How Do I Motivate an Unmotivated Child to Learn?

The answer to this question depends on the child. Is he not interested in the subject, not interested in learning, or not interested in obeying you--the parent.

Obedience

A child must be disciplined to learn. Depending on maturity levels, external discipline is necessary until they develop internal discipline. Younger children need supervision and guidance to complete projects until they are trained to work efficiently alone. Rules and consequences for breaking rules should be established in every home. If there is a discipline problem in the home you may need to forgo school for a few days until the child understands who is in authority. If you need motivation or instruction discipline, run, don't walk, to get What the Bible Says about Child Training by Richard Fugate. (available in book, video or audio forms).

If a Child Does Not Want to Learn

Children love to learn naturally. Even children attending a traditional school setting enjoy learning--at first. When a kindergarten class is full of neat things to learn about--goldfish, hamster, seed sprouting, math manipulatives, play areas, etc. Sometime around the second grade when textbooks and workbooks are introduced and a child must sit in a one square foot desk area for six or more hours, most children decide that school is boring and their interest in learning declines that point. Many books are available describing different learning styles and methods to meet your child's needs. See Cathy Duffy's book The Christian Home School Curriculum Manual or Mary Pride's Big Books of Home Learning for hundreds of suggestions.

Learning can be fun but there are times when learning requires diligent work. These type of situations are also a training in character. For example children are not usually thrilled to memorize the multiplication tables. There are fun games to reinforce learning but actual memorizing must be applied. Some learning is an opportunity to teach diligence, patience, long suffering (no grumbling and complaining), kindness etc.

If A Child Does Not Want to Learn a Specific Subject

Working with a child almost always gives a child incentive. Most children enjoying the attention of talking and sharing with their parents. Please don't throw workbooks at a young child assign pages and think learning has occurred. Workbooks are great --some of the time but not all of the time. Children can be motivated by changing the instruction method. Some children are simply bored to tears working in text books. When's the last time your curled up by a fire with a good "textbook?" Provide "living books" historical novels, biographies and classics about the material your want your children to know.

If you spend the time explaining why the child will need to know the material you are teaching you will see a would of difference in your teaching. Examine your own learning motivations by answering the questions for each of the following scenarios:

1. Your support group decides to go to on a field trip to a sheep farm in a nearby Small Town. You have a large van so you volunteer to drive. You are not familiar with the Small Town. When you get home you pull out your map and to find out just where Small Town is. You call a friend who has been to Small Town to double check the directions. The day of the field trip, you drive to the Small Town. After the field trip you drive home. Even if you made a wrong turn, you eventually found your way to Small Town. On the way to and from the location you observe new surroundings. You have learned the route from your home to the Small Town. A month later someone ask directions to Small Town. You can accurately give them the directions to Small Town.
2. You and your husband are at a support group meeting. The group decides to go to Small Town. Your husband offers to drive and proceeds to get directions You proceed to talk about curriculum with a friend. Your husband plans the trip to Small Town. You, your children and friends all ride to Small Town together. You return home. A month later someone ask directions to Small Town. Can you give them the directions to Small Town. You didn't pay much attention to the subject because you depended on someone else to know the directions.
3. You are at a support group meeting and someone asks you how to get to Small Town. You've never heard of the town and don't know the directions. Are you less intelligent than the person that does know the directions to Small Town? Of course not. You have never needed to know that information. Knowing information you will never use does not make you intelligent.
4. You're in a support group meeting. The leader announces a field trip to Small Town on Thursday. You have plans, your dentist is going to give you a root canal on Thursday. The leader asks anyone interested to stay after the meeting to so she can show a map and explain the direction to Small Town. Would you stay after the meeting to learn the directions to Small Town? If you had no reason to have to know how to get to Small Town you wouldn't stay.
5. Suppose someone came to you during the support group meeting in scenario above to tell you that all the stores in Small Town were having a 70% sale the week after your dental appointment. Would you reconsider staying after the meeting for directions? Most of the time, if we spend the time giving children a reason for having to know the material they respond favorably. Children, like adults need to know material they are learning is relevant to their lives.
6. You are at home teaching your child. The geography book has a chapter titled Small Town. You read this chapter to your child. Four months later, your child takes the achievement test. There is a question asking how far your town is from Small Town. Your child forgot what he learned about Small Town so he guesses the answer. How would you feel if he got the answer wrong? If he got the answer right?

If your child guessed wrong does it mean you failed as a teacher? Does it mean your child is learning disabled? Are you both a success if he guessed right? Are you both wrong because he had to guess? If you are teaching your child, I will assume sometime before the fifth or sixth grade you will have taught him to read a map. Chances are your child will never have a question like: "How far is it to Small Town?" unless a map of the area is provided. A nationwide achievement tests will not evaluate specific things like knowing where Small Town is because children in other parts of the country will not be exposed to Small Town. Achievement tests evaluate basic skills such as map reading because it is basic skill needed to get along in the world.

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