10 Tips For Parents - Keeping Your Child Motivated in School

Motivation refers to a set of personal factors that in part explain why a person behaves the way they do in a particular situation. Research has found that high school dropouts are at three times the risk of living in poverty compared to their peers who complete high school.

As a parent the first true test of your motivational skills will be keeping your five-year old motivated once he/she realizes that school consists of the 3 R's (reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic) and not the 3 S's (snacks, Sesame Street, and sleeping). Your job will only get tougher as they get older and other competing interests come into play like cell phones, ipods, internet, boyfriends/girlfriends and driving privileges. Below are some tips to help you keep your child motivated in school.

1. Discuss the importance of school and an education to your child.

2. Ask your child each day how their day went in school. Make sure they give you specifics.

3. Find out if they have any homework or class project that is due.

4. If your child does not have any homework make sure they spend at least 30 minutes studying, reviewing and practicing their lessons.

5. Be sure to read and discuss with your child any progress notes that are sent home. If necessary place restrictions on their activities or give consequences for misbehavior.

6. Reinforce the positives. Don't only focus on the negatives or misbehavior.

7. Encourage your child if they don't do well on a quiz or test.

8. If your child is having academic problems, seek help from the teacher, a tutor or afterschool program.

9. Talk with the teacher about different options and resources to help your child if he/she has a learning problem.

10. Maintain regular ongoing contact with your child's teacher(s) regarding your child's academic progress and behavior.

About the Author:

Felecia D. Sheffield, PhD, is an author, trainer, international speaker and life coach. Dr. Sheffield has over 15 years of experience providing services to parents, schools, colleges, universities, and social services agencies. For additional parenting articles, ADHD, LD and college resources visit http://www.psychcore.com/

Does Student Motivation Leads To Low Test Scores?

First you have to understand that there are different kinds of motivation they are called intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is when an external incentive is given to the student to generate motivation and intrinsic motivation is when the student has a genuine interest in learning more about the topic.

Usually teachers measure the knowledge of the students by applying tests and giving a score depending on how well was the test answered. Most people think that test scores are a motivation for the student to learn more to achieve a better grade however that is not always the case.

Students that don't have real interest in the topic are just going to study enough to pass the test and they will be happy with that. The problem is that the student is just receiving incentive motivation and they will don't have a real interest in a deep understanding of the topic, so they are fine with low test scores, they just want to pass.

The only way to motivate the students to achieve higher test scores is with intrinsic motivation, they teacher needs to create a genuine interest in the subject, although this is not an easy task and many students will not be interested in the subject anyway.

The teacher needs to create interactive learning strategies and creative techniques to teach the students a topic in a way that they get interested and they want to participate.

There have been some studies that reveal that students are more motivated to learn more by applying tests than by doing homework. The reason of this, is because students know that they get punished with a low score if they don't study, on the other hand, when they do their homework, they don't pay too much attention or don't give a lot of weight to the work they have to do, they know that homeworks can be done easily just by looking at their notes without the need of a deep understanding of the subject.

If you want to find more up to date information and tips of how to improve student motivation and the different techniques to use visit: Student motivation strategies at http://selfmotivationtechniques.com/

Don't Be Nervous About High School

That time of year has come again. The leaves are changing colour, your parents are rushing you to the office supplies store, and you're spending sleepless nights worrying about the next school year.

You know that it's going to be your first year of high school; your parents have said that high school is different from "grade school". Your parents say that high school demands more "discipline", "initiative", and "hard work". According to them, without these qualities of self-motivation, you are destined for failure.

Fortunately for our sake, they are wrong. Everything about hard work and perseverance forming the basis of high school education is wrong. Everything about the good student who always does his homework, stays up extra late to finish assignments, and never swears is wrong. Your parents, and other adults, are telling you nothing more than fanciful lies which, although have good intentions, destroy the true meaning of high school.

In reality, high schools treat their students less like pupils in a class and more like a group of individuals who are there to learn, from the teacher, and from one another. In many ways, a high school environment requires less discipline to succeed. A friendless nerd who stays up all-night studying for the final exam may get high grades but he cannot be considered successful in high school.

To be successful in a high school environment, you must put more emphasis on the community aspect of a school. Instead of focusing all your time on math, science, and all the other academic subjects, make sure that you join plenty of clubs, make plenty of friends, and have fun.

