Building Student Motivation Through Choice
By James Barbieri
In this third entry of our Teaching Boys Initiative’ s quarterly blog series,“ The Wisdom Within,” Master Teacher James Barbieri explores how providing boys with agency to choose builds motivation and enhances learning.
By the time I was eight years old, I had become completely absorbed in all thing’ s baseball. Living in New York was perfect for a baseball fan; although I was a Mets fan thanks to my idol, Tom Seaver, I was also interested in learning about all the amazing Yankees stars of yore. How could I call myself a baseball fan if I didn’ t know the history and records of stars like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Yogi Berra? I loved collecting baseball cards and reading the career statistics of each player on the back. Looking through my collection one day, I discovered that I shared a birthday with the legendary Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente. At eight years old, I was crushed to hear the news that he had died tragically in a plane crash while trying to ensure that earthquake relief supplies were making it through to their intended destination in Nicaragua. In the accounts after his death, I read that Clemente had said,“ If you have a chance to help others and fail to do so, you’ re wasting your time on this earth.” 1 Even though I wasn’ t a Pirates fan, Clemente’ s career and humanitarian commitment had an effect on me, and his untimely death was a stirring example of a selfless person, or as we refer to such people at Saint David’ s, an“ agent for the good.”
For Saint David’ s seventh grade curriculum interdisciplinary project, Agents for the Good, students write a researched essay about a person known for being a humanitarian, someone whose actions had a notable impact on the lives of others. Because students can choose the person they want to write about, it helps them persevere while writing a 1,000-word essay.“ By centering choice, educators offer students scaffolded opportunities to practice decision-making, explore their academic identity, and connect their learning to interests and passions.” 2 It will come as no surprise that had I been assigned such an essay at age 12, I would have chosen Roberto Clemente as my“ agent.” I admired him and he played a sport about which I was passionate. I believe that allowing our seventh graders to choose a humanitarian who aligns with one of their interests gives them a sense of agency in their work.
28 • Saint David’ s Magazine