By David
Posted August 18, 2009
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With the summer drawing to an end and September right around the corner, many parents like us are starting to think about back-to-school issues. Actually, "start" may not be the best word, considering we've already purchased mountains of school supplies and clothing for the kids.

So here we go again. School year 2009-2010 is imminent. This time we are resolved not to be lulled into complacency by falsely assuring teachers. We plan to be more aggressive in ensuring that our children are not left to fend for themselves academically, and that the primary responsibility for their education is not placed on us, beyond the already grueling nightly homework regimen.

In the past month or so, I've mostly written about Jewish food and community. Today I'll digress just a little and mention one of my pet peeves about my children's school, which is their failure to motivate the students to achieve academic excellence.

Of all the things a school should impart to its students, motivation to succeed is the most important, together with good values. If a student is motivated for success, he or she will be glad to do homework and reach for the extra-credit assignments. On the other hand, when a school fails to motivate, homework becomes a collective punishment for the parents and students alike.

I'm not sure why certain schools do a better job at motivating their students than other schools do. No doubt, it's a combination of things: The students' background, the school's curriculum, the competence of the teachers, and the level of skill the principal and head of school possess. Yet, there is no formula for generating motivation, and the answers aren't obvious.

Motivation?

So, I'll speculate.

I believe that motivating students is very much related to how much the faculty members enjoy their jobs and love teaching. In other words, the love of teaching brings a love of learning.

Maybe it's really as simple as that, and maybe it's not.

What I do know for sure is that the lack of motivation and the lack of inspiration in schools like the one my children attend is not uncommon in the yeshiva world, nor in Hebrew day schools. It's a shame, really, that these schools -- much like their students -- are not motivated enough to live up to their potential.