Seth Baginski

Mrs. Jarema

English 111: Synthesis 2

24, March 2014

The Absence of Motivation


Millions of college freshman pile into their brand new life every fall. Each of them are on
a journey to find new opportunities, friends, and the start of a new chapter in the life. For some,
this transition is simple. But for others this transition to a much more busy life, with a schedule
that offers freedom, is excruciating. These college freshman who struggle adjusting to their new
life, also struggle in the classroom. These students are said to simply lack the amount motivation
required for college. Motivation by definition is an internal process that makes a person move
toward a goal. For example, a student lacks the motivation to complete his paper, not because he
doesnt know how to finish it. He simply just doesnt have enough motivation. This is a major
problem, because college isnt rainbows and unicorns. College scheduling is not like the
simplistic high school schedule. Motivation issues are present due to the education system itself
and the distractions that are all around students in college. In order to be successful in this higher
grade of learning, students must have a higher grade of motivation and focus.
What causes this lack of required motivation within these new students? A question many
professors ask themselves. Paulo Freire, the author of the article, The Banking Concept of
Education, states that our education system is quite flawed. Students are just receptacles for
knowledge; information is just thrown into them and they are supposed to follow whatever is
taught. Could that be a reason for the lack of motivation within students? It very well could be. A
student is made to be a mindless sheep, which must follow what the professor is teaching. If the
professor states that the sky is green, the sky is green to the student. Freire states this idea in his
article, the teacher teaches and the students are taught (241), the teacher chooses and enforces
his choice, and the students comply (241). This suggests that teachers only teach, and students
only learn, there is not an in between. The system has cemented the roles of the teacher and
student. These cemented roles, make it difficult for individuals to be successful in the classroom.
Motivation issues might lie within the individuals who are worried about it the most. The
professors may be the source of the problem, or at least the system is. Because students are
taught to listen, not learn. Whatever the teacher says, the student is expected to know. But what
happens when they are thrown into a new environment where learning is different? Professors
still go on with what they are paid to do; slowing down for no one. The student, then feels as if
there is no hope. He or she either gives up, or puts forth little effort; because what's the point,
when its realized that the system is not made for their benefit. Alexander Calandra, author of the
article Angels on a Pin: The Barometer Story, would agree with the idea that the flawed
education system is the reason for the lack of motivation. Calandra tells about a student that
answers a problem correctly, but refuses to use the formula that the teacher instructed him to use.
The student received almost full credit but was marked down for not using the formula. The
students argument for not using the formula was that he doesnt like how teachers are trying to
tell him how to think. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to physics questions,
while the student claimed he should receive a perfect score and would, if the system were not set
up against the student. (159) the system is flawed because there is a set standard. If a student
doesnt follow that standard, they're labeled as unintelligent. What Calandras article tells us is
that no matter how smart an individual is, they are judged based on how well they follow
directions. The teacher or professor gives you a set standard, and you follow it. That standard can
be in an English class or even a history class. If you dont follow the directions youre said to be
unintelligent. Why would a student have the utmost motivation when the learning system they
are a part of is clearly flawed? Students have been taught to receive the teachers information all
of their lives. Therefore, they do not know how to think for themselves. When the student
realizes this problem for themselves their motivation is diminished.
Motivation issues do not only stem from the education system being flawed. Distractions
are everywhere in the college life. From all the freedom college offers, to the numerous parties
every night; distractions are a real issue when it comes to students motivational issues. Why
would a student want to try his or her best in class when there is much better events being
presented to their young adult self? These college freshmen just went through 4 years of what
some would say hell, when regarding high school. Therefore, when they are presented with
this new college life, students see a new level of distractions, that they will not know how to
deal with. This new level of distraction when transitioning from high school to college is an
issue, and Amanda Ripley, author of, The Case against High School Sports, would agree. In
Ripleys article, sports were taken away from a local high-school. The school instantly seen
improvement. As explained here, 80 percent of the students passed their classes, compared with
50 percent the previous fall. About 160 people attended parent-teacher night, compared with six
the year before. (5) That is seen as a drastic improvement. When you look at a University's
main focus, you see one that stands out like a sore thumb; sports. Universities all over the nation
take their sports very seriously, and so do the students. Many students dedicate themselves to
going to every game. Rainy, cold, hot, early in the morning, or even late. This is a huge
distraction for students, and unlike a high school, sports will never vanish from college
campuses. The life is being handed to you in college, and young adults do not know how to
handle all of the on campus distractions like sporting events. Theodore Sizer, the author of
What High School Is, would agree with the idea of distractions being a factor in motivation
issues in college. Sizer discusses the typical day of a high school student; and seeming the day is
very laid out for the student. The school schedule is a series of units of time: the clock is king.
The base time block is about fifty minutes in length. Some schools, on what they call modular
scheduling, split that into two or even three pieces. (264) The clock is a crucial thing in high
school. How much time do I have with my kids, is the teachers key question. (264) The
teacher worries more about how much time they have, rather than what they are actually
presenting. The clock can be seen a distraction in the school setting. Because sometimes that's
the most important thing in the classroom for a student. When is this over? is a common thing
that a student will say to them. Distractions like time, and sporting events seem to be sewed into
the learning system like a quilt. We have been trained to think the clock is the God of the
classroom. A student wont have full motivation, or focus for that matters, when all they care
about is when they leave. The distractions are everywhere; they might even be more prevalent
than the books. How is a student supposed to stay motivated when the distractions are in the
classroom and outside of it?
When it really comes down to it, doesn't the school system almost embed the distractions
into the school day? Colleges know what goes on outside of the lecture hall, but yet they wonder
why the motivation issues are present. Freire and Sizer would both agree that the system is so
flawed to where the distractions are built into the day. The student is like a zombie and just
walks around focused on when the day will be over. But thats another reason the education
system is flawed. The college life is a nest of distraction. That is just an expectation in college,
which shows that the system is flawed.
The lack of motivation is a problem that cant be pinpointed with just two reasons.
Preparation for college is another cause for motivation issues in college. Students have a
motivation problem because they spoon fed everything in high school. College freshman are not
prepared for whats expected of them. And whats expected of them is to have the utmost
motivation for every class and every lecture. But thats almost impossible with the amount of
preparation that college freshman have. Mike Rose, the author of The Politics of Remediation,
would agree with preparation being a cause for college kids motivation. Mike Rose states that,
They need more opportunities to develop the writing strategies that are an intimate part of
academic inquiry and what has come to be called critical literacy-comparing,
synthesizing, analyzing-the sort of thing I gave the veterans. They need opportunities to
talk about what theyre learning: to test their ideas, reveal their assumptions, talk through
the places where new knowledge clashes with ingrained belief. They need a chance, too,
to talk about the ways they may have felt excluded from all this in the past and may feel
threatened by it in the present (25).

