Pulling students in

As we finish the semester I find that some students were willing to dip in and some were waiting to be pulled in. I feel like some students taking the class were thinking that they had to take it for some external reason unfamiliar to them, this of course is not the first time! It looks like every year with a new set of students we face the same'ol issue of motivation. Now motivation is a product of self-knowledge and maturity, and is necessary to produce engagement in the class. As engagement is the product of motivation and active learning and not an ingredient provided by the teacher. This is a common misconception: good teachers produce student's engagement in the classroom. Good teachers provide the conditions for engagement within an active learning setting, but will not be able to engage the student if the student is not motivated. And there are many reasons why the student might not be motivated, one is lack of self-esteem! Here is were a good teacher might be able to do something, there are according to Jack Canfield 100 ways to enhance self-concept in the classroom  and 100 ways to build self-esteem and teach values but at the end is for the student to take ownership of their performance, their education, and their future.