Staying motivated is something most teachers urge in school, by pushing students to complete work on time to achieve good grades.
Miss. Sinsel, a student teacher at Hastings High school has experienced the need to stay motivated between school and her own home life.
“Having a schedule and a plan in my head of what I need to do helps a lot, I also take breaks which help me a lot in staying motivated,” Sinsel said. “Seeing my family and friends also helps me a lot, student teaching is new to me too, so I feel like the want to experience new things motivates me.”
Taking time to complete tasks, and having breaks is something Sinsel uses often to stay motivated. Taking on too much at once can be stressful for both students and teachers.
“To stay motivated I recommend taking breaks, but also not procrastinating,” Sinsel said. “It’s going to become really hard to stay motivated when things pile up, also making sure you have time to yourself, but learning new things is motivating too.”
Experiencing life and school at the same time can be difficult, being able to separate the two and take time for each is ideal for Sinsel.
“Honestly sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated especially in the middle of the semester when there’s things to grade and so many lessons to plan,” Sinsel said. “You have to work really hard to keep a balance in your life between school and home. I always try to remember why I started teaching and enjoy every moment with my students.”
Teachers, much like students, have to keep in mind motivation is important in school. Teachers have an important role: being a model for students to look up to. When motivation is lacking, it becomes difficult for either to complete what is needed. Lexi Benson, a junior, finds motivation an important factor.
“Getting everything done in the moment and not waiting on it or procrastinating helps me a lot,” Benson said. ”If I have homework due next week or in a few days sometimes I do some of it early so it’s not much stress later.”
Procrastination works against motivation, the importance of getting things done beforehand is important to both Benson and Sinsel.
“What I would recommend for staying motivated is just don’t stop something after you start it, you could also find something that helps you,” Benson said. “Music and podcasts motivate me, I feel like they help me not get bored.”
Students often find music useful as a way of motivation, being that music has an impact on mood. As found by Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, active music positively affects neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, that influence mood.
“Sometimes it’s really stressful because of all the homework from so many different classes, it’s a lot and sometimes I really don’t want to do it but you have to,” Benson said.
Mrs. Mau, science teacher, finds it extremely important to keep up motivation and effort in class and in life.
“I think it’s very important for students to receive academic information from me but I also feel like being here every day and being a good role model in a lot of different aspects is important,” Mau said. “I feel like giving my students that listening ear or shoulder to lean on is doing just as much for them, as for me, knowing they can count on me drives me to stay motivated.”
Mau feels strongly about her students, making sure all of them try their hardest and will live successful lives.
“Well I think what’s lacking in students’ minds is they don’t have a plan or goal, not being able to have good study habits or just living habits in general, it blurs out that big picture of improvement and success in life,” Mau said. “If students would realize without trying you won’t succeed, it would keep them motivated to come to school and want to learn.”
Having a plan for the future after high school is an important motivating factor, high school can be a memorable experience, but the future after is crucial.
“It becomes harder and harder to stay motivated, I love my career choice and seeing the students who chose to come every day and stay interested but, the number one problem we are dealing with right now is attendance,” Mau said. “Students not showing up and choosing to not be here makes it hard for me to develop a relationship with them if they aren’t here, they can’t learn and it’s hard to watch that”
Students not showing up and adding more stress on to teachers makes it hard for many to keep up with teaching lessons, especially if more than a few students are missing from class.
“I don’t have trouble coming to school every day and seeing students try and show up to class is my motivation,” Mau said.
