6 WAYS TO MOTIVATE TEACHERS: BE THE HOPEIf you haveone technology helpingkids learn morethan anything else, would you care forit? You bet you would. Youd lock it away. Youd polish it. Youd make sure no one messed with it. Youd take good care of it.

Well you have that one thing. Study after study shows that one thing is teachers.Besides the paycheck and the staff meeting thanks for all you do do you take care of them?A game my childhood friends and I played comes to mind. We had this merry go round spinny thing (as we called it) and wed all get on and hold on for dear life. Then, a few ran furiouslyand pushed as fast as possible until they fell to the ground laughing. Whoever held on amidst the centrifugal force won. Usually wed sling off like water off a dogs tail. Sometimes injuries happened but mostlylaughter. Whenschool spinslike the merry go round we dont laugh. We get faster and faster and sling in all directions. We just cant hold on!The moment. The respite. The kind word. The act of service. These are things that stop the merry go round for a moment so we can catch our breath and hang on for another few spins.

A sign left by some quick breakfast foods in our teachers lounge.6Sweet Waysto Motivate TeachersMotivate Teachers Tip #1 Understand What Teachers NeedWhat I miss most frombusiness is not the challenge for Im more challenged in teaching than I ever ways in managing a business.What I miss most about the business world was a) having an executive assistant and b) being able to close the door to get work done. I could DOsomething.Teachers most oftenneed peace and quiet to get their work done. On workdays, plan meetings at the end or the beginning, but let them actuallyWORK. Dont let vendors come on campus and interrupt them. Give them a stream of uninterrupted time. Sure, some teachers wont workbut many will.Once every nine weeks, we have someelementary parents whocome and watch classes to give the teachers a working lunch once every nine weeks.

We are teachersbut even teachers get tired.Motivate Teachers Tip #2:Encourage Teachers to Walk It OutI see Mrs. Adkins in our learning lab approaching 90 and Imnot sure how shes done it. Shes taught longer than Ive been alive and I just dont know how.If all you needed was love Ive got that. If it is knowledge of my subject Ive got that too. Its the being pulled in a thousand directions every day that is so hard. But Ill tell you Mrs. Adkins secret to longevity and a sharp mind. Time Magazine has an article on it, The Single Most Proven Way To Get Smarter and Happier. Exercise.Teachers are oftenup walking around the room or at their desk. Encourage them to get outside and take a walk. Make it acceptable and insist upon it. Two years a gowhen I had promon top of everything else, I asked for permission to take a walk during break. That one habit is kept me from quitting. Ifyour staff is stressing, get them moving, the science is theyll be happier and think more clearly.Motivate Teachers Tip #3: Realize the Financial StruggleSome ask how I can write this blog AND do everything else but this blog isnt a burden it is a necessity. The speaking and freelance writing I do with this blog help me stay in teaching because I have two kids in college. I dont make enough at my day job to pay for college so this blog helps me do what I love (encourage teachers) and help those I love get an education.Many teachers haveto work outside school. Manyschools discourage this but many dont realize the nature of the fixed income teachers are on and the need to bring in additional money for their families.For most of us, we work on the side so we can afford to teach.Understand and support this reality or just pay teachers more.(grin)Motivate Teachers Tip #4: Help Them Help KidsCountless students (at all schools) dont have school supplies.When money is tight it can be frustrating to go buy boxes of pens, highlighters, or markers because the $250 allowance the IRS gives teachers doesnt nearly cover it. The poorer the kids at the school, the more teachers struggle to buy everything their students need.Replenish the schoolsupplies for teachers. Give them pencils, pens, highlighters, markers, and paper. It gets more important the closer you get to the end of the yearwhen parents stop thinking about empty backpacks and school supplies. I have a Mom of an ADD kid (who knows he loses everything) buy me a big box of pencils at the beginning of the year. She knows he will lose themshes being thoughtful AND helping her child. Id give him the pencils anyway but I appreciate the thought and acknowledgement.Motivate Teachers Tip #5: Tell Teachers They Are ImportantRemember the5 love languages?Teachers who need to hear or read they are important. These words need to be said. In our teachers lounge, a parent left a mug of mints with a little sign:Thanks for being so sweet. Some mysterious person keeps coming by and putting more mints in the cup.Write notes andsay inspirational things. Remind them in words of the nobility of their profession and who they are to be as teachers. For those who need to hear and read the words, these are like rain on dry land.

When you do little things for teachers, interject inspirational thoughts. Remind them of their nobility and purpose. Little notes do make a difference.Motivate Teachers Tip #6: Acts of ServiceOur PTO started last year with a meal for us. The parents who put it on went all out not necessarily in money but in effort they got an A+. They picked flowers from their yards. They wrote notes in their own handwriting. Each made little parts of the meal in the box and then someone assembled the box and tied it with a beautiful ribbon. (Lots of pictures in this post came from that event.) It was a pure, unadulterated act of love.=Do something kindand thoughtful. My Mom bakes muffins and breads and leaves them in the teachers lounge. Our PTO bought a Keurig for the teachers lounge and keeps it replenished. Yesterday PTO had a soup day and it was awesome. I know a person who comes by and writes little fun quotes on our board in the teachers lounge just to add a new, encouraging thought to the day. Flowers, a quote, and sometimes food are all a nice thing.(My friendTodd Nesloneyhad his administrative staff cook pancakes for the teachers one morning.)Being Kind is Always AwesomeSometimes you get throughbig toughtimes with little things. The kind word. The laugh. The compliment.Students are vital and important. We love them and want to give our best. But you reach a point and this is from a teacher who dearly loves my brood where theres nothing left to give. And that tiny little push of encouragement is the only thing that keeps us moving forward each day. That tiny bit of encouragement makes a big difference. So, take time today to encourage teachers. If youre a teacher you should encourage teachers too. If you work with teachers please do.(And dont forget the custodians, lunchroom staff, administrators, and office staff many people feel this way. Most people need to feel appreciated.)Teachers are reachers, but many of them need encouragement right now. You might be the one thing that keeps them holding on for another spin.4