Fanning the Spark

Lighting the Learning Fire

By Heather Skipworth Craven

"He who has no inclination to learn more will be very apt to think that he knows enough."
- Powell

"It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up to it's glowing..." I affectionately recall the first two lines of that old church camp song, and it seemed a very appropriate beginning for this article. Hopefully, our students come to us with that innate spark of natural curiosity and a need to know.


Some children arrive with a mere glow and others already burn brightly with insatiable questions. How do we, as educators accomplish the daily task of lighting the learning fire in some of our students while keeping the flames from burning out in others?


Motivation is defined as:

1. the act of giving somebody a reason or incentive to something
2. The cause or driving force behind something that somebody does

I believe that success is the end product of consistent and appropriate motivation. The word success is defined as:

1. achievement of desired aim, the achievement of something planned or attempted
2. attainment of fame, wealth and power (Encarta World English Dictionary)

I thought the second meaning of success was rather ironic. Coincidentally the day I looked up these words, I also came across a powerful point in a daily devotional series I study. "There are many things that fame, power and wealth can do-and there are many things they cannot do. They can buy happiness, but not joy. They can buy control of people, but not what people think. They can buy cars and airplanes, but they cannot keep them from crashing. They buy pleasure, but not peace or purity. They can buy education, but not integrity or honor. They buy lots of things for children, but they cannot keep children from hurt of addictions." (Progress Magazine Daily Devotional Series, 9/9/00)


Motivation and success are defined is many ways to different people. I've often said that I believe we are a nation whose children and families are in crisis. We spend so much time and money on things to keep our children distracted, entertained and basically away from us, that we often fail to nurture and motivate their natural ability to learn and succeed.


MOTIVATING STUDENTS - Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I encourage students to be active/interested?
• From the first day, demonstrate and talk about your own enthusiasm for the course material, and how it affects you personally. Look for ways to connect the material to the lives of your students. For example: if you are teaching an environmental studies class, bring in examples of environmental issues going on in the area where your students live (Eugene, Oregon is perfect for this...). Use current event articles, editorials from local newspapers, or examples from your own life that illustrate your points. Solicit these examples from your students.
• Create a "need to know." As you are preparing your lesson plans, ask yourself - why would a student need to know this? This helps you think about material in terms of its relevance to students' lives.
2. How do I deal with apathetic students?
• Try to build a personal relationship with these students, and take an interest in them to find out what is at the bottom of the "perceived apathy." Learning students' names and using names in class can help students understand that you are interested in them and in their success in your course. Consider e-mailing a student who seems disinterested or unresponsive and let him/her know that you would like to help them in any way that you can. Oftentimes their apparent apathy has nothing to do with the course. There may be personal matters that are dominating their attention. Some students are going through a period of depression which disconnects them from their studies. Showing a little concern can be very helpful.
3. How do I get my students to prepare for class?
• Give students some kind of assignment. They often need this structure. They also need accountability. Make sure the assignment is not just busy work. Design it to be relevant and use whatever the students have prepared directly in class. Some teachers ask a few study questions, some give a short quiz, some ask students to write a response to the reading. You can require a short assignment with each reading, but they do not all have to be graded. You can tell students that out of the 8-10 assignments they will turn in, X will be graded. These will be done at random so it is important that each assignment is completed. This will help with your grading workload.
4. When assigning reading, give the students a few questions on which they must take a stand (debate) at the next class meeting.
5. How can I recognize different learning abilities and work with them individually?
• In order to recognize different learning abilities, you must observe your students carefully and make written records to help you see any patterns that may be occurring in the child's learning. You might notice different ability levels in the way they think, the product they produce, and the way they interact with others. These are all differences which affect student learning. Be sure that you offer a variety of different learning experiences in your class. Provide some creative/artistic activities, book work, skits, real-world scenarios, music, discussions, etc. that will both challenge some students and make others feel a higher level of success.
• It is hard to find time to work one-on-one with students. However, you might be able to find parent or community volunteers who are willing to come into your class and work one-on-one with different students. Another way is to spend some extra time with those students while monitoring during individual work time. Pairing a higher ability student with one who needs extra help is an excellent way to provide peer tutoring. This should not be done every single day, but on an as-needed basis. Lastly, before and after-school tutoring is an excellent time to work one-on-one with those students who need extra help.