask my kids what is the best thing about school they tell me it is all the learning, the projects, the work.  Not recess, not the parties, not their friends, that is just extra.  And what a victory that is.

So I will continue to change and adjust.  I will continue to ask myself whether I would like to be my own student.  It was not a pretty realization back then and it wont ever be but it was a necessary one.  Now I am proud to say that yes, I would love to be a student in my own room, and not because of the teacher, but because of the opportunities to learn.  Would you?

being a teacher, parents, thank

Have You Thanked a Parent Lately?

Pernille Ripp
This week as I bask in the adoration that is teacher appreciation week at my school, I am often reminded of just how much people care and what an incredible feeling that is.  However, I am also reminded of how I am not alone in this adventure of teaching, how my decisions and ideas only can go so far without the support of parents.  So I think it is time we introduce parent appreciation into our schools.

I appreciate the parents of my students in oh so many ways.  They are the first to tell when their child loved a lesson we have done and also the first to tell me ever so gently that perhaps that lesson just didn’t make much sense.  For your feedback and honesty; thank you.

I appreciate the parents that take all of the time.  We know that parenting is a full-time job, even when your child is in school, so thank you to those that drop off the forgotten gym shoes, permission slips, or lunches. Thank you to those that plan and prepare the extra events.  Thank you to those that donate time, energy, supplies to our ever-involving ideas.  And thank you to those that support, whether in person or through thoughts.  I feel the involvement and I do not take it for granted.

I appreciate those parents that dare to speak up.  That tell me when something is going amiss or when an injustice has happened.  Thank you to those that push me to become better, more, deeper and aren’t just alright with stale teaching.  Thank you also to those that believe that we can always improve and trust me to come up with new ways to reach their child, whether it is in familiar territory or not.

So truly, this is not about the what happens in the classroom, but what happens in the community we build up around these incredible students.  I am not alone in this nor do I ever want to be.  The parents are the ones that help a school year become an incredible one.  The parents are the ones that help me excel.  Thank you for placing your faith in me as an educator and caretaker of your child.  Thank you for believing that I am a good fit for your child and that my abilities will help your child achieve greatness. Thank you for trusting me.   Without you this would not be the incredible journey it is.

being a teacher

I Teach the Generation

Pernille Ripp
I teach the generation that believes America has always been at war.

I teach the generation that thinks dictionaries are outdated.

The generation that takes internet for granted, knows words like wi-fi, iPods, and Facebook.

I teach the generation that knows Apple is not just a fruit or even just a computer.

I teach the generation that has never seen the World Trade Centers.

The kids that believe that history is only something that happened more than 5 years ago and has vaguely heard of Hitler.

I teach the generation that believes having a cellphone is a natural right of passage, as is getting your first computers, alongside a car.

I teach the kids that want more technology and know how to use it already, sometimes better than their teachers.

I teach the kids that ask more questions and are used to answers right at their fingertips.  That information is free and always accurate, after all, the internet told them so.

I teach the kids that believe books come in many shapes and forms and libraries are mostly just for school use.

I teach the kids that are consumers, always wanting more, bigger, better.  New is great, old is bad, and used is only sometimes acceptable.

I teach the generation that will teach the next generation, what will they teach them?

being me

I Knew a World

Pernille Ripp

“Hey Mrs. Ripp, did you hear we killed that terrorist? You know the guy that dropped the bombs in New York?”. So starts my morning teaching 4th graders today. “Actually, he didn’t drop a bomb,” I reply. “Oh…”

I teach the generation that does not have a “where I was when I heard story.” I teach the kids who were born the year of the September 11th attacks, and they therefore do not remember. Something that happened less than 10 years ago has already become a page in the history books, just one more event to happen to America. My students do not know what it feels like to go through an airport without hourlong security lines, or to bring big bottles of shampoo in your carry on. They do not know a world without threat levels or a war on terror. They do not know a world where we haven’t been fighting a war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They do not know America at peace.

I know all of these and so it becomes my duty to shed light on what America was before 9/11. How we knew there were people that hated American values but not that anyone would use planes against us. I knew a world where flying didn’t make you nervous, where going abroad and stating you are American didn’t make others look at you strange. A world where it was wasn’t us versus them all the time, or bombs were hidden in shoes, bottles, or pockets. Where people were given fair trials and most terrorists were in the movies with bad accents. I knew a world where we didn’t send soldiers, my brother included, to fight an endless war against a faceless enemy driven by hatred. I knew that world and I hope someday, my students will know it too.