Photo by: Elsie Dickerson
Motivation is something that most students struggle with. Some struggle more than others.
Although there could be many ways to solve the problem of lacking motivation, sometimes the drive to solve it just doesn’t work. This struggle is often associated with mental health or lacking interest in the subject. Mr. Bittfield, one of the counselors at Hastings High, helps students with this problem.
“I’m starting to see that more and more up until the end of the semester, students finally realize ‘Hey I need to do my work so I can pass my classes,” Bittfield said.“So we’re starting to see that lack of motivation a lot more often unfortunately.”
A percentage of students put off work until the end of the semester and then complete the missing assignments at once. This puts lots of weight on teachers to grade papers and other assignments right before finals. Teachers urge students to complete the work as best as they can, but some students can’t or won’t do it because of a lack of motivation..
“When we talk about motivation, we have external motivation and internal. With students and getting their work done, that’s internal motivation,” Bittfield said. “We can encourage them to go to their classes, and if that doesn’t work, we can take away private releases, but at some point the students have to realize it’s on them.”
Motivation could be lost because of internal or external problems. Mental health and classroom confusion both play a part in the lack of motivation present with a lot of Hastings High students.
“I think that students not feeling motivated might be from them not knowing what’s going on in the classroom or with the work, technology being distracting, the attention span within students has decreased a lot,” Bittfield said. “Some of our kids might just have other things going on in their lives and school can’t be, or isn’t, a priority. Some kids are just living day by day and don’t see the big picture.”
Although students are pushed by teachers to do their work, it doesn’t always play out the way it is intended. Students gaining back their motivation comes from themselves, and teachers just provide the extra push. Mrs. Davis, a math teacher at Hastings High, notices it more than others.
“I notice the lack of motivation in students almost everyday. Not always the same students, sometimes it just depends on the mood of the student. If a student is having a bad day, they aren’t going to be very motivated,” Davis said.
Students not having the motivation to do the math in her class, puts them in a position to fall behind much easier. having to be taught many more lessons in small amounts of time.
“My job as a teacher is to make sure my students don’t quit. I’m always doing the best I can to encourage students to keep trying,” Davis said. “Even if they make one mistake, that’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes. We can fix it and move on.”
Davis makes the learning environment for her students as fun and helpful as she can, and she has certain steps she takes every class period to achieve everything. She gives her students room to ask her for help when needed.
“Other things the school offers to keep motivation up is T3. It gives students that extra push, with built-in study time, so if they need that extra help they can hopefully feel that motivation to get the help they need to complete work,” Davis said.
T3 takes place every school day except Wednesday. Teachers use that time to request certain students and help them complete missing work. If the students have no work, they get free time to work on something else.
“Sometimes, I think it’s just stress. Students are going through a lot these days. There could be troubles at home, work, even friends or athletics. Some students are just tired, maybe from lack of sleep or other things,” Davis said.
Teachers commonly urge students to put health before school and to get a good amount of sleep. This might not be possible for some students who work late jobs or chose to stay up.
“As a teacher, it gets frustrating to me when students don’t have the motivation to do their work because when it comes time for a quiz or test they’re lost,” Davis said. “If a student hasn’t put in the time and work they need to practice the concept and skills, then comes time for tests and they’re asking questions, I can’t help them at that point.”
Being clueless during tests often stresses out students more and lessens or tends to “decreases” their motivation. Retakes are available to students, but finishing and understanding the assignments and material when they come out is greatly encouraged. Kamrynn Snow, a freshman at Hastings High, struggles like many other students with having motivation.
“I feel the lack of motivation most days, especially when I’m at home and have work to do. I try and do it anyways because I know it’ll benefit me in the end,” Snow said.
The future of students is effected by the students sense of self motivation. Many students think about their future while others might not, or it might not be a big concern because there’s still so much time left in High school.
“I think about my future and I know if I don’t get these things done it will come back to me, so I just try to push through it,” Snow said.
A future for students is what most teachers try their hardest to create. Students who take time to think about their future for themselves take a lot of weight off of everyone around them.
“My lack of motivation comes from mental struggles, but I’m also kind of lazy sometimes, or maybe I’m just too tired. I try my best to get through it but sometimes I would rather just chill,” Snow said.
A majority of students from Hastings High struggle. Teachers are there to help. sometimes it works, while other times it might not. Teachers try and push students to finish work, giving them free time to complete work or taking away special privileges.
“Not having motivation makes me feel unintelligent sometimes. I know a few students who I’m close to that struggle the same way I do, and it makes me feel sad when my friends struggle. Not having motivation is hard to deal with because I feel the way I do when it happens, but I try my best to get through.” Snow said.
