The book "Switch" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath gave me a lot of insight into motivation and change. People can read the first chapter here: http://www.heathbrothers.com/switch/chapterone.php
Some ideas from the book:
*Lectures will not work
*Motivate the emotional side--what will success look and feel like? paint a mental picture
*Be specific about what you want the child to accomplish ("turn in all of your math work on time" is more effective than "get better grades") and start small
*Make it easy for the child to do what you want: remove obstacles (have the pencils sharpened, clear the table for work, etc.)--some may parents resist this as "enabling" but once the child has established the study habits, you can work on the rest. This is about prioritizing your goals. You can't work on everything at once.
Apart from the book, my own advice is: Take a serious look at your child's media use. I find that most of my students who are unmotivated are heavily into online gaming. They play video games all evening long, and are often up past midnight playing online with others. At school they are tired and disengaged.
Kristin Woebke
World Language Teacher
Southwest High School
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