Last month when my car was in need of $900.00 in repair, I bought a repair manual and a few parts, and fixed it myself for $200.00. Now my car runs smoothly again. Two years ago, my wife, wanting to have a rewarding career yet still be home for our children as they walk in the door from school, taught herself how to design web pages using code. Now she runs a small web design business out of our home for a start-up cost of $1.50 in library fines. Over the summer, my fourteen year old son, wanting to have a cool computer on a limited budget, rebuilt a friend's "old" computer destined for the dump using information from the Internet. Now he has a computer for gaming and game programming (as well as for completing homework :).
So what does any of this have to do with the President's speech on Tuesday? It's about the learning. None of these learning opportunities would have occurred if each of us didn't have the motivation to read, explore, save money, solve a problem, or take a chance. In short, we were motivated to learn something new and stimulating; and a greater sense of independence (as well as financial benefit) was the reward for our efforts.
So where does this kind of motivation come from for most people? I'd say any number of places. Some have parents that surround them with stimulating books and experiences from an early age. Others have a seemingly innate desire to explore certain aspects of their environment. And for some, it starts in a classroom, where at the right moment in time, a curious student, hoping to make connections with the world, experiences a caring teacher who challenges her/him to be responsible, set goals, work hard... Regardless of the source, motivation happens, and the inherent rewards of knowledge and learning become apparent.
In a time of great political polarization, I am optimistic that the President's speech on Tuesday will be one that is focused on challenging students to work hard, stay in school, be responsible, and inevitably develop a philosophy of lifelong learning that contributes in big and small ways to the betterment of themselves and ultimately our world. I am hopeful that this President and all future Presidents will continue this as an annual tradition in years to come.
President Obama's speech airs live on Tuesday, September 8th at noon (Eastern Daylight Time) via C-Span (cable) or via the Internet at www.whitehouse.gov. (His speech will be available 24 hours prior to the scheduled address to students.)
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I wish the people who have so much influence in our country would take a more positive, public role in our children's academic lives. I commend President Obama for doing so, and I hope we see other folks in our local, state and federal governments, from all political parties, follow him down this path. If our leaders focus on the general, universal goals and "put them out there" for our students to see and hear, then perhaps we can begin reaching some of those goals more often, than not. How often do we, as teachers, send similar messages (through our lessons and activities) to our students? Almost daily...directly and otherwise. Yes, it IS about the learning and it shouldn't be about anything else. Our children need it...our children deserve it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your comments about the President. For the most part, all of the teachers at my school feel that regardless of a person's political views, we should all support our President and model for our students what good citizenship looks like in and out of the classroom. It is important, as educators, that we portray a nonpartisan approach to teaching, while supporting the ideals that this country was grounded on and that our troops around the world are still defending with their lives.
ReplyDeleteI loved the President's speech. His comment concerning taking personal responsibility for one's education hit the point. I love the examples of failure by Mike Jordan. It beautifully illustrates the case for persistan ce in the case of failure. Great Speech for students. Alice Day
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteThe examples of learning within your family are quite inspirational, well worded. As for Obama's speech, I wish all students had the opportunity to hear the encouraging words from the leader of our country. We had many parents calling/e-mailing the school not wanting their child to see the speech, unfortunate for them. His message of "working hard" hopefully will sink in for students who did hear the speech and we can as teachers foster his message within the classroom. L.Black