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September 1999
Dear Parents:
Our first advisory after camps involves discussion in small groups
about goals and needs. We have a thinly disguised motive for these discussions--we
hope to help students begin to learn the skills to become self-motivated.
Years in classrooms have taught us that there are many ways to apply motivation
from the outside. Acting on students--urging, pleading, threatening--works!
The benefits are usually short-term, however. A lesson may be learned--a
list or verb form memorized. Yet, little gained by coercion leads to a higher
level of thought or performance. Indeed, negative methods of motivation
create a combative relationship and temporary results. Seldom is knowledge
gained by this method internalized--or ìownedî by the student.
Each day we grapple with the contrast between accumulating knowledge
and acquiring the skills necessary for self-learning. Much of our instruction
attempts to place the student in the middle of the process. We prefer to
have students cope with difficult questions rather than simply listen, list
and regurgitate information. Accepting the risk of becoming the leader in
your education only develops over a long period of time. Yet, each time
we allow slippage and a shift of responsibility from the student back to
the teacher, we delay the opportunity to develop self-motivation and responsibility.
Our school tries to reward good performance with a high level of
personal attention and praise as well as grades. We need to balance the
goal of nurturing students with the necessity of allowing them adequate
space to try, and to err. Author Susan Sontag, in an essay entitled ìOn
Writingî said: ìThe best emotions to write about are
anger, fear or dread... the least energizing emotion to write about is admiration.î
The emotions which make for interesting writing have engendered conflict,
hurt feelings and pathos. This is fine for the writer who finds interesting
topics and entertainment value in the pressures and dilemmas generated by
faults in human nature. In the real lives of students, however, we need
to see less of the conflict-generating emotions. Motivation generated from
within--from the active pursuit of meaningful work with interested tutors,
parents and coaches, is a goal we should pursue together.
Sincerely,
Dick Heath
Headmaster
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