Motivation or Ability by Judy Lyden

I was talking to my eldest daughter the other day, and she reminded me of a workshop she had done years ago that has stayed with her. In the workshop, she learned that people who are not "doing the job" are not doing the job for one of two reasons: either they are unable because they don't have the ability, or they are not motivated.

I thought a lot about this and realized how true it was not only for adults who I've hired over the years, but it's also true about children and their studies. It's also true about parents who fail to read the handbook, notes, letters, report cards, parent boards, etc, that go home from school.

In the workshop, Katy learned that once the reason for not doing the job is found out, then the avenue of correction can best be found. If someone is not motivated, they need counseling, and if they don't have the ability to do something, then they need training. Simplistic, yes, but it cuts out the middle man - the insufferable beast of ill will.

With adults, it's not always easy to really "understand" why someone is failing to do a job. You ask yourself, is something amiss at home, are they tired, are they burned out, are they unhappy with something on the job? Understanding is a very human desire. We want to love other people, take their side, champion the weaker and learn from the stronger. The problem with understanding is that it rarely is vocalized, and people don't volunteer their disgruntle, so the job continues to be undone, and the questions heap on the plate until it's poison between employer and employee.

I once knew a teacher who was disgruntled because her child could not participate in her class. The child was disruptive and too young to participate. The disgruntled teacher secretly refused to teach any of the children in her class and let them play out of protest. All the understanding questions in the world could have been asked at this point: Would your class be a positive for your child? Are you demonstrating a positive example for your child? By not teaching at all are you somehow avenging your child of a great injustice, or is the injustice really a self inflicted wound? Does your child need avenging or even want avenging? Is your child happy as is? By refusing to do the job are you taking revenge on the other children? The thinking person wants to know the answers to these very important questions, but perhaps the simplest and most effective communication is to step back and ask a simpler question: "Is this employee motivated to do the job?" If the answer is no, then that employee needs counseling a.s.a.p. Counseling might bring out the disgruntle, and if not, the employee should be terminated for the sake of the job and the sake of those who depend upon the employee.

On the other side of the ticket, there is the question of ability. Has someone in a job been raised to the level of their incompetence? Can they no longer do the job? Are they ill or hurt? If this is the case, then that individual needs training.

With children, dealing with the two issues is a daily drama. Trying to understand a child's point of view - why they won't or can't is usually a matter of maturity. Most children don't develop an agenda until later than early childhood years. Unlike the adult who plans out an attack because he or she is not getting "their due," a child's immaturity is unlikely to take revenge. Yet motivation is still half the reason for a child not wanting to do the school work job.

Years ago, a child who took no interest in school work was simply branded as lazy or "at the bottom of their class." Today, we are a little more discerning. Children who want to play rather than study can be divided into several groups: the group that learns better from play than worksheets, the group that is not ready for their imagination to be limited to a worksheet, the group that can't yet make the connection between the lesson and the worksheet, the group that gets no training or academic help from home, and the group that is physically deprived, so that the first and only consideration is basic bodily needs.

Most children want to learn, and learning comes in many ways. That's why the classroom that tackles learning from all the intelligences is the classroom that has the fewest number of unmotivated children, but that takes a very involved teacher. Motivation is partly from home, partly from the class, and partly from a good teacher.

A child's motivation can be destroyed by what is going on at home. He or she is upset about mom or dad, a beloved ill grandparent or even the family dog. He brings that to school because he cannot help to do so. It is on his mind. He may not be able to verbalize it. He seems not to be motivated because he is distracted by what is on his mind.

And at the same time, a child may not have the ability to do what a teacher or parent thinks he or she should be doing at a particular age. Should a four year old do work that is over her head? Should a five year old be put into a class that causes him to reach too far? Is that fair? Is that good management? Is that a presumption on the part of the parent or the teacher? Will this motivate a child's ability? No, of course not. It will only cause a child to fail, and squash his motivation.

The balance of motivation and ability with children is real and very fragile. Today I am motivated to stretch, to reach, to do my best. Tomorrow, I might not be...it depends. It depends on the signal from home and from the classroom. Today we expect, tomorrow we relax a little. The hurdles are high and hard and every day is different, so every day we have to ask, "Are you motivated or are you stuck?" Then we either counsel or re-train, and so goes the school year.