I first read Drive by Daniel Pink about ten years ago. At the time, I was thinking about it mostly as a parent and a teacher, and it gave me language for something I had seen but had not been able to name. Rewards and punishments only go so far. Lasting motivation comes from somethingContinue reading “What Drives Us”
Category Archives: Motivation
The Voice in the Factory
My wife recently shared a podcast episode with me from one of her favorite shows: Atlas Obscura. The episode was on something called Cigar Readers (or Lectors), and it was absolutely fascinating. In the 1800s in Cuba, with around 500 cigar factories in Havana alone, a tradition/movement arose of having a reader in each group.Continue reading “The Voice in the Factory”
What Do We Make of a Life?
On the way back from a camping trip on the coast, I downloaded and listened to a dystopian novel from the 1990s – I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. As I listened, my mind regularly went to The Life of Chuck that Morgan and I saw a few weeks ago. On theContinue reading “What Do We Make of a Life?”
Pull, Push, and Nudge
“In the end it’s best to pull whenever you can, push whenever you must, and nudge all the time.” That’s the closing (and the best) line of an article that someone sent my way this week. The article is called The Power of Professional Capital – adapted from a book written by two Canadian EducationContinue reading “Pull, Push, and Nudge”
Be More Curious. Take More Risks.
I was recently given an article called “Four (Secret) Keys to Student Engagement.” I was, of course, excited right away because the title had the words “Secret Keys” and that sounds super cool. Plus, all teachers want to have students who are more engaged so if these authors had the secret keys to pull thatContinue reading “Be More Curious. Take More Risks.”
The End of the Story – Will Ferrell, Jim Stockdale, and Educators
There’s this movie with Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, and Dustin Hoffman called Stranger than Fiction. Have you seen it? If not, you should watch it; it’s excellent. Will Ferrell is a character in a book that Emma Thompson is writing and there’s this interplay between her story and real life that is creative and thoughtContinue reading “The End of the Story – Will Ferrell, Jim Stockdale, and Educators”
What’s a Growth Mindset?
“If you started at a school where the teachers were not familiar with the concept of a ‘growth mindset’ how would you introduce the concept?” Someone posed this question to group of educators I’m part of. Growth mindset has been a hot topic in education recently. The concept is simple but profound. People with aContinue reading “What’s a Growth Mindset?”
Get Better
According to Steven Covey, the primary thing that separates great leaders from good leaders is simply “being an individual who can be trusted.” After making this claim, Covey lists and explains 13 behaviors that characterize a leader who can be trusted. When I talked through these high trust behaviors with a group of colleagues thisContinue reading “Get Better”
Ice Cream Before School
It started when I was 4 years old. My parents would take my sister and me out for ice cream the day before school started. We’d go to an ice cream shop called Swanson’s. I’d look over all of the flavors pretending to have a difficult time making a decision (Everyone in my family knewContinue reading “Ice Cream Before School”
Swimmers, you’re being watched
My two oldest kids swim for the Loomis Basin Dolphins. Since I wasn’t a swimmer growing up it has taken me a while to learn the ins and outs of how this whole swim team thing works. It’s a whole different culture with its own unique language and norms. This year though. I’m fully in. Continue reading “Swimmers, you’re being watched”
Mr. Zerwas Teaches Here 