Quote from the Book, The Superior Educator
A Calm and Assertive Approach to Classroom Management and Large Group Motivation, Copyright © November 20^th, 2008, Stephen T. McClard

Expectations are shaped by a student’s previous successes or failures.  Being successful in a task will breed the desire for more success and increase optimism in the activity.  Failing at a set of tasks will ultimately breed fear of failure. 

Many of the intricacies with motivation are tied to needs that may or may not be met at home by the family.  Giving careful attention to a student’s background can help you decide which tools to use to motivate in a given direction.  Using the incorrect tools or making tasks too difficult, however, can be costly.

A more effective approach with a non-motivated student is to give him one easy task to complete that is related to the larger picture.  After he completes that task, he has now gained momentum.  Give him a push again and, before long, he is doing the entire multi-step task.

I had a trumpet player one year who was having trouble with a solo he was going to take to contest.  We had just passed the new music out, and this student, last chair in his section, just sat there doing nothing.  Other students were struggling through the first reading of the solo, but he sat there with an apathetic look on his face. 

When I noticed this, my first reaction was to treat this situation as a discipline problem.  He was, after all, just sitting there doing nothing.  Upon questioning the student after class, I found out that his main concern was a high note in the first measure that he had never played.  The fear of that note caused him to put the horn down on his lap and pout.  While other students were playing the solo well, this student refused to get past the first measure. 

I kept him for a few minutes after class and asked him if he would do something over the weekend.  I simply asked him to play the note one octave lower from where it was written and even marked the note in the music for him.  In the next rehearsal, not only was he playing the solo with the other students, he had managed to overcome his fear of the original note and was playing it as well as the others.  One simple change made it possible for him to take the first step forward. 

The most effective tool that you possess as an educator is the ability to shape perception.  This ability is the driving force for shaping a student’s thoughts and expectations about you, your classroom, and your program.  This type of positive perception leads to desire, with desire leading to seeking, and seeking finally leading to an increased velocity of movement toward success.  (See the chapter on Understanding the Underlying Causes of Misbehavior.)