A high school is not a learning institution as much as it is a community-driven centre for the absorption of knowledge. In high school, popularity and networking are just as, if not more important, than academics. High school is not some dull place where you sit for seven hours straight and listen to teachers babble. Instead it is a place where you are encouraged to form alliances with other students and learn off one another.

So, don't be nervous about high school and take any negativity you receive with a grain of salt. This school year, you can succeed, you will succeed, because 80% of your mark will be based on how well you network yourself within the community.

Dustin G. Hsiao was born on August 5th, 1990 and is the author of "Stupid Kid: Learn from Matt and Luke; how you can get better grades without effort". He has been recognized as one of the most promising young authors of modern English. He currently resides in Canada within the city of Toronto where he continues to write on unusual topics.

Dustin's ebook, Stupid Kid, is the perfect back to school gift for any struggling high school student and can be purchased online at: http://www.bettermarksnow.com/

Help Kids Show Kindness to Others

Many of our kids' attitudes and ideas are influenced by what they see and learn in school, whether public, private or home schools. Learning how to help others and how they can make a difference in the world can only benefit them and our communities.

But how do you teach about helping others and show kids how to make a difference? Actually, it's quite easy - use one or more of the following five kindness motivation tips from the E-book, 101 Ways Your School Can Change the World.

These kindness motivation tips can help instill children with a life-long commitment to treating others with kindness. Imagine their joy as they learn they have the power to make a difference in someone's world!

1. Develop a mentoring program of students and for students using older students as models for the younger ones.

* You can also use adults in the community to mentor students in any age group.
* This is a terrific way to make a difference by involving students and mentors in learning activities.

2. Invite classrooms and organizations within the school to help sponsor fall and spring cleanup days for all citizens with a special emphasis on the elderly in the community. TogetherWeCanChangetheWorldDay provides a fr*ee service where you can list your project to get more volunteers or to search for projects in your area. Visit www.TogetherWeCanChangeTheWorldDay.com

3. Invite students, parents and personnel to volunteer to help community members develop and maintain small garden plots. This idea could be expanded to help provide fresh produce for Food Pantries in your community.

4. Encourage senior citizens, parents and grandparents to volunteer for projects and programs.

* Create a list of needs and conduct an Open House at a community Senior Citizen Center or PTA.
* Explain how volunteers can help make a difference:
Storytelling
Listening to groups read
Reading stories
Tutoring, etc.
The list goes on and on.

5. Use the holidays to help families, but 'extend the giving'.

* Keep food bins in your room to collect food for 2 families.
* Once every couple of weeks, take the food to them.
* If the families are hungry at the holidays, they are going to be hungry year round.
* If each classroom or home school adopts 2 families, student's ongoing giving can really make a difference throughout the entire community!

The best part of using these kindness motivation tips is teaching youngsters and teens the value of kindness and how each person can make a difference to others. They'll also be changing the world at the same time. What a tremendous lesson for them to learn early!

Author Ginny Dye shares how practical acts of kindness can make a difference in our world. Get all 101 tips on how you can make a difference by going to http://www.101WaysSeries.com and request "101 Ways to Change the World".

After School Activities is Important

Do we really need after school activities for our children? This is the question that is in the minds of most of us. Most of us think that it would be a burden for children to go to after school activities, after the stressful learning and sport activities in school. You can still figure out that the culture of after school activities is increasing day by day.

The main reason behind this success of after school activities is that the parents don’t have enough time for the children as in most of the houses both parents are employed. There are children who spend near about twenty to twenty five hours alone at home in a week. Usually, such children who are alone at home fall in the hands of wrong company or are indulged in wrong activities such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs or crime. Therefore parents put their children in after school activities so that they are busy most of the time. This decreases the tension of parents as their children are secure in the hands of professional people.

Children needs protection from 3 to 4 p.m. as most of the crimes happens at this time after school and if children are alone they may fall prey to it. Moreover, group activities in after school activities encourage them and increase their motivation to compete in true spirit.

Recent studies have revealed that the obesity in children is growing at a fast rate due to the consumption of junk food and less exercise or activities. After school activities help to cure this problem as many activities are involved that has enough exercises for the children to make them fit and strong. Children are not fascinated to television or computer games if they spend their valuable time in valuable activities such as after school activities.

