Applied Motivation Essay

Students who do not reach their potential are labeled as underachievers. They are not motivated to do their schoolwork and if their attention is gained, they lose interest easily. This does not mean that the underachiever is slow or retarded. Many underachievers are gifted. Depending on the student and the situation, underachievers who have been labeled as gifted can suffer from unhappiness, disorganization, low self-esteem, confusion, emotional inferiority, and apprehension (Center for Applied Motivation). Gifted underachievers have a high intellect but they do not use their intellect towards intellectual achievements. Instead, they use their intelligence to manipulate those around them for personal gain. â€Å"Gifted underachievers rely inappropriately on their intelligence to manipulate their environment to make themselves feel better† (Center for Applied Motivation). Young gifted underachievers are often not emotionally ready to handle the knowledge they have. As children grow, confusing emotions escalate as growth hormones take effect and puberty hits (Fisher, pg. 16). Emotional ups and downs affect the gifted underachiever socially as well. If they are not careful, gifted underachievers will isolate themselves from peers and helpful teachers/adults (Center for Applied Motivation). This action is motivated by fear of failing. These students worry about failing and that worry can lead to them not trying at all. â€Å"They said they were afraid of failing, afraid of being kept back, afraid of being called stupid, afraid of feeling stupid†¦children are afraid, many of them a great deal of the time, some of them almost all the time† (Holt, pg. 71). Fear of failure is serious and can be detrimental for the gifted underachiever who is intelligent enough to grasp concepts but refuses to do so. It is important to present tasks that are challenging but an opportunity for failure must be allowed so students will learn that it is okay to make mistakes (Center for Applied Motivation). Turn failures into learning experiences. Jason is one such gifted underachiever. As a 7th grader, Jason has been a consistent C-/D+ student. For the past few years he has been of the borderline of failure although he continues to test well above average on state tests. Labeled as gifted in elementary school, Jason’s performance in school dropped in the 4th grade during his parent’s divorce. His father moved out the home and Jason denies being upset about this situation. Jason’s father is a construction worker and was often away from home. Jason is used to his father’s absence. Science has always been his favorite subject and although his science teacher is able to keep Jason’s attention longer than his other teachers, his grades and work ethic are still low. He has no interest in his classes and is often sent to the office for disruptive behavior. Jason feels his classes are boring and his teachers don’t understand him. For the past two years, Jason has been seeing a counselor to help him overcome his lack of motivation but nothing has worked. Jason often tells his counselor that school is like a prison for kids. He can’t wait until he gets out. His counselor found his attitude alarming, but in the last two years he has missed only five days of school. That gives him one of the best absentee rates among his classmates. The only thing Jason seems to find pleasure in is tennis. He began playing tennis as a toddler. Taught by his grandfather, he has become a very competent player. The middle school does not have a tennis team but the high school does. Jason often walks to the high school after school to watch the tennis team practice. He often wishes he could participate but he too afraid to ask. He has not shown any interest in the sports offered at the middle school. Last year Jason started a petition to form tennis team at the middle school but was not successful. Jason is tall for his age and lanky. Almost 6 feet tall by the time he reached the 6th grade, Jason’s classmates began to tease him. Taking his counselor’s advice to laugh at himself, he began making jokes about his height. Once his classmates realized their jokes didn’t bother him, the teasing stopped. Since then, Jason’s social status has risen. His classmates often imitate him and since he can be something of a class clown, his supporters have followed him to detention. Jason has always made friend easily yet he does not spend much time with friends after school. He has no close friends but always has a large group around him in the cafeteria and hallways. He has leadership potential even though where he is leading is questionable. Emotionally, Jason is immature in some areas and mature in others. He has the ability to act three years his junior and then abruptly act like someone twice his age. He derives pleasure from pushing his teachers to lose their tempers but can also be sweet and extremely likable. His parents, teachers and his counselor have tried to encourage Jason to focus his energy on his work, telling him his attitude now will affect his future success. At this point, nothing has worked.