High school students need to have extra time to develop. Which they are not really provided.
How can a student going into something half blind be fully motivated for college? Theodore
Sizer would also agree with Rose. Sizer, who wrote What High School Is, tells about a typical
high school day. Sizer states in his article, The student rushes from class to class to collect
knowledge. Savoring it is implied, is not to be done much in school, nor is such mediation really
much admired. (265) Which hints that a high school student is not properly prepared for the
expectations of high school. Sizer also mentions, The purpose of going to school is to pick
things up, in an organized and predictable way, the faster the better. (265) Its all a
memorization game. But what if the student didnt memorize that information he or she was
taught, and in all reality the summer before the freshman year of college is not focused on what
the student learned the last four years in high school. But the colleges will not take that into
account. They will go on without the student. Being ill prepared in college is not one elses fault
but the students, or at least thats how universities think. The high school has prepared you by
making you memorize all of the required information, but the newcomers to college will forget it
all as soon as they step into their dorm rooms for the first time. If a student were properly
prepared for this higher grade of learning, and academic toughness, he or she may actually be
motivated. But since students are not prepared right, they have a feeling of hopelessness. That
hopelessness causes a harsh motivation problem in students.
In conclusion, is the lack of motivation within college students really their fault? Or is it
the educators and the education systems fault? The lack of motivation in college freshman is a
major problem and it will continue to be a problem unless something is fixed. With all that goes
on in a students life; from distractions, to being unprepared, the focus to be extremely motivated
is just not there. Students have lost what is most important, their education, because of what is
happening all around them. If motivation is not sustained within students at the collegiate level,
there will either be a lower standard in our students, or more and more students will endure
failure.