No Less Than Genius

The purpose of teaching is learning. However, keeping students engaged and motivated to learn has been a long standing challenge for both educators and parents. Various motivational strategies have been utilized in schools, but many teachers would attest to the fact that their effectiveness, especially the extrinsic reward-based strategies is short-lived at best. Even popular and more effective intrinsic strategies such as grit and growth mindset have fallen short in some ways. For example, Duckworth’s grit has been criticized for romanticizing hardship especially for minority and poor children that are already showing tremendous resilience in the face of their extremely difficult circumstances. Likewise, Dweck’s Growth mindset has also undergone serious scrutiny, not necessarily for the concept itself, but for its frequent misuse in the classroom as a “self-esteem booster.” The concern is that when students are praised for their efforts on “busy” and mundane work lacking meaningful curriculum, thoughtful pedagogy, and authentic assessments, praising efforts become another verbal extrinsic reward that induces only fleeting motivation. Moreover, students know that if they are being complimented for just trying hard, that is, effort alone, they must not be smart. Over time, this feeling of “not being smart” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that erodes student engagement, motivation, and achievement. Consequently, this book offers an additional strategy that serves to build upon and expand the existing motivational tools available to both educators and parents. The author refers to this strategy as the pull to become…. which stems from these five key beliefs: • that everyone is born with a pull to become- the innate desire to grow, learn, and become more of themselves • that this pull to become…can induce a very strong motivation to learn • that teachers can stimulate and sustain student motivation by encouraging and supporting their innate pull to become… • that every student will succeed if educational practices promote the discovery of their pull to become, and empower students to transform this pull to be and do into their physical reality through a clear and definite purpose for learning. • that administrative support for teachers’ autonomy in the classroom is the best hope for sustained engagement, motivation, and optimized learning outcomes for every student. These beliefs are anchored by the theory of Self-determination (SDT), and framed by the concept of Purpose for learning. According to Deci and Ryan,(2000) and Ryan and Deci( 2000b), SDT is a macro-theory of human motivation, emotion, and development that is interested in factors that either support or undermine a person’s natural desire to learn and grow in knowledge and understanding. Its basic tenet is that people are innately curious and have a natural love of learning that flourishes best in environments that allow autonomy, competence and relatedness. David Yeager of the University of Texas- Austin, developed the concept of Purpose for learning. This is the idea that encourages students to learn with a purpose that is greater than themselves. For example, if the purpose for learning for a student is to become “a community organizer that can mobilize my community against crime and violence,” then, this student can connect this aim to self-generated incremental goals such as expanding knowledge of diversity, poverty, crime statistics, community relations, public speaking and listening skills, etc. in order to achieve this higher purpose. Research has shown that the focus on this higher altruistic purpose for learning motivates students to remain engaged with learning even in the absence of immediate rewards. Unifying these two perspectives, this book brings together in a unique way, eight deliberate approaches that educators and parents can utilize to engage, motivate, and assure success for every student, every day in every classroom, and school. Notwithstanding, achieving success in any endeavor requires commitment. For this reason, schools and homes that are willing to incorporate these eight strategies into educating young minds will undoubtedly realize that every child is truly NO LESS THAN GENIUS. This book is exceptional in that it masterfully links the principles of self-determination to classroom instructional practices. It does so in three ways. First, by providing a curriculum that enables teachers create supportive learning environments which promote autonomy, competence, and care. Second, by providing youths with an opportunity for self-exploration and discovery, thereby satisfying their innate curiosity to learn, grow, and deepen understanding of self and their environment. Third, by suggesting tools that educators and parents can utilize to empower their youths in harnessing their knowledge and skills into a coherent useable form that they can then apply towards the achievement of their pull to become. This means that rather than being told what to think and do, youths understand from an early age, the purpose for their learning. Hence, they will choose and act deliberately with the awareness that their contributions matter not just to them, but also to the elevation of all human experience. From this perspective, schoolwork no longer seem like a chore, but rather, a meaningful undertaking that bears far reaching consequences for the improvement of human conditions. In this sense, this book may be regarded as the Think and Grow Rich for classrooms and homes across the globe. The content of this book is deliberate! It is intentionally designed to fill the gap in the existing public school curriculum, which was revealed many years ago by Andrew Carnegie as reported in Napoleon Hill’s book - Think and Grow Rich: “Schools and colleges teach practically everything except the principles of individual achievement …they require young men and women to spend [many] years acquiring abstract knowledge, but do not teach them what to do with this knowledge after they get it.” This book takes readers on a journey that reveals their pull to become, aka their “what” which in turn points them in the direction of their purpose for learning, aka their “why.” In other words, this book guides readers towards what to be and do with their acquired academic and experiential knowledge. The inevitable outcome of this endeavor is a heightened intrinsic motivation and engagement with learning that assures success for all students