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.
Hello Oliver,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a number of points about motivation.
Social engagement and your experience as part of a team. I was having a conversation about this related to feeling connected to school. One of the support staff in our office commented that her daughter, who just finished her frosh year in college, initially struggled until she joined a club. That helped her feel more connected to the campus and more motivated to do well in school. I commented that joining something in college can make a huge difference. I was lucky, I ran cross-country and track so, like you, I immediately had a social connection to a community of people.
I also liked your part about your English teacher who took the time to figure out what books were on topics that interested you! This goes to relevance (in the ARCS model. The teacher took the time to figure out what types of readings were relevant to you. Allowing students the opportunity to choose readings that are relevant is a strategy tied to Confidence (in the ARCS model).
Oliver,
ReplyDeleteLike both yourself and professor Pusch said, being a part of a community of people that share similar interest and participate in similar activities can make someone feel more comfortable and give them a sense of belonging. Both on the field and off the field i feel as if being a football player has helped me feel more comfortable in college. On the field obviously doing the same thing and being around each other all the time helps you feel more comfortable and can help sustain an individual's motivation. When some is uncomfortable, it can not only affect their motivation but performance. As far school goes, being a part of the team and knowing each other on campus can help someone, i know me, feel more comfortable in classes and on campus.
I also can relate to what you said about keeping your grades up academically in order to play. If you slack academically, then there is a chance that you become ineligible and cannot play, this not only affects you, but your team as well. If you are ineligible you are also letting your team down. This motivation to do well in school is relatable to the context of which the environment that a person is in.