MOTIVATION and 2019!

I can't think of a better chapter meeting to have at the beginning of the new year than today's!! Caroline Jennings presented some fabulous information about what drive's children (people) and what drives them away!  She also gave some excellent resources.  The most important to read is:

The Self-Driven Child by Stixrud and Johnson, 2018

The authors would seemingly not work together since Stixrud deals with clients suffering from ADHD, ADD, Anxiety and Depression, while Johnson deals with clients who are in the high powered ACT Prep category wanting to obtain admission into Ivy League schools, but also suffering from Anxiety and Depression.  What???  There are correlations?  You bet!!

Here are just a few of my notes, but the whole powerpoint can be viewed below.  I highly recommend it!

Caroline's Powerpoint

Autonomy = Motivation    When a child feels empowered, able to direct his life, is responsible for his life, enjoys/suffers the consequences of his decisions, he is motivated.  When we take away autonomy (aka agency?) stress occurs.  Stress leads to fear, and fear almost always leads to bad decisions!


What causes stress?  NUTS!!  (keep reading! *_* )

N  Novelty - stuff that's new and not familiar

U  Unpredictability - things that there was no way of knowing would occur

T Threat to Ego - when a person's safety of confidence is questioned

S  Sense of Control - losing the ability to make choices


Three types of stress were addressed:

Positive Stress - motivates growth
Tolerable Stress - builds resilience; brief periods of high stress WITH loving support
Toxic Stress - frequent/prolonged stress  without loving support

There was SO much more.  I hope these notes are helpful!  I know I'm MUCH more motivated to pay attention to my teaching, and all relationships, to make sure I'm helping my students identify what THEY want to learn.  Sometimes this takes practice and work because students aren't always used to being asked...they're used to being told.  (After coming home from this chapter meeting, and applying the information to my 5 afternoon students, I was thrilled when some of my teenage students left saying, "I LOVE THIS!!"  I do, too!!!)