{"id":1493,"date":"2017-02-02T05:27:06","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T05:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/?p=1493"},"modified":"2017-02-02T05:27:06","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T05:27:06","slug":"how-to-motivate-an-unmotivated-learner-by-nancy-wilburton-m-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/?p=1493","title":{"rendered":"How to Motivate an Unmotivated Learner  By Nancy Wilburton, M.S."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How to Motivate an Unmotivated Learner<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Counselor\u2019s Corner<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By Nancy Wilburton, M.S.<\/p>\n<p>Dana Hills High School<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>How to Motivate an Unmotivated Learner<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The scenario usually goes something like this; \u201cHoney do you have your homework done?\u201d \u201cYes, mom\u2026.we did it in class today\u201d.\u00a0 And then out the door he\/she goes.\u00a0 Unfortunately for many parents, after checking their child\u2019s web grades or receiving their progress report, things just don\u2019t seem to add up, literally (how did those zero\u2019s get on the web grade?).\u00a0 Sooner or later parents in this scenario realize they have been dooped into thinking homework is getting done when if fact it is not.\u00a0 If your child is receiving poor grades and is telling you they have no homework, think again, they are probably following the path of least resistance.\u00a0 Poor motivation is a very common problem among teenagers.\u00a0 When you think about it, if you were 13 years old wouldn\u2019t you rather be out socializing with your friends than doing homework?\u00a0 So often parents are working late and return home exhausted hoping that their precious child has at least done their job (homework).\u00a0 Teenagers inherently have more interest in working on their social life then working on academics.\u00a0 Boys tend to mature at a slower rate than girls and often do not have the maturity level to manage their time and commitments without some guidance.\u00a0 Motivating an unmotivated learner is not an easy task but can be accomplished by following some simple guidelines:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><u>Establish a routine at home for completing homework, every day, at the same time<\/u><\/strong><u>.<\/u> Most students who are missing assignments do not have a set time or routine where they do homework and are not being held accountable at home.\u00a0 Establish a daily study routine and allow short breaks as needed.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Require a daily planner<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 If your child does not have a daily planner you may purchase one through our activities office or your local office supply store.\u00a0 The daily planner is <strong><u>crucial <\/u><\/strong>in ensuring homework is completed.\u00a0 If your child frequently misses assignments, require that he\/she show you the daily planner when they come home with an entry beside every class.\u00a0 Even if there is \u201cno homework\u201d that should be written down (have teacher initial this).\u00a0 If your child does not have the assignment written down, there is no way you will know what homework they should be doing for the evening (accountability).\u00a0 Conveniently students do not write down assignments because in their mind if it\u2019s not written down it doesn\u2019t exist. Once you know what the homework is, your child can begin to tackle each assignment then show you the completed work.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Establish a behavior modification system at home<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Teenagers need to earn their privileges.\u00a0 Many students are allowed to have access to cell phones, computers, socializing, television, etc. without earning it.\u00a0 It is your child\u2019s job to complete their homework and subsequently be rewarded by offering those things that are important to them.\u00a0 You may incorporate a contract that spells out exactly what it expected of them and what they will earn as a result.\u00a0 If your child is not completing their homework on a consistent basis, they should not be allowed access to privileges.\u00a0 Conversely, if they do what they are suppose to, they need to be rewarded <u>appropriately and immediately.<\/u><\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Don\u2019t make consequences\/rewards too long term<\/u><\/strong><u>.<\/u> It is common for parents to implement rewards or consequences that are weeks down the road (long term rewards).\u00a0 However, this is an eternity for a teenager who basically lives for today.\u00a0 Although long term rewards are good, they must be preceded with rewards that are on a daily or weekly basis.\u00a0 When reinforcing positive behavior you must provide an immediate reward or run the risk that your child gives up all together.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Be consistent and follow through<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 If you do not follow through on what you say you are teaching your child not to believe you.\u00a0 If you say you are going to reward their good behavior then you must follow up on those agreements.\u00a0 If you say there will be consequences for not doing their homework, etc. then you must hold the line.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Both parents must be on the same page<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Parents must communicate with each other ahead of time regarding what the rewards\/consequences will be.\u00a0 Many students will play one parent against the other to get what they want or seek out the parent they know they can manipulate.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Remember your child is an adolescent<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 For most teenagers school work is not as important to them as it is to you.\u00a0 Most students are not inherently motivated and have not established long term goals. It is very difficult for most adolescence to incorporate the delayed gratification adults learn to incorporate into their lives.\u00a0 Parents serve as an integral part of making sure their child establishes daily study and organizational skills.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Support your child\u2019s interests and talents<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Although most teenagers don\u2019t know what they want to be when they grow up, now is a good time to encourage them to start thinking about it.\u00a0 I always tell students to think about what they are good at and love then figure out a way to get paid for it.\u00a0 If your child is interested in creative and artistic endeavors, forcing them to choose a career in the math and sciences will only breed resentment and is likely to put a stop to any motivation they may have to succeed.\u00a0 Help your child research a career by allowing them to job shadow or talk with someone who can give them guidance in that field.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Don\u2019t allow your child to wear you down<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 This is the underlying plan of many teens who think that if they argue often and hard enough they\u2019ll wear you out and you will get off their case.\u00a0 You must not allow your child to think it is okay not to do their work.\u00a0 Holding them accountable at home in a loving and consistent manner will teach them responsibility and eventually lead to better grades.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Don\u2019t set unrealistic expectations<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 If your child truly struggles in school or is not on a college track, requiring exceptional grades will only lead to a power struggle, oppositional behavior, and possibly giving up on school all together.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to Motivate an Unmotivated Learner &nbsp; Counselor\u2019s Corner By Nancy Wilburton, M.S. Dana Hills High School &nbsp; How to Motivate an Unmotivated Learner \u00a0 The scenario usually goes something like this; \u201cHoney do you have your homework done?\u201d \u201cYes, mom\u2026.we did it in class today\u201d.\u00a0 And then out the door he\/she goes.\u00a0 Unfortunately for &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/?p=1493\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How to Motivate an Unmotivated Learner  By Nancy Wilburton, M.S.<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1494,"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions\/1494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mathwise.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}