Sir Ken Robinson speaks to me in words that I often use myself. I would do my job for free. I cannot imagine a world where I was not in my profession and doing what I do every day. Daniel Pink also sheds light on an area that I truly understand, money is not the motivation and I would dare say cannot be the motivation in my area specifically. Pink describes that autonomy, mastery, and purpose in your learning environment are what specifically drives learners to be more productive. (Pink,2010).
Most learners don't enter my classroom unless they already have discovered a passion for helping others. I find that if they have that base desire of passion for helping that we can teach them what they need to know. We do set them up in a linear pattern(Robinson,2010) but I have found that when we have them take responsibility for each other that they tend to uncover the strengths and hidden resources of their classmates. Ultimately, if you want success for every student, then the education must be personalized to them.
I have often said on these discussion boards that the only reason I am an effective teacher is because my students can feel the passion I have for the profession and my most effective tool is by sharing what striving toward mastery feels like. My goal is to turn out graduates that have that same passion and desire to do quality work as I do. I deeply want to work towards mastery in teaching also which is why I am here. I do find that my most effective learners tap into that passion and purpose. I'm not sure I have anything to do with it as their teacher. They tend to be "outside of the box" thinkers, creative learners, collaborative learners, and seek out every resource for their learning. Of course, we still have students that are there as a means to an end. All of my students ultimately need a paycheck and have some motivation to complete and learn for that very reason. I find those students are less likely to collaborate with their peers, less likely to be self-directed, less-likely to be creative, etc. My goal is to tap into what will work to inspire all my learners to be autonomous, imaginative, driven by purpose and ultimately to work toward mastery not for me but for themselves. Sounds fabulous, now I need to figure out how to do that effectively.
Robinson, Ken. (May 24, 2010). Learning revolution. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/r9LelXa3U_I
Pink, Daniel. (April 1, 2010). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivate us. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/u6XAPnuFjJc
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