All the
BEST
ANSWERS
for the Worst Kid Problems
Ruth Herman Wells, M.S.
E-Book Copyright 2003-2005
Permission granted to purchaser to make a
single print-out of this electronic book
which may not be reproduced in any form or
by any means without the prior
written permission of the publisher
ISBN 1-891881-30-2 Hard Copy
ISBN 1-891881-29-9 Series Hard Copies
Youth Change
Your Problem Kid Problem-Solver
275 N. Third St
Woodburn, OR 97071
1-800-545-5736
www.youthchg.com
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Introduction
Chapter 2
The Strategies
Chapter 3
The Power of Teachers
Chapter 4
Final
Thoughts 
Chapter 1
Introduction
If you've got unmotivated students, here are the motivation-
makers you need. In the fifteen years, we've been presenting our
Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth
Workshop, we've never had enough time to say all the great
motivation-makers that we actually have. This book is intended
to resolve that concern. This book is packed with all the wonderful
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motivation-makers that often do not make it into our live classes.
These motivation-makers are different than you might expect.
These methods are more "real-world" and compelling than
conventional approaches. You will notice that these interventions
are colorful, attention-grabbing and eye-opening. Since many
youth are absolutely sure that education is unimportant,
dramatic, unusual methods are not only appropriate, but
essential. Because children and youth don't all learn best in one
single way, we have used a wide variety of approaches. That is
why we use so many different modalities instead of relying solely
on purely verbal interventions.
This book provides very little theory or philosophizing, and
instead is devoted to delivering strategy after strategy to motivate
children and youth who feel that school is a waste of time. In a
way, we have taken a slice of our Breakthrough Strategies to Teach
and Counsel Youth Workshop and put it in a book. The downside
to this approach is that you are receiving strategies without a
context. With that in mind, it is important to note that we do not
recommend that these motivation-makers be used in isolation.
Here is what that sentence means: you must address all areas of
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concern that a child presents. For example, you can not just
provide motivation-makers while ignoring a child's huge family
problems. These motivation-makers are good, but they are not
magic. In our workshop, we teach that you must cover all the
coping, school and social problems that a child presents. Even
though this book covers one narrow area, that does not mean that
you can focus on just that single area with students. Despite the
narrow focus of this book, we are absolutely convinced that you
must address all the areas of concern if you are to be effective in
any area of concern. Our workshop, and other books and tapes,
all offer resources to accomplish that goal.
Let me review just a few more key points. First, don't assume that
every child who fails in school, is a motivation-problem. We
actually teach in our workshop that there are several reasons that
children struggle, and certainly, being unmotivated is one of
those reasons. But, children can also be anxious or traumatized;
or they can be distracted; or they may be "anti-school" students
who devote themselves to fighting the system every step of the
way. While this book contains great motivation-makers, these
methods will be ineffective with students who struggle not
because of their poor motivation, but because of other reasons.
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You must use completely different methods for students who fall
into the three other categories listed above. We recommend that
before intervening, you determine the reason or reasons that a
child is struggling, and then choose interventions that fit that
reason or reasons. Wholesale use of these motivation-makers will
probably do no harm, however, you may not receive the level of
benefit you anticipated. To learn methods for the other types of
students who struggle in school, you can certainly consider
turning to some of our books, tapes or classes. Our web site also
contains a sampling of these devices.
As noted earlier, these motivation-makers are good, but they are
not magic. These motivation-makers will work far more effectively
if you also offer skill-building at the same time. Here is an
example: A student may have terrific motivation, but if she lacks
the skills to arrive on time to school, note down the homework
assignment, or hear what the teacher is saying, the motivation
almost goes to waste. Motivation alone is insufficient. Every
student needs both motivation and school skills. One without the
other isn't enough so it is critical to always pair school skill
training with building motivation. One without the other can be
actually be somewhat useless as most students normally need
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both to succeed in school. Please consider accessing some of our
hundreds of methods to teach what we call "school skills."
When teaching school skills, be sure to include all the skills that
children need in order to be students, everything from attendance
and punctuality, to respect for the teacher, to taking tests, to how
often to talk in class, and so on. Regardless of the age of the
student, you may find it necessary to provide this help. Without
all the skills needed to be a student, a child— motivated or not—
may be destined to struggle or fail. While it is certainly
understandable that you might expect older youth to already have
these skills, be careful what you assume. At our workshops, we
hear nonstop about high school students who don't seem to have
a clue how to perform even the most basic but critical school skills
like punctuality, attendance, hand raising, and focusing.
The strategies offered in this book are presented in the context of
school. If you work in another type of setting, you may be able to
easily change the context to fit your site. For example, when we
use the word "teacher," you may wish to substitute another term
like dorm worker, foster parent, court worker or boss. When we
refer to school, you may be able to alter the setting to become your
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Job Corps, juvenile detention site, or mental health center. Many
of our motivation-makers are fairly malleable, and can be adapted
to fit many varied settings and circumstances. These small
modifications can make our motivation-makers fit your setting
just perfectly.
These interventions are offered for you to evaluate prior to use.
That means that you must judge each intervention to be sure that
it is a good fit for your site, your rules, your policies, your
personality, you personal style, and so forth. You also have to
ensure that you evaluate each approach to determine that it is
appropriate for use with your particular student or students. You
are the one with the child in front of you, so only you can evaluate
any safety concerns or other issues that come into play. If you are
not sure whether to use an intervention, then don't. These lively,
colorful methods are intended to help and never harm. If you
check for a good match-up prior to using these methods, then
hopefully you will help a lot without doing any harm.
These motivation-makers belong in every school, in every
classroom, and in every place where training is offered to
teachers, counselors, juvenile court workers, and foster parents.
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Obviously, that statement has nothing to do with reality, but the
bottom line is this: until we assist children to become motivated
for school, many students will continue to find school and
education to be something other than valuable. If you find that