Friday Focus

Motivating OUR KIDS

Often the question comes up from Parents and Teachers...How can I motivate my child/student? Here are some things we are doing at MMS as we all continue to look for new ways to keep OUR KIDS motivated!

1). Show Interest in Them - OUR KIDS seek approval and need encouragement. To do this, we must make a valid attempt to get to know all students. Allow a student to come eat lunch with you, be encouraging, ask about his day or interests, or just be there to listen to her.

2). Give Students a Choice - Middle school students are motivated by knowing that they have a choice. They seek independence and want to be heard. Allow students the opportunity to be heard by giving them a choice in what or how they learn.

3). Give Students Praise and Acknowledgment - We all know students need to know when they are doing well. Praise and acknowledgment can be just the motivation they need to stay engaged. Choose “star students” where you share their successes with the school and students are acknowledged for their hard work. They will be motivated to see their name on the wall!

4). Showcasing Student Work - You are never too old to see your name in the spotlight or your work on display. When students know that their work will be shared for all to see, their motivation will increase. Try to display student work and see how their motivation rises!

5). Reward Respect - Oftentimes, middle school students have a hard time showing respect to their peers or teachers. To help motivate students to be respectful, reward them for being respectful. Make a game out of it by handing out reward tickets when you see someone being respectful or doing something respectful. Once they reach a predetermined amount of tickets they can cash them in for a get out of homework pass or another reward.

Motivating students comes down to making students feel like they have a voice and a choice, and that they are valued. When students are motivated to learn they will more apt to engage in activities. The easiest way to motivate students is to show that you are invested in them and that you care. Once they know that you respect them and value their opinion you will find their motivation will increase.

Attacking Chronic Absenteeism
As you know, OUR KIDS are coming to school more frequently than last year. Chronic absenteeism is currently down 7% this year!!! This is due to the hard work from teachers making encouraging phone calls, families are working hard to get students to school each day and OUR KIDS showing up more and more.

Thank you to OUR TEACHERS and OUR FAMILIES for having positive and encouraging conversations and letting OUR KIDS know Martin Middle School cares as much as any other school they have been to in the past. We can’t rest on these numbers and we need to continue to encourage great attendance every day!

TEACH WITH PASSION