Review this clip and express how a motivational speaker may or may not be an effective way of communicating to kids the value of strong morals and industry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAEQehnZTuA&feature=related
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14 comments:
I think using a motivational speaker is a great thing to present to kids. However, I think something needs to be introduced to the kids before and after the speaker's message. The message can be in one ear and out the other if you tell them they are going to hear this person speak and you say nothing more to them. If the message is relavant to their lives the meaning of the message is much greater and the kids will get more out of the message if it is engaging to them. I know I always enjoy as I am sure everyone else does those in-service days where your district thinks it will be wonderful to sit and listen to someone talk for hours and they lose you in the first 5 minutes.
The motivational speakers that we have had at our school have all had a clear message and have talked about their experiences in life, much like the van down by the river clip. By the end of the clip the "children" had been set straight and hopefully on their way to correcting their ways. Sharing experiences with students can be an effective way of getting through to many students.
Hmmm, Tom. I think I have always enjoyed and been motivated by the speakers our district has brought in as part of staff development. Maybe we have had better speakers!
I have never gotten to hear any of the speakers or programs in our building since I always have a class (I did get to see part of the cool laser light show!), but I have seen the positive effects of these programs. The kids talk about them for a long time. Sometimes these speakers have books based on their programs. or vice versa. When they do, those books fly off the shelves and always have long waiting lists. I think they are successful. I do not know how long the effects are but hopefully they internalize something.
I belive that motivational speakers can help in communicating messages to the students. I agree with Tom that the thoughts and ideas the speakers are presenting need to be intoduced before and supported after the speech. Strong morals need to be supported throughout the students entire educational process. I also hope that anyone hiring one of these speakers would preview the speakers thoughts and methods. At my school in the past I can think of a few first day speakers that were flops. They were hired to get us excited but instead they depressed everyone. Ex. One speaker brought 900 overheads with him and continued to put them on the screen and relate some movie or TV ecerpt that supported the thought. We had another that sang to us for several hours. He had a great voice but did not motivate. We had a basketball trick shot artist that came in and demonstrated to the students. He was about 70 years old. In his demonstration he made approximately 1 out of 3 shots and blamed the floor or the ball for the misses. By the end of his demonstration most of the students felt sorry for him and cheered even when he missed. So hire your speakers wisely and support their thought both before and after the facts. I am sure Chris Farley's methods would get the students attention and hold it but would all students get the message and to what degree.
I don't believe our school has ever used a motivational speaker at the elementary level. I think a motivational speaker could be an effective way to strengthen students' values. Ideally strong values should come from the home. However, not all students come from these types of homes, so at least they could be hearing it in the school setting. It also wouldn't hurt the students who have a good upbringing to hear this topic in a different setting. The speaker would have to be carefully chosen so that the content is meaningful and relevant to the particular age group. The speaker would also have to be someone who could gain the respect and admiration of most students present. Kids will only give merit to authentic people who they admire and respect. I enjoy motivational speakers if they are good. They can help put life and its purpose back into perspective.
In the past several years, the motivational speakers that have presented a message to our student body have been very good. They were informative, relevant, and entertaining. (I can't always say the same about the speakers that present during our staff developments. I am with some of you guys on that one!!) I must say that our Assistant Principal has done a great job of screening and "booking" motivational speakers for our kids. I was pleasantly surprised at how the students reacted to them (of course, most of the themes dealt with avoiding drugs, alcohol and bullying).
I, for one, am a HUGE fan of Matt Foley, and his message about "living in a van, down by the river." At our school, we have used motivational speakers for topics accross the board. I remember listening to one in particular about drug use and its dangers. My school even had a motivational speaker come in to talk to the faculty last year. That didnt go over well partially due to the fact that it was snowing heavily outside and driving was rather dangerous. I do think that motivational speakers can impact students on a large scale, but I also think that they will not solve all of our problems like I think Matt Foley did. Although speakers can be effective, I believe the main root of a students motivation comes from home and the classroom. Aren't we all supposed to have a little motivational speaker in all of us. I just wish I could take a fall like Foley did, and keep on going...
My brother looks like Chris Farley, seriously! ' The van down by the river' always entertaining! I think that speakers should be entertaining in order to get their message to resinate into little brains. If you have a boring speaker, then money and time is wasted. There needs to be some follow up after the speaker to reinforce the speaker's message. Some kids are not given compliments and are told they cannot achieve their dreams so, I deam it worthy to bring in motivationial speakers to show kids that that THEY CAN DO IT! You can come from nothing and make something of yourself!
Me too, Brian... but, I had forgotten all about this skit. Hysterical! I think we've all seen pretty crappy speakers and others that really spoke to us or caused us to think about something in a new way. I agree with Tom... many times they are just thrown out there to the kids without any explanation or there isn't any type of follow-up session with the students about it. Great point!
Motivational speakers can be effective with students if the students are open to the message and they believe the speaker is real/authentic. If the speaker is able to relate his/her experiences in a manner that kids can relate to, the impact can be very positive. Kids who are down on themselves and may feel hopeless need to be encouraged and see that mistakes can be put behind you and you can go forward to something better. Kids who are on the right track feel confirmed and are, perhaps, happy that they were fortunate to have never had to go through the experiences the speaker is relating.
In the spring my elementary school had a pair of speakers who used a lot of humor to speak about bullying, and I think it was an effective way to reach at that early level.
I think motivational speakers can be helpful (if they are good) in starting something bigger. If the school doesn't take part of that message and incorporate it into the daily routine of the school, kids will forget everything that was said and the feelings they may have gotten in a few days or less. A motivational speaker will not change students, but can inspire them.
A motivational speaker might be an effective way of communicating with kids in certain settings. Our school usually reserves motivational speakers for just the faculty. This year, they have cut out the motivation because last year's was so horrible and unispiring. If it is a small school, I can see a motivational speaker working in small groups of maybe 100. When you have many students, it is hard for them to buy into what a complete stranger is saying. As teachers, it might be better for us to work as their daily motivational speaker, who inspires them on a more personal level.
Jim, I only wish I could have been there to see the basketball stunt man...
What a bummer. I do remember the slide show maniac who was actually SELLING his program......he was not motivational, and whoever makes the decisions, I saw someone else posted this.....PREVIEW the speaker before they are hired!
That was funny, but I don't know if it is as funny as when he was a Chippendale dancer with Patrick Swayze. :) We had a speaker this year, but he also did all kinds of tricks with a unicycle and jumpropes. The kids probably don't even remember the speaking part.
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