Motivation. What motivates you? Who has motivated you in life? I'm going to brag on my wife for a second. When I think of motivation, she is the first person I think of. She is a teacher that chose to work at the high school that she went to in San Antonio, TX. I'm sure you are expecting to hear that she is the best teacher ever, that her plays are ridiculous, and that she is the greatest teacher to ever roam the halls at Holmes HS. Well, she is…but I know that doesn't hold much water to you the reader because I'm her husband!
As my grandmother would say, "The proof is in the pudding." The drama department has grown tremendously this past year. She has tons of kids asking about how to sign up next year. To the best of my knowledge there are different acting classes and tech classes…both are currently full for next year! Most of her students send her facebook friend requests after they graduate!
Motivation. She has learned how to motivate these teens. They work hard every day either in her classes or during after-school rehearsals. There is a lot of preparation that goes into a musical, a play, or a one-act competition! She has learned to motivate those teens because she has taken the time to do so. You can easily motivate someone by over-powering them or by manipulation, but that is for the short term. Instead, she has learned that getting to know her students and showing them that she believes in them grants her the opportunity to motivate them to succeed. I can tell you that the ones that do succeed, she rejoices in their success. The students that fall short and make poor life decisions, she feels sorrow for them. That's because she is invested in her students.
That's the key to real motivation. If I need to be motivated (for the long term) I need to know that the person that is trying to push me wants the best for me and my vision!