My guiding question

So - the question I was focused on was "What motivates you?". I wanted this answered from the student's point of view. I notice that students here in the US don't always seem to be motivated or necessarily care if they do their homework etc. I wanted to see what I could learn to perhaps share and implement in my classroom. Now, I'm not saying there aren't kids in India that don't do their homework, but if you saw what I saw - you'd see much more focus and hard work. Why? I really don't know the answer but here are some things I noticed and heard from the students and teachers.

1. Students want to do well so their parents can move their status in society. It seems very important to them to help their parents. It means a lot to them. I'm not sure if there is pressure from parents, but I suspect it is something they have inside them because there is that respect for parents and society. I mentioned in one of my first blogs the student that said it was their dream and their parent's dream. I asked who's dream was more important and he said his parents.

2. Students want to be productive members of society - good Indian citizens. I don't know what is causing them to want to do this - perhaps pride in their country and seeing how they can make a difference and continue to help India progress.

These were really the two most common answers I received from students. I can't say there were any others. But there are some noticing that my cohorts and I were reflecting on that may perhaps also cause these students to be more motivated.

3. India has been around for 1,000's of years (Indus Valley Civilization). They have a rich culture and tradition - first orally and then written. Even though India is very diverse across the whole country, there still seems to be pride in their traditional clothing, food, history. There wasn't one Indian person I met that couldn't speak about their history. It was amazing. So this begs me to ask - " is having a rich culture and tradition help students to respect their parents more and their country?" Here in the US, we don't have the common history that ties us all together. We are a salad bowl of beautiful and diverse cultures - but does that stop or prevent us from bonding together and encouraging students (and adults) to do our best for our country? I'm really not sure I'm wording this right, but it's something to think about. However, not much of this could really be used to help my students become more motivated. Just an interesting thought.

4. Divorce and single parent families. I asked some teachers in Delhi what was the number of students from single parent homes - and they said not very much. Is this something also that encourages the motivation and expectations of the students? Does having two parents and also extended family in the home help support the student more? Here in American, I have and have had many students who are not from two parent families for whatever reason... I realize things happen, but I think this does affect the stability and expectations of our students.

5. Yoga and morning meetings/meditation. I think this is huge and helps the students stay focused throughout the day. This is something I do in my class but haven't practiced consistently. I think at the beginning of each class there should be a "quiet time" where kids can release the problems of the morning and become ready for the day. This is something I am committed to doing.

I don't know the answer - but I thought these were valid points that could perhaps be reasons that there is such a discrepancy between students there and here ( I also notice in my travels to other countries, that most students are motivated and focused). Of course, there are students here in the US who are motivated and focused, but I'm talking about as a whole. I look forward to helping my students to the best of my ability and hold them to high expectations but also help them (obviously) achieve them.