Am I an Underachiever?

Are you an underachiever? I think I was drawn to this topic for two reasons. One reason is because of the studies I've been doing on gifted and talented students. The other is because I believe that some of my own kids, my sons, are underachievers. But, do I want to look closely, I mean really closely and ask, am I an underachiever? I'm sort of scared to ask. Naturally we all have times, moments maybe, that we are underachieving...a little bit. But, overall, could I do more, could I do what I do better? Is saying that "I'm just unorganized" really mean I'm too unmotivated(lazy?) to...organize what I should organize or take care of what needs to be taken care of? HHhmmm? I'm not sure I want to address this with myself yet!

Unmotivated and unconcerned...

What are we doing as a society that is making the kids be so entitled? The lack of motivation that I am observing is driving me crazy! It's not that all the kids are unmotivated, but those who are, don't, I mean REALLY, don't care about school or their grades or what their parents will learn when we have parent conferences! If they're on an IEP, they know they won't fail a grade. Pretty much if they're ELL, they won't fail a grade. So why should they put any effort into their school work? I need to find a way to encourage those who are unmotivated to have a goal. Maybe I need to work on goal setting for my class? I am going to work on that starting tomorrow. I am going to make a goal for them in writing. There will be two goals. One short term goal and one long term goal. I will start that tomorrow.

Underachievers/Unmotivated/Getting Away With "It"

I am starting to think that underachievers are mainly just unmotivated. What will keep students motivated? I think that a very attentive teacher is one thing and working at thier level helps to keep kids on track. However, we have so many things to do that if you let up for one minute, someone looses their motivation. All day long, I pull those kids back on track. They're right there and the poof! Gone! Lack of sleep seems to be affecting their motivation also. After weekends, motivation is low. They seem to stay on some sort of schedule during the week, then, Monday, it's all over again. The littlest thing can steer them off course. Writing on a tiny piece of paper, putting their head down on their desk, using the exuse of needing a drink of water to disrupt others motivation on the trip to the drinking fountain! I'm starting to discover that it's never ending...

Moving Along

As my Action Research Project progresses, I feel inspired to continue learning about my topic, underachievement. It is very interesting to watch my students with this topic in mind. I have discovered throughout the day, each student underachieves in their own way. It may be goofing around with their tablemates, or playing with their hair, or messing around in their desk when I am teaching. I never thought about it in this way, but there it is. They are not working to their potential when they are absentmindedly poking around in their desk! As I observe students and make notes, I constantly find ways in which they are unmotivated. Unless it is direct- constantly supervised- instruction, I find underachievement.

Action Research Project

My ARP keeps me awake at night. I am fearful that it won't be done on time and it won't be any good. I am trying to stay positive but am having a hard time with that. I keep doing my research and am trying to keep up with my class and writing and everything else. I think my topic is not a good one. I should have kept it much more simple. However, I am seeing that I have chosen something valuable because every class has underachievers and there is so muc written about it that I must not be the first one interested in it. It would be more interesting if I worked with teenagers. That is where underachievement is much more prevalent, although my third graders have their underachieving days as well!

Deeper Understanding

The more I expore my topic of underachievement, the more I am beginning to understand about it. I interviewed, not only some of my students, but my son who is 16. He is a classic underachiever. It was very interesting to get his point of view and I see that he is completely focused on here and now and does not look forward, at all! I believe that is one commonality of underachievers, they don't look ahead. I will keep searching for the bottom line for this group of students.

Conference Proposal

Wow! I just wrote my conference proposal. It was difficult to know exactly what to write. I don't think I would ever want to speak at a conference. Way too intinidating. But, you never know. So this was good experience in case one would want to do that. Looking ahead to the big project is overwhelming. I can do it. It just seems like there is so much to do. I need to bring my camera to school to take pictures for this blog...