“The Motivation Debate”

Among my research on motivation, I discovered an interesting website: www.debate.org. This is an online community site where people from all over the world provide opinions and encourage discussion on “big issues.” One specific topic that I came across was “Should student’s get paid for good grades?” Well, the results are in; 67% say yes, and 33% say no! This is a very interesting reaction from the majority of debaters, who feel as though extrinsic motivation is an essential aspect of doing well in school. Thus, in this inquiry post, I want to examine some of the responses that reporters have given in regards to the debate over motivation. I will also provide my own criticism of these comments in terms of the research that I have completed on the topic.

The “Yes” Sayers:

“Many kids don’t like school or pay attention because they don’t get anything out of it”- Anonymous. This reporter was expressing how students go to school to do “work,” just like a person would go to work for money. This is a concern for me, as students go to school to not only obtain an education, but to learn about values, social responsibility, discovering their own interests and curiosities, as well as cooperative behaviors. To provide students with financial rewards as a result of good grades provides no intrinsic value or appreciation for hard work. Students begin to focus on money as an integral part of life, rather than discovering their passions and goals. I can reflect this to my own personal experience as a young student, who did not specifically earn money for grades, but was rewarded a vehicle if I moved straight into university after high school. This was a large extrinsic reward which was always kept in the back of my mind, and did cause a lot of stress thinking about my GPA. I was also the only female in my family to attend a university, so that was an additional external motivator (a large pressure looming over my shoulders). I feel as though if I had focused on my own interests, my personal motivation would have increased substantially and the ease of studying would be accompanied with a less stressful experience. This goes hand in hand with any student, as their ability to do well with be second nature when their passions are focused. This is an essential component to our new curriculum in BC, which fosters intrinsic-related learning processes.

The “Nay” Sayers:

“Students may look for shortcuts & cheat”- Anonymous. The concept of seeking out short-cuts to obtain a reward is a consequence of consistently implementing a rewards-based system. Instead of focusing on purposeful learning and a long-lasting knowledge, students are engrained to find the easy-way out if rewards at the primary goal. As this reporter acknowledged, if we implement too many extrinsic reinforcers to help motivate students, we are harming them long-term. They will begin to look for ways to reach those good grades, which may result in cheating behaviors. They will not retain the information that is learned, and become fixated on the end result. This extrinsic motivation will only set students up for failure in the future. Perhaps instead of providing students with money for good grades, a parent could motivate their child by the amount of effort and passion they put into something they enjoy. Interestingly, I have discovered that success is not solely about obtaining money-but, that it is finding out what drives your happiness and enjoyment in life. As a teacher, I feel it is essential to instill this concept in student’s lives, and to help them be curious about topics that are designed to their wonder and desire. In regards to subjects that may not be as appealing to some- we, as educators must find ways to inquire within those topics and include elements that are outside the norm to help foster interest. This is one aspect of teaching that I am looking forward to the most in my career!