The Magical Powers of Student Recognition
As a teacher, it’s so important to be aware of what your students are motivated by. The adults in their lives have a long term perspective. We know that being a successful student will likely translate into better life opportunities - more college scholarships, more career options, more visionary ideas - and therefore, a more prosperous and fulfilled life. For middle school students, they may have some idea of that, but the picture isn’t nearly as clear.
As a teacher, it’s so important to be aware of what your students are motivated by
Most of my career, I have worked with high school students. Most recently, I had seniors. There was one dominant motivating factor for them - graduation. It was always so close and also so big and important. Especially once their post-secondary plans were established, getting a strong GPA for the sake of college acceptances and scholarship offers didn’t really matter anymore, and sadly the senioritis kicked in, the bar lowered, and all of a sudden passing was all that mattered to most of them.
As I transitioned back into a middle school classroom when I joined the DAA family this year, I had a lot of shifts to make. One of them was figuring out this piece to the puzzle - what motivates 7th and 8th graders to succeed academically? College acceptances, scholarship offers, and high school graduation are a far way off. There is no such thing as needing to meet credit requirements. What makes them care? Some of the answers were unsurprising and in the neighborhood of the motivators I was used to. For instance, at DAA, the high school application process is a big deal. Thanks to our amazing High School Transition Coordinator, Mr. O’Brien, the students here have a good idea of what is required of them in order to get into the competitive high school of their choice. That is a big and much-appreciated motivator as a teacher. But what about the kids who have no hopes of or expectations that they will be able to attend those schools? Or what about the 8th graders during the second half of the year, once their high school placements have been determined? Or simply what else is there to push our kids to be the best they can be?
This year, we recognized winners in each category in our incredible science fair, and it was refreshing to see a diversity of students get a share of the spotlight.
It was this year at DAA that I realized the magical powers of student recognition. Sure, I have recognized kids before. I have called out their high test scores and even sometimes posted “Top 10” lists. But here, it’s on a different level. At DAA we firmly believe that all students are worthy of celebration, and we find ways to celebrate them all. We give weekly DAA awards on a paper certificate for character and academics in all crews. And while my “big kids” don’t dance and wave them around like the little kids do, it is crystal clear that they care about them. This year, we recognized winners in each category in our incredible science fair, and it was refreshing to see a diversity of students get a share of the spotlight. And sometimes, the recognition is much smaller, but it is all so appreciated - an exit ticket on a bulletin board, their classwork displayed on the projector screen as an example for the other students. They love it all - big and small.
As I reflect on my previous experiences and compare them to DAA I wonder - is the difference between those years and schools and this year and this school the age group, or is it just school culture? If those other schools had been places where academic achievement was recognized consistently in many different ways, would kids have learned to love it and work for it like they do here? Or were they simply too old to care about a certificate with their name on it? I may never know for sure, but what I do know is that I’m taking the recognition to the next level when I return in the fall. If kids learn to love success and achievement - both in terms of academics and character - they will want to keep working for it. And that may be all the motivation that they need to achieve the prosperous and fulfilled lives that we dream of for them.