The thrive to motivate

By Kevin A

Being unmotivated is the worst feeling when you're in school. Feeling like a failure and having all these assignments stack up is unmotivating. 

That can most likely change with the right teachers. Teachers that make their classes exciting and have a comfortable environment.

It’s even happened to me but my biggest help was Mr Khong. He encouraged me to be more efficient and view my education in a different perspective. His energy was so optimistic that I had the opportunity to be more motivated. 

Khong: That is the biggest battle here in YB is not teaching the forensics science and not teaching the material, it's how to inspire students like you to believe that you can do something and that you're capable.

As I think back to that class I remember how I was unmotivated and just sat there and did nothing but he really did change my perspective on learning and like how it could be fun.

I could imagine it's the same for other students because i'm definitely not the only one that has gone through the same 

Khong: You might not get an “A” but at least you leave the class like, “wow I can do this, I can learn something.”

That was the case for me although I didn't get the best grade in that class I learned how to be more organized and focus more in class.

 His dedication for uplifting his pupils really made me want to improve and motivated me to do so much.

Inspiring students can be a struggle and it is definitely a challenge but some teachers like Mr. Khong was one of the few that inspired me to view my education in a positive way.

With twenty six years of teaching, he got lucky with this job since at the beginning, he had a one year contract which meant that he was only supposed to be here for a year.

After his year was over, he was onto the next school, which was Mount Pleasant where he encountered his new job.

There he was expected to be a teacher. However, at that point he was told by the principal at Yerba Buena that he couldn't depart because one of the teachers in the science department resigned. Giving him no choice but to stay.

 
Yerba Buena wasn’t the best school for him to teach, but he knew he had one job to do, give students hope in learning. The problem now that seems to occur more than the gang violence is a lot of kids being unmotivated and not getting anything done because they don't think it's important. 

Khong: I think that in 1999 when I came here the gang violence certainly was bad, but I   think now the problem I see is so many people are unmotivated 

I was certainly one of those unmotivated kids but the way Mr. Khong's perseverance influenced the kids and myself. It really got me motivated to go to class and actually encouraged me to work harder and pushed me in a supportive way.