Motivation Breakthrough
Secrets to Turning On the Tuned-Out Child
Richard D. Lavoie, M.A., M.Ed.
THE MOTIVATION
BREAKTHROUGH:
Secrets to Turning On
the Tuned-Out Child
POULTRY
INSPIRATION
CAROUSEL
MAKE
BELIEVE
“Oh, you must have so
much…
PATIENCE!!
“The squeaky wheel
gets the grease !!”
“The squeaky wheel
NEEDS the grease”
“We are in a different
time educating for a
different time”
“You are using a
CLOSED BOOK
format to prepare
kids for an
OPEN BOOK
world”
WORLD BOOK
ENCYCLOPEDIA
17,500 pages
17,400 pages
BRONTOSAURUS
BRONTOSAURUS =
APATOSAURUS
Unlearn
Learn
Relearn
Myths and
Misconceptions About
Motivation
Myth #1
“Danny…NOTHING
Motivates that kid”
Myth #2
“That kid! One day he’s
motivated…the next day
he’s not”
Myth #3
“Give him
something…that’ll motivate
him!”
Premack Principle
“Eat your vegetables and
you’ll get your dessert”
Myth #4
“He won’t even try! He’s so
LAZY!”
Learned Helplessness
“Give the chain a tug”
Myth #5
COMPETITION:
The Great Motivator
COMPETITION
85%
games, quizzes, bees
and other competitive
activities
WHY?
• It’s motivating!
• It’s a big bad world out there!
“The only person
motivated by
competition is the
person who thinks he
has a chance of
winning.”
Competition Myth #1
“We do our best work when
involved in head-to-head
competition with others”
THE BEST
versus
PERSONAL BEST
Competition Myth #2
In the classroom, a teacher
has no option. The
classroom is - by its very
nature - competitive
• Individualized
• Cooperative
• Competitive
Competition Myth #3
Our modern society is very
competitive and schools
should prepare students for
this competitive
environment
Adult, real world
competition
• Only compete when you wish to
• Only compete against peers
Competition Myth #4
Children are naturally
competitive
WHY DO YOU PLAY SPORTS?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
To have fun
To improve skills
To stay in shape
To do something I’m good at
To get exercise
To be part of a team
The challenge of competition
Athletic Footwear Association
3900 High School Athletes
Myth #6
“The more you put into
it…the more you get out of it”
“The harder you try…the
better you’ll do!”
“It will be a great day when
we recognize
Performance Inconsistency
as part of the LD child’s
profile…rather than as
evidence for the
prosecution.”
Mel Levine. M.D.
Myth #7
Turning WORK into PLAY
A
B
C
Turning PLAY
into WORK
If he would only try
HARDER, he would do
BETTER
If he would only try
HARDER, he would do
BETTER
If he only DID
BETTER, he would
TRY HARDER
Primary Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hunger
Thirst
Sex (uality)
Air
Rest
Escape from Pain
Elimination of waste
Secondary Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Status
Inquisitiveness
Affiliation
Power
Aggression
Autonomy
Achievement
Gregariousness
STATUS:
The need to be
important
“The degree to which
YOUR self-concept
is influenced by
the opinions of
other people…”
INQUISITIVENESS:
The need to know and
learn
AFFILIATION:
The need to associate
POWER:
The need for control,
power, influence and/or
authority
AGGRESSION:
The need to be
contentious
AUTONOMY:
The need to be
independent
ACHIEVEMENT:
The need for recognition
and acknowledgment
Achievement is:
•
•
•
•
Learning
Effort
Improvement
Completion
GREGARIOUSNESS:
The need to belong
“For those of us who know the pain
Of Valentines that never came
and those whose names were
never called
when choosing sides for
basketball”
Janis Ian
People
Prestige
Prizes
Projects
Praise
Power
Richard D. Lavoie
www.ricklavoie.com
rick@ricklavoie.com