A Student's "Why"

A recent conversation I had with a student taught me a very important lesson.

The lesson was sparked from reflecting upon the "sentencing" faze of a discipline issue. I was working with a student whom I had worked with quite extensively at the beginning of the school year. Over the last few months, the student has made great progress. He has been making better choices thus seeing his assistant principal much less formally. He has been a success story. On this particular occasion, he had not made too bad of a decision. He had engaged in some horse-playing but luckily his actions had not been intentional or malicious. He accidentally hit another student, luckily the other student was uninjured. He was merely looking at a time out. After sharing this news with him he was visibly upset. He held his head low and nonchalantly wiped at his eyes. I first thought he was worried about what his parents would say when we contacted them. I assumed there was some privilege at home he was going to lose or maybe a punishment. This was not the case at all. He was upset because he thought that he was going to be kicked out of the science club. He said, "I want to still be a part of my group." I explained to him that I did not think the science club sponsor would kick him out based on the circumstances. I told him that she would understand and since he had not done anything "mean" on purpose that he would be able to continue with his club. This seemed to help lessen his concerns slightly. Later in the day, the science club sponsor stopped by and affirmed for him that his status in science club was okay. When he heard the news from her, the weight was truly off of his shoulders.

The reason this conversation resonated with me is that it highlights the importance of getting connected with our students' "why". We need to know what motivates our students if we want to best reach them. In this young man's case the science club seems to be what makes coming to school worthwhile. Being a member of the science club is what makes him excited to come to school each week. I am not sure if he is motivated by the content, the energetic teacher who sponsors the club, or if he likes his teammates. It may be a combination of those factors or others. I do know it is one thing he seriously looks forward to. I believe being a member of the science team has been a major part of his turn around.  It is his "why".

Our schools, our classrooms, and our individual relationships can all benefit from becoming more attuned to what motivates our students. Knowing this information can lead us on so many right paths. Knowing the "why" can tell us what extracurricular activities to offer and which students to offer them to. Knowing the "why" can give us important information for designing our instruction. Ultimately, knowing our students "why" makes us better educators. Invest time getting to know your students as individuals so you can be a better educator for them.