Motivating students has always been the most important challenge educators face. But even though it's legitimate, it's not very convincing. Some day is a long way off.
College is a long way off.
Good Lord, even the next unit test is a long way off for some. Many students live in an immediate, concrete world, but it seems their education is all too often phrased in abstractions, hypothetical learning applications, and contrived situations. Providing students with a valid use for their academic skills is one way to get through the day without hearing that question. We're trying it at Corvallis High School, where we have wed the regular English curriculum to an authentic outlet, the state's assessment of its management of the Calf Creek Wildlife Management Area. In the Calf Creek Project, sophomore students provide a service for Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, the community, and the area's wildlife.