How to stay motivated in school
By Femi Olanubi, April 2009
Assoc. Contemporary Culture Editor
Staying motivated for college can be a challenge for many students; Fred Wieck, a PVCC counselor, offers his advice for struggling students.
To find out why students lack motivation it is imperative to know why students lose motivation. Wieck states numerous causes, one of which is “students don’t know what they want.”
Wieck says that many students come to college for the wrong reasons. Reasons they haven’t owned themselves, like “because my friends go, mom and dad did and siblings did well in school,” are all extrinsic motivators. The popular “I am going to college to make lots of money,” is another.
Wieck says, these types of motivation are not bad, rather they are inadequate. They won’t get you where you want to go. He believes that intrinsic motivation, coming from the inside, is what student need. “(Students) should go (to college) for pleasure, not for rewards,” he says.
Some of the reasons that he went to college were passion for his major and the desire to succeed. He also liked the idea of being “smart,” and he wanted a significant and meaningful job.
A goal might be what you need. Wieck says, “A goal is a dream with a method.”
If you already have a dream, then you need a method. Wieck reminds students that academic advisors and counselors are available to help students map their classes. If students are struggling with a course there is tutoring. He also recommends the AAA 115 course at PVCC simply because, “It works.”
If you don’t have a dream, then advisers and counselors can still help you. By talking with them, students can find an interesting career path. Wieck invites students to make an appointment with him, and he’ll personally take them to the career testing and counseling center. There you can take an aptitude test and find something that may interest you. Students that don’t know what they want have to look, or come back when they are ready.
Here are some tips Wieck has for students who struggle with motivation:
1) Accept and learn from your mistakes.
2) "Hang out" with academically motivated peers.
3) Cultivate faith in yourself.
4)Know why you’re in college . Create and monitor written educational goals that have timelines or deadlines, are personally meaningful, realistic and specific.
5) Always seek help and support when it's needed—from teachers, tutors, counselors, real friends, parents, etc.
|
