Why Some Students Are Unmotivated

furniture, and block electrical outlets to contain their child’s curiosity. And usually, most young children can’t wait for their first day of school to arrive.

Increasing motivation and minimizing behavior problems remain at or near the top concerns expressed by educators. Virtually every classroom has students who expect success but are unwilling to work for it. During this age of abundance and entitlement, guilt can lead parents to give materially to their children without attaching expectations. Expectations of entitlement are easy to acquire in a culture that too often values what we have rather than who we are.

A Maryland-based consumer group found that children learn to nag their parents nine times on average for products advertised on television before getting what they want (Seith, 2017). Even many with limited means feel pressured to get the latest two-hundred-dollar sneakers or newest phone with the most elaborate bells and whistles. When fast and easy replaces work and earn, and parents prioritize their children feeling good about themselves over resilience, persistence, and effort, school can give children a rude awakening, since success at school— and in life—requires preparation, practice, and perseverance. Some students shut down to school because they feel disconnected and see being unproductive as a pathway toward acceptance. For example, a newly arrived English learner (EL), who may be angry and resentful at being removed from familiar surroundings, may find easier acceptance from peers similarly struggling to find their way. Others find learning difficult and may stop working to hide feelings of inadequacy. Many students with an “I-don’t-care” attitude are actually afraid to care because they don’t believe they can succeed.

For some students, being viewed as unmotivated or “bad” is preferable to being seen as “stupid.” Some students find power and control in their refusal to work. They may be competent and capable, but their need to be in control is so strong that they employ a self-defeating strategy to express their independence.

Depression among children as young as preschool may be overlooked as a cause of poor school motivation. Academic and interpersonal strategies that stick have to address these students’ needs for connection, competence, control, and fun.

As an expert on motivation, educators often ask me how to get disengaged students motivated. My answer is pretty simple but not easy: spark interest or reawaken what once came naturally but was somehow interrupted. What makes you want to do something, go somewhere, or have something? Companies can’t make you buy their products, come to their stores, visit their vacation spots, work for them, or get your business. They have to either give you what you want or think you want to convince you that buying their products, visiting their spas, working for them, or signing up for their services will enhance your life. There is a lesson and a challenge in this for educators when working with unmotivated students—most people want their lives to be filled with success and pleasure. To get and keep students motivated, they must derive sufficient pleasure from the effort to learn or see how the learning you offer is likely to make their lives better now or in the future.

There are many ways for educators to reawaken motivation, and much of this book is about that. More difficult for some of us is sustaining or reclaiming the belief and attitude that students who have lost interest, and perhaps also hope, are worth our time, effort, and commitment. Students who are hard to motivate and control may make us sometimes wonder why we should bother with them when there are so many others who care and want to learn. They may make us question the worth of reaching out to them when they often sap our own energy and motivation. In addition, they often push our buttons, make us feel defeated, interfere with other students, challenge our authority, and evoke strong emotions that can interfere with reason. Unless we are careful, they can burn us out.

Yet our professional responsibility requires that we teach and reach all students, especially those who seem not to care. Just as a good subject area curriculum provides the big picture along with specific units of instruction, this book offers specific methods and strategies that