Overcoming Student Apathy

Reviews / Votes

Reaching the unmotivated student has always been a challenge, one that some teachers give up on too quickly because they have too many students, not enough faith in themselves or their students, or they have hit a wall with a few students. Student Apathy: Strategies to Increase Student Motivation and Academic Success is an enormously helpful addition to the literature about reaching those students, not just for new teachers, but for all of us who need to revisit our reasons for teaching and to reconnect with all of our students. The scenarios are real and all teachers will recognize these struggling students represented in this very readable and informative book. We have all had them in class. What Jeff Marshall and his associates have done is to go beyond the usual talk about motivation and given wonderful suggestions-yes, that's what they are-not dictates or superior preachings. As you read the different stories of students with various responses to learning, you will chuckle or shake your head at these too familiar young people. This book offers all of us a sense of hope and rededication to teaching and believing in all of our students, and at the same time gives us more strategies to use to reach them. -- Lucinda M. Wilson, associate dean, College of Education, Butler University Apathy robs our classes of the energy, passion, and enthusiasm that we aspire to create with our students each fall." This statement best summarizes the work by Marshall, as well as my personal philosophy of education. Apathy tears the educational system apart. This book examines eight students and the a) situational apathy or b) deeper issues that cause it to flourish in the educational system. I plan to share the examples in this text with my high school seniors in the Cadet Teaching class next fall. If they can learn to identify these warning signals, perhaps we as educators can get a grip on the beast in order to tame it and eliminate it from our classrooms. -- Mary Jane Smith, cadet teacher coordinator, award-winning teacher, Warren Central High School, IN Jeff Marshall provides compelling evidence that teaching to a student's strengths will garner success. Marshall's work reflects teaching strategies that would help any teacher in the classroom. He has demonstrated these strategies as he motivated a group of at-risk high school students to design, build, and race a solar car. By teaching to students' strengths, Marshall led students to achieve two national solar car titles. These students had previously questioned if graduation was even possible. Marshall's mission is always to show relevance of curriculum to students and teachers. He does not just teach; he reaches people and motivates them to learn and win. -- Kimberly Montrose Thomas, Project HOPE Coordinator, Putnam City Schools, OK