Quill English Academy


Working with young learners can be particularly challenging, as they are particularly emotional, sensitive, impressionable, and impulsive. The older a student is, the more their motivation tends to be self-generated. For young learners, generating an energetic, motivated environment might take
extra effort for some teachers.

That effort should kick off a positive reinforcement loop where it feels better and better to interact. By running classes well, they tend to be more orderly and fun with higher quality of work, which makes it a more enjoyable experience for you, which makes it more enjoyable for them, etc.

This section is especially geared towards young learners and its relevance
wanes in direct proportion to the development of students’ maturity, gradually giving way to two simple factors:
how useful class is and how pleasant it is.

All but the most dedicated student can be turned away from a sufficiently unpleasant process; anyone not presently agonizing over something that requires immediate attention tends to be invested enough in the future to seek some concrete benefit for the them-to-be.

For young learners, one fine gateway onto the path of motivation is the
9 P’s:
play,
purpose,
personal connection,
praise, positive reinforcement, prizes, peer-to-peer reinforcement,
projects,
and punishment.

  • Play

“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” – Mark Twain

  1. A pleasant, cheerful atmosphere is essential
  2. Sharing a good laugh is priceless
  3. ~Anything can be a ‘game’ if it’s fun and anything can be ‘work’ if it isn’t~
  • Purpose

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” -Mark Twain

  1. Make sure your students know why things they do are important
  2. “How you do anything is how you do everything”
  3. Err on the side of giving more accurate information and overestimating their age and maturity
  • Personal connection

“When I don’t touch you it’s a mistake in any life, in each place and forever.” – Bob Hicok

  1. Take the time to get to know your students
  2. Work honestly and openly with your them, their parents, co-workers, school leadership, and your community
  3. The quality of our relationships may be the most important part of all our lives, provided our basic physical needs are met!
  • Praise

“The best day in a teacher’s life is when their students don’t need them anymore.” (Folk Saying)

  1. We must not become mere lecturers who penalize young students to the degree which they deviate from our predetermined scale (the dominant culture of teaching and grading)
  2. Do let them know what you appreciate, what you like
  3. But consciously avoid over-reliance on “Good Job!”, instead moving the locus of praise from students appeasing You to them being proud of their own growing ability and history of successes
  • Positive reinforcement

“What the teacher is, is more important than what [she or] he teaches.” -Karl Meninger

  1. Generating positive feedback loops is fundamental!
  2. Classrooms should be disciplined, orderly places where betterment is fearlessly, passionately sought
  3. Don’t spend an inordinate amount of time honing in on each and every little mistake that all your young learners make
  • Prizes

“Vae victus* (Woe to the vanquished).” – Brennus, after his sack of Rome

*Interestingly, since Latin doesn’t have the “v” sound as in modern English, this would have been pronounced “Wae wictus”, though that doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?

  1. Make sure to employ a ‘universal basic income’
  2. Reward the whole class for a single student’s/group’s success more than punishing everyone for one student’s/group’s poor performance or behavior
  3. Don’t overly reward or make too big a deal out of it
  • Peer-to-peer reinforcement

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

  1. Give your students constant opportunities to learn from each other and work together
  2. Your esteem may matter a lot, but peers’ esteem tends to matter more
  3. Encourage students to check their book work with a partner after they both have completed the page, so they can learn from each other
  • Projects

“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.” -Bob Talbert

  1. Daily conversation, regular journal writing, lots of careful reading, constant discussion, and accurately completing textbooks are important tools
  2. But make sure to find time to get students moving, exploring things deeper, and sharing their skills and discoveries in class
  3. Multiple-choice and use-the-basic-form-here activities bear little resemblance to the crucial skill of directing oneself in real life
  • Punishment

“The higher you build your barricades, the stronger we become.”– Irish revolutionary song

  1. Being true to your word and following through with logical, compassionate consequences that were made clear ahead of time is crucial
  2. Make sure that the other 8 P’s are comfortably integrated into your class in order for “punishments” (allowing unpleasant logical consequences to transpire) to be effective and ultimately positive experiences
  3. Always be clear with your expectations
  4. Nothing in any way humiliating, degrading, or physically painful should ever be employed in any way whatsoever
  5. Always leave a simple, clear, sensible path back into your esteem and the esteem of their classmates; make sure that by walking that path, their best interests are served