Abandoning Your Horse

The article from last week made me think a lot about the role of motivation in designing not only online courses but also motivation in the traditional classroom. My experience of 10 years as a teacher in public schools in two states leads me to the conclusion that you cannot make a student learn. The old adage, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink," would be a simple way of restating what the article discussed. Over the years, I've had classrooms filled with students who stare blankly at you when you try to explain the criteria for a new project, go over the information on a study guide, or entertain them with a glitzy PowerPoint. It's all about how you lead the horse. Even a self-motivated adult learner will experience content that just makes their brain numb if an instructor presents the material in an unappetizing manner or they don't see the relevance or use in learning it. Designing a lesson or course that is engaging can corral more students into your camp, but you will always have the outsiders that refuse to engage in the process.

My impression of the authors' attitude in the motivation article is that they cut their losses and that, my friends in education, is not very No Child Left Behind of them! Don't get me wrong. I do not think it is possible to motivate every learner, in my case adolescents. But I did have a problem with the notion that it didn't matter if those "outsiders" never took an active interest in my lesson. I want their attention. I want to continually try to get them involved, and I just thought it harsh abandon those learners who cannot find a reason to learn--especially young learners. It's like the authors of that article take all the time to lead the horse to the water but then drop the reins and walk back to town. If I'm going to take all that time to pull and tug that stubborn animal to the trough, I'm not going to just leave it. Even if it means I feel like dunking its head underwater.