Drive

It's funny sometimes how you can get caught up as a teacher in all the rewards and fun activities and forgot that what you are trying to teach your students is how to love to learn.

I've been reading the book Drive by Daniel H. Pink. Now, most of what is in this book is not real science. The research is extremely outdated and sources are rather laughable, but it does get you thinking about what really helps kids care about learning.

Here is actual breakdown of how we learn. The bottom line is that we learn something because it is pleasant. What stops us from learning is when something is unpleasant. It really is that simple, you do something, there is a positive response, you are very likely to do it again. As a teacher you are providing a positive environment in order to facilitate learning.

But are we getting too reliant on rewards? I know at this time of year the gimme's from the kids start to wear on me. So how do we make learning pleasant without over indulging? It's something to think about.