Print Article for : Ways To Motivate Students

Your Online Guide » Education and Teaching » Articles on Education

[W137]Ways To Motivate Students

by Debra Knowlton, Deb

In order for your middle school student to succeed within the educational process, it is important for parents to work on motivation management at home and in so doing encourage their children to do the best that they can. Here I have provided seven simple steps toward motivating your middle school student. By instilling proper motivational strategies, your student will have the drive and desire to achieve beyond their wildest imagination.

1. Show love and patience

As parents, we need to make patience and love a top priority. Displaying this love and patience sets the stage for how they as students receive and retain educational information. Foundational support and verbal encouragement are key elements in motivation management and helping your child to develop interests and skills that he/she will use in their lifetime.

2. Provide boundaries

Provide and encourage boundaries. Talk with your child about certain TV programs, video games and music. Be aware of your child's friends and activities that they engage in. Guide them in helping to decide on how to make good decisions about their lives.

3. Be a role model

Be an example for your child by showing a continued interest in their education. Encourage them to develop proper and fruitful study and organizational skills. Don't hesitate to communicate to them that you are also in a continual process of education in your parenting and career skills.

4. Teach responsibility

Teach accountability and responsibility. Provide areas of attainable goals and teach your child to complete the tasks they have set out to accomplish. Reward finished tasks and encourage continual growth.

5. Give variety

Offer a varied range of life experiences. Life is never just vanilla. Help them to realize the wonderful variety of subjects that education has to offer. Utilize resources for fresh and fulfilling educational memories.

6. Acknowledge peer pressure

Keep abreast of life's hazards of potential negative behavior. Culture continues to offer potentially harmful activities. Know the pressures your child does face on a daily basis. Help them to distinguish between helpful and harmful endeavors.

7. Talk with your child

Communication is key. Always realize that your child faces many issues that are of supreme importance to them. As their parent, they look to you for understanding and guidance. Be honest and humble. Never be afraid to communicate to them that you don't always know the answer. But do assure them that you will always search for a resolution. Listen even if you don't share their intensity. Motivation management starts at home.

Teaching and molding our children to be involved in their education is not an easy task, but once achieved can create a lifetime of learning and success. This is especially important for middle school aged children who are at such a crucial time in their lives. They are at a crossroads where the decisions that they make may dictate what level of educational success they experience in the future.

We all need to constantly remind ourselves that we are not perfect, nor does our child expect us to be. But if we attempt to utilize available resources for guiding and encouraging our middle school children, we hopefully will see them succeed in the educational process and in life itself.

If you've been a karate instructor for any length of time you will no doubt know that your success in retaining your students comes down to one key factor ? keeping your students highly motivated to continue training. How do you do this while still maintaining your focus on delivering a high quality program?

The majority of karate clubs have a wide range of students usually starting at around age 4 and going all the way up to 74 or older. Often within this student base there are the highly-motivated and gung-ho students who would practice running up a wall backwards if you told them it would help give them the edge over their fellow club members.

Then there are hobbyists who approach their training from a slightly more balanced perspective. Generally this group of students practice pretty hard and come to class regularly but karate is not the number one item on their daily to-do list.

The final group of students is made up of those who say they want to get their black belt but are strangers to the concept of doing the hard work to get there.

So how do you motivate this diverse set of individuals? Here are three simple tips to get you started:

1. Set your students up for success

As human beings we all need to feel like we are being successful. We like our efforts to be recognized and we seek approval from those whom we respect. Your karate students are no different. Positive praise produces positive progress.

There is nothing more powerful than a genuine comment from you that praises something about your student's effort in class or their recent improvement. We've all heard the phrase ?people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.? Show your students that you genuinely care about them and that you truly want the best for them in their training.

2. Disguise repetition

Repetition is the mother of skill but at the same time one definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again with the expectation of different results. As a karate instructor your job is to make sure that your students? skill level is constantly improving through repetition while making it seem to them as if they are constantly learning something new each lesson.

This is achieved by developing multiple drills and teaching techniques that focus on the same core competencies that are needed to grow as a martial artist. By doing this your students will always look forward to coming to class because they will be excited to see what they will be studying that day. Repeating the same lesson in the same way over and over is a sure recipe for low student retention.

3. Implement an effective ranking system

The path to black belt is a long and arduous journey and the majority of students won't make it. Therefore it is necessary to recognize the importance of an effective ranking system so that your students have regular ?success stepping stones?. These ?success stepping stones? are your different colored belts.

Make sure that you have a clear belt system that students can strive for with regular testing - usually every three months. However be careful not to overwhelm your students with multiple stripes and sub-ranks that only serve to confuse them even more. Keep it simple and clear so that students know exactly what is expected of them.

With these three simple tips you can go a long way to effectively motivate your students. For additional relevant ideas on effective teaching methods please read my FREE Report on ?Instructor Mastery: How to Become a Great Instructor Right from the very First Lesson.? Download it at http://www.freekraateinformation.com.

Good luck and best wishes to you on your honorable and noble role in teaching. Feel free to write to me at Paul@freekarateinformation.com with any questions you have on your practice or your teaching.

Article Source : Pg. 67

About Author

Both Debra Knowlton & Paul A. Walker are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Debra Knowlton has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family Concerns, Education. . Debra Knowlton's top article generates over 1300 views. to your Favourites.

Paul A. Walker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Time Management Skills, Entertainment Guide and Fitness. Paul A. Walker, is a 4th degree black belt karate instructor with over 25 years experience in the martial arts. In 2003 he attained his 4th degree black belt, after studying with the legendary Karate Master, Hirokazu Kanazawa in Tokyo for three years. Get. Paul A. Walker's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.