Tony Gurr on Motivation

Tony Gurr is an educator from Turkey who creates unique blog posts using a wide variety of graphics, questions, and outside references. For a better idea, take a look at one of his latest posts on Motivation.

When I first read this post, I found Gurr's form of blogging quite interesting and different, however more often than not, I was a bit confused with all of the ideas thrown at me. On the other hand, after reading the post a few times over, I understood the main concept and realized that this new and ingenious way of blogging was actually quite engaging and effective. Adding graphics enhances the reader's understanding of the topic because they can make connections and they also will have a visual aid to refer back to. This way, they will be more likely to remember the facts of this post! Furthermore, the outside references add humor to the article and keep the audience eager to read on.

On a different note, Tony's actual message is very reasonable and has exceptional evidence to prove his point. Basically, two of the main ideas from this blog post were:

a) You are your biggest motivator

b) Students learn more from people they like (classroom management)

The first part of the article talks about how motivation is key to learning, but a teacher cannot just bribe their students to learn. Educators have to engage their students using practical examples and hands-on experiences. I couldn't agree with this statement anymore. To elaborate, for the past few years, all I have learned is plain facts from textbooks. However, next year I plan on taking a program that will enhance my learning by introducing me to many hands-on learning experiences. I will get to try out things for myself, instead of memorizing facts and numbers. We go to school to gain skills and experience necessary for the real world. On the contrary, they are of no use to us if we don't know how to apply them! Therefore, motivation through engagement and use of practical examples is key to students' success.

The second half of Gurr's post discusses how educators can be more effective in helping the students become successful in learning. As he says, "Kid's don't learn from people they don't like!". I agree with this idea, and it has proven to be correct in many of my personal experiences. For instance, I tend to remember information from teachers who present it in an effective matter, and who actually take the time to teach it to us. Gurr ties this back to how effective teaching can motivate students to succeed in their learning.

In closing, Gurr had some very valid points in his blog post, and it was presented in a effective manner. In reality, this blog post was a perfect example of his main concept- teaching should be interesting in order to keep the students engaged. His article was indeed very interesting, and it kept my attention until the very end. Overall, I agree with Tony Gurr's post and it helped me reflect on teaching methods at our own school.