This helps to develop sense of social responsibility in children and promote social awareness among them. Such after school activities are helpful in producing responsible citizens who are away from every type of wrong activities.

All parents want their children to excel in every field, either its academics or sports or other activities. Therefore, such parents enroll their children in the after school activities to make them more responsible. The expectations of parents may be due to their own weakness or due to some other reason. Whatever may be the reason but after school activities help to improve the overall personality of the child.

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Who Teaches The Teachers? Motivation for Teacher

In these days of budget cuts, classroom overcrowding, and compulsory high-stakes testing, teacher motivation is more and more difficult to sustain. Many teachers decry the lack of control they have over their classroom scheduling due to federally, state, or district-mandated programs. Not only is their classroom time rigidly controlled, it is also often very complex, with students being pulled out or sent in for enrichment or ability-grouped mini classes. Sadly, the lack of effective teacher motivation is a prime factor in experienced teachers looking for work in other fields. If your school wants to keep its teachers happy, here are a few ideas.

Of course, one of the biggest ways to show support or to motivate a teacher would be by paying him a salary commensurate with his worth. With so many budgets constricted at a district level, though, there is often little a principal or parents’ group can do in this regard. What they can do is to make things easier on the teachers. If a support staff is truly supportive, they limit classroom interruptions, extracurricular requirements and faculty meetings and streamline procedures so that the teachers can concentrate on teaching.

Maintain a positive school environment for the adults as well as the children. Celebrate together when you can, but treat everyone on the staff as professionals in and out of school hours. Morale is crucial; since teaching requires a great deal of “giving,” a nurturing environment will help to replenish the teachers.

If you are in a position to do so, encourage teachers to get training to improve their skills. This applies to all walks of life of course; people like to feel that their employers invest in them as well as in their business.

Feedback is a vital part of teacher motivation. Everyone wants acknowledgment that they are doing a good job, and suggestions on how they can do even better. Thank your teachers sincerely when they have done something well – appreciation is the greatest gift of all.

Articles relating to employee motivation, personal motivation and teacher motivation can be found at http://www.motivation-articles.com

Student Motivation

Student motivation refers to a student's interest, desire, compulsion, and need to participate in and be successful in the learning process. It is generally accepted that student motivation plays a key role in academic learning.

Highly motivated students actively engage more in the learning process than less motivated students. Motivated students have a positive impact on learning. They take advantage of a given opportunity and show intense effort and concentration in the implementation of learning process. Also, they reveal positive emotions such as excitement, enthusiasm, interest, and optimism during learning.

On the other side, the less motivated were found to be less interested in participating in the learning process. Most of them were physically present in the class room but were mentally absent. They often failed to actively engage themselves in the learning tasks. Such students were more likely to stop learning. Less motivated students should be guided so as to develop a favorable attitude towards the learning process.

A teacher or an instructor has a significant role in guiding less motivated students. A technique called attribution retraining, which includes modeling, socialization, and practice exercises, is used to restructure less motivated students. Its aim is to help students to concentrate on the learning task without the fear of failure.

There are two types of student motivation such as extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is defined as the motivation to engage in an activity in order to obtain rewards or to avoid punishments from an external source. Extrinsically motivated students undertake an activity for the sake of getting good grades or a teacher's approval. Extrinsic motivation is again divided into two such as social motivation and material motivation. Social motivations include approval of teachers, parents, and friends. Good grades, future education, or job security come under material motivations.

Intrinsic motivation refers to engaging in an activity for its own sake, for the pleasure and enjoyment it provides. To be more precise, a student who is intrinsically motivated carries out an action for the learning it permits. Compared to extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation is more desirable as it is the motivation to engage in the learning process for the enjoyment of learning without considering its consequences.

Z-motivation.com provides detailed information on Motivation, Daily Motivation, Employee Motivation, Motivation Posters and more.

Intrinsic Student Motivation, Teacher Must Know!

It has become very difficult for teachers to engage students in their classes and create interest in them for the subject. There are different motivation methods, some are called extrinsic and others intrinsic.

Intrinsic student motivation, means that the motivation of the person comes from inside, it means that he is motivated because he has a genuine real interest in the subject and wants to know more about it.

