Motivating

I loved getting complaints today about how we always work, how I never have a "free day," how I never sit back at my desk. My assistant principal told me she hears that they have to do work as soon as the bell rings (why this is a big deal, I don't know). Of course, the struggle is to get ALL of them to actually come in on time, with a pencil and paper, and start the work as soon as they get in there. It amazes me when someone asks for a pencil after we've been in class 10 min. What can we do to truly motivate the students who really could care less? I am having success with a few previous troublemakers after they have actually done well on quizzes or tests, or I have devoted more time and attention to.

Math is a funny subject to teach, because for the most part students have already decided if they are good at it or not. If they are, they can be overconfident, refusing to ever do homework or take notes. If they aren't, they give up before they even begin. If I can find something they are good at (such as graphing for one poorer performing student) then they can use this to motivate them to work toward understanding. I just wish they all had a better math basis that I could build upon.