Choice Theory tells us that all human beings are motivated by the same five Basic Needs:
1) Safety & Security
2) Love & Belonging
3) Power
4) Freedom
5) Fun
Of the five, I've always had the most trouble with "Fun". Sure, fun is fun. But is it a "basic need"? Do we merely "like" to have fun? Or do we "need" to have fun?
Certainly the appeal of fun and humor is more and more evident in the world around us. Consider the number of cable television channels devoted to comedy. Or the pervasive use of humor in advertising. For investors and producers in these lines of work fun is serious business. Perhaps these folks are on to something......
Here is a commentary on the value of fun and play delivered by Stuart Brown at a Technology, Entertainment & Design gathering last year.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/stuart_brown_says_play_is_more_than_fun_it_s_vital.html
BTW, you can find more fascinating presentations on every topic under the sun at www.ted.com.
Make it a Great Day!
Steve
Monday, April 27, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Naturals....
Some people live out the principals of Choice Theory without having read any of Dr. Glasser's books. They seem naturally attuned to the needs of others, and they often get the most remarkable reactions in situations that the rest of us would regard as threatening and negative.
Listen to Julio Diaz's story about his encounter with a thief on a Bronx subway platform:
http://www.storycorps.net/listen/stories/julio-diaz
Does Diaz's story strike you as believable? How did his approach resonate with the young thief's basic needs for for safety & security, love & belonging? How might you have behaved in similar circumstances?
Make it a great day!
Steve
P.S. Thanks to the Story Corps oral history project for this audio clip.
Listen to Julio Diaz's story about his encounter with a thief on a Bronx subway platform:
http://www.storycorps.net/
Does Diaz's story strike you as believable? How did his approach resonate with the young thief's basic needs for for safety & security, love & belonging? How might you have behaved in similar circumstances?
Make it a great day!
Steve
P.S. Thanks to the Story Corps oral history project for this audio clip.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Power......
“All violence… is not power, but the absence of power.”
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
My friend Rick Larios sent this quotation around in the wake of the recent shootings in Binghamton, New York. Since “power” is one of the five “Basic Needs” in Choice Theory, Emerson’s words have prompted me to think about power – what it means, how it can be positive or negative, and how people (including students) seek it out in their lives.
One of the ways in which some urban young people seek power is through the creation of their own groups or gangs. I think Choice Theory goes a long way toward explaining the attraction of gangs – given that a gang addresses all five of the “Basic Needs”: 1) safety & security, 2) love & belonging, 3) power, 4) freedom and 5) fun. If we want these young people to see our schools as preferable to gangs, then we need to make schools even more attractive on all five of these dimensions.
Make it a great day!
Steve Tracy
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
My friend Rick Larios sent this quotation around in the wake of the recent shootings in Binghamton, New York. Since “power” is one of the five “Basic Needs” in Choice Theory, Emerson’s words have prompted me to think about power – what it means, how it can be positive or negative, and how people (including students) seek it out in their lives.
One of the ways in which some urban young people seek power is through the creation of their own groups or gangs. I think Choice Theory goes a long way toward explaining the attraction of gangs – given that a gang addresses all five of the “Basic Needs”: 1) safety & security, 2) love & belonging, 3) power, 4) freedom and 5) fun. If we want these young people to see our schools as preferable to gangs, then we need to make schools even more attractive on all five of these dimensions.
Make it a great day!
Steve Tracy
Friday, April 3, 2009
If only...............
How many times have you heard a teacher lament “if only these kids were motivated……” ??
Of course, the truth is that all kids (like all human beings) are motivated – just not always toward the goals that we have in mind for them! So our challenge as educators is to figure out how to connect with children and young people, how to draw them into the learning process so that they can become the confident, self-disciplined, independent thinkers that we want them to be.
Welcome to Choosing 2 Learn – a blog dedicated to the promotion of student engagement and achievement through the implementation of Choice Theory in the public schools of Derby, Connecticut.
Choice Theory is a comprehensive perspective on human behavior that has been developed and refined over the past forty years by Dr. William Glasser of Los Angeles. If you’re new to the topic, I suggest you visit the Glasser Institute’s web site at http://www.wglasser.com/.
For a detailed explanation of Choice Theory, see Glasser’s Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom (Harper Perennial – 1998). And to understand how Choice Theory can transform an ordinary school into a vibrant community of learners, see The Quality School: Managing Students Without Coercion (Harper Perennial – 1990).
Choosing 2 Learn provides a forum for discussing the many elements of Choice Theory as they apply to life in general and to the improvement of schooling in particular. For those of us who are bold enough to apply these concepts to our work with students, Choosing 2 Learn is a place to tell our stories – what’s working, what’s not – and to find the encouragement and advice that we need to keep at it.
Rarely a day goes by when I don’t run across something that underscores the potential that Dr. Glasser’s work holds for the improvement of public education in America. With thanks to Mary Robinson Reynolds, here’s something that I found today……. http://www.connectionmovie.com/ .
Make it a great day!
Steve
Of course, the truth is that all kids (like all human beings) are motivated – just not always toward the goals that we have in mind for them! So our challenge as educators is to figure out how to connect with children and young people, how to draw them into the learning process so that they can become the confident, self-disciplined, independent thinkers that we want them to be.
Welcome to Choosing 2 Learn – a blog dedicated to the promotion of student engagement and achievement through the implementation of Choice Theory in the public schools of Derby, Connecticut.
Choice Theory is a comprehensive perspective on human behavior that has been developed and refined over the past forty years by Dr. William Glasser of Los Angeles. If you’re new to the topic, I suggest you visit the Glasser Institute’s web site at http://www.wglasser.com/.
For a detailed explanation of Choice Theory, see Glasser’s Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom (Harper Perennial – 1998). And to understand how Choice Theory can transform an ordinary school into a vibrant community of learners, see The Quality School: Managing Students Without Coercion (Harper Perennial – 1990).
Choosing 2 Learn provides a forum for discussing the many elements of Choice Theory as they apply to life in general and to the improvement of schooling in particular. For those of us who are bold enough to apply these concepts to our work with students, Choosing 2 Learn is a place to tell our stories – what’s working, what’s not – and to find the encouragement and advice that we need to keep at it.
Rarely a day goes by when I don’t run across something that underscores the potential that Dr. Glasser’s work holds for the improvement of public education in America. With thanks to Mary Robinson Reynolds, here’s something that I found today……. http://www.connectionmovie.com/ .
Make it a great day!
Steve
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