On the other side if the student just has extrinsic motivation, it means that he is motivated by rewards or short term motivators like punishments, extra points and grades.

The teacher needs to focus more on intrinsic motivation because that will create a real interest in the student and he will want to contribute more and will get better grades.

Usually it is more difficult to create an intrinsic motivation, however the teacher can encourage motivation by giving interesting activities to do, investigations, challenges and creating an environment of collaboration in the classroom.

There needs to be a real interest in the student to learn more or to like the subject. You won't be able to create intrinsic motivation in all your students, but you can certainly help to create it.

Other methods of motivation like punishments and rewards are sometimes necessary, especially when you are dealing with difficult subjects, however those methods are short term motivation and do not guarantee good results from the students.

I think the easiest way to encourage intrinsic motivation is to show live case studies to the students of the subject that they have to learn. If you can apply what you are teaching to real live examples, students will more likely become interested and contribute to the class.

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First Day of School: Prepare Your Child

The first day of school for your child is going to be a big day for both of you, and for some it may cause some fear and anxiety. As a parent, you can do a great deal to help your child get through this time of change and new experience by helping them prepare for school. If you fail to prepare your child for their first day, it will be more difficult for both of you, but a child that has been adequately prepared will deal much better with this new change in their life. The following are some helpful ways that you can help prepare your child for their first day of school.

Take a Tour

One of the best ways to prepare your child for the big first day of school is to take them to the school so they can take a tour. It will be a big help for your child to see the layout of the school where they will be going, so the first day will not have them in a totally strange place. If they are able to take a tour, they will be able to visualize going to school instead of fearing the worst.

Meet the Teacher

Another great way to help your child prepare for their first day of school is to take your child in to meet their teacher. Most teachers are skilled at dealing with children and will be able to make your child feel at ease. It will be helpful to your child to have a picture in their head of their teacher on the first day of school. This will help them to be able to find their teacher easily and the teacher will not seem like such a stranger, since they will have already met.

Play School

Playing school together, or roleplaying, may be a great way to help your child mentally prepare for their first day of school. Make the roleplaying fun and exciting so your child feels excited about going to school. Playing school together will help communicate to your child that school will be fun and exciting, and it will be much less scary for them on the first day.

Make School Supply Shopping Fun

Part of preparing for school includes shopping for school supplies, and getting your child involved in the school supply shopping will be fun and will help them mentally prepare for school. Talk about all the cool supplies that they will be using in school, and use the shopping trip to further a positive outlook on the first day of school.

While the first day of school may not be without it’s challenges, you can definitely make it an easier process if you take the time to prepare your child for what is going to happen. If you take the time to properly prepare your child for the first day of school, you should have a child who is excited to go to school and enjoy the fun.

Preparing your child for the first day of school isn't the only challenge you face as a parent. For more solid parenting articles along with fun crafts, activities, recipes and product reviews and recall info visit http://www.parentingzoo.com/.

Motivate Kids To Get Ready For School In The Morning

Are you tired of fussing and fighting with your kids to get them out of the door and onto the bus? Getting them out of bed, dressed, feed and on there way isn’t always an easy task, especially when they don’t really want to do it. Here are some tips on how to motivate kids to get ready for school in the morning

Start by getting as much as possible done the night before. That means making sure their homework is done and they are prepared for any upcoming tests or exams. If they need permission slips or papers signed, take care of that the afternoon before as well.

Ask your child what he or she would like for lunch the night before as well and prepare as much of the lunch box as possible. Pick out an outfit for school as well and lay it out in your child’s room.

Being tired is a big motivation killer. Get your child to bed at an appropriate time. This works best if you are establishing some sort of bedtime routine. Making sure your child gets plenty of rest at night is one of the best ways to get them motivated to get ready for school in the morning.

Spend some quality time with your child before school. Our kids crave our attention more than anything else. Turn off the morning cartoons and sit down to breakfast and have a chat instead. Ask your child about how school is going and give plenty of praise. Of course you should do the same after school or over dinner. Showing an interest in what your child does at school can be a big motivator for him or her to not only get ready for school in time, but to show interest and learn while there as well.

For more parenting tips as well as ideas for crafts and activities you can do with your kids sign up for the free Kinderinfo Newsletter at http://www.kinderinfo.com/newsletter/