What struck me most were the peer
group and membership sections. In these sections it spoke about student
involvement and students really feeling like they belong. As a football player,
I am apart of a core group. I see the influences of being a part of the
football team everyday, bother positive and negative. As a football player I know that I was more
motivated to make certain grades in order to be able to play in games. I was
also motivated to stay academically eligible to stay on the team. This is also
true for other sports and school groups. Being a part of these groups motivates
you to do your best just to stay part of the group.
The
football team was very important to me in high school. That was my social bond.
They were my friends, and basically like brothers to me. If any took that away
from me, who knows where I would be. I liked the Alderman chapter a lot because
it spoke about the influence of being in such social groups. As an educator who
was influenced by a social group, I think it is important for me to remember the
importance of these social interactions. I think these connections I vital to
motivation within the classroom, but I also believe it is important to show
students that that is only a piece of the puzzle.
As an athlete
and student I found it hard to differentiate what was important. At times I
thought that it didn’t matter what I did in school as long as I performed in
school. As college was becoming a more realistic goal, I knew that was far from
the truth. I had to make the grade and perform on the field. This is where
student interest came into play. In the Role of Interest article, it spoke
about the importance of student interest. My English teacher really took the time to see
what I was interested in. He started showing me books about sports and
different stories that had topics that I would want to read about. His extra
effort showed me that there was thing in school that I actually like and could
spend time on.
As a
teacher I think it is always important for me to meet students where they are.
I have to figure out what they like, and find things that they are interested
in. As student-athlete it is really important to me to help other kids with potential.
I think that other athlete’s with skills get looked over because no one wants
to take the time to help them make the grade. I would definitely be a teacher to help other
students stay on track and help them fulfill their full potential.
