“Effort is what happens when we go beyond our normal speed. When we dig deep and exert physical or emotional labor and focus on something that is out of the ordinary. Effort is the opposite of coasting.”
Going through the motions will not help anyone be successful in the classroom or in life.
As a child, I remember having some chores that involved cleaning. I would go through the motions and act like I was cleaning but I didn’t really do a good job. My mother would come behind me and tell me that I needed to put “elbow grease into it” if I wanted to be able to go play. I learned early that if I didn’t put some effort into it, I would never get finished with my chores.
As an adult, I know when I’m just coasting or really putting effort into a project. When I put effort into it and the project gets completed, I feel proud of the hard work that I have put into it. When I complete something without putting much effort into it, I don’t feel the same amount of pride as I do when I have to work harder for it.
Students need to learn this also. Putting effort into something is not a reflex and it has to be learned. When I see students put effort into something, I give them a lot of praise. When the project is complete, I share their success with others. When I don’t see them putting a lot of effort into something, I help them reflect on what could have been done differently and how it might make them feel.
I also try to teach them by example. I want them to see me learn something new that does not come easy for me. I want them to see me struggle to overcome obstacles and not give up. I want them to see how proud I feel when I’m successful.
How do you teach students that putting in the effort is important? Please share.
Photo by Clique Images on Unsplash
2 comments:
As a Health and Physical Education teacher, imagine my surprise when I received my school day schedule over the summer to see that I had a course called “Life Skills 8”... Yes, that’s right, teaching cooking and sewing to 8th graders. After a bit of research, I realized that I had no idea how to do either of those the way the standards wanted them to be taught. Since the beginning of the year, I have learned to relax and take it day by day. I was honest with my students and they laughed at the thought of their PE teacher sewing in a classroom. Now, we are all able to learn some really important skills together and get excited for each other’s successes. They see me succeed, and they see me fail. Other teacher’s “problem students” work hard because they are not afraid of failure or judgement, and I make sure to pick them back up when they are falling. I am in love with my new found talents and have so much fun sharing them with students who put forth their best effort to succeed!
As a Health and Physical Education teacher, imagine my surprise when I received my school day schedule over the summer to see that I had a course called “Life Skills 8”... Yes, that’s right, teaching cooking and sewing to 8th graders. After a bit of research, I realized that I had no idea how to do either of those the way the standards wanted them to be taught. Since the beginning of the year, I have learned to relax and take it day by day. I was honest with my students and they laughed at the thought of their PE teacher sewing in a classroom. Now, we are all able to learn some really important skills together and get excited for each other’s successes. They see me succeed, and they see me fail. Other teacher’s “problem students” work hard because they are not afraid of failure or judgement, and I make sure to pick them back up when they are falling. I am in love with my new found talents and have so much fun sharing them with students who put forth their best effort to succeed!
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