How to light a kid who only thinks about YouTube/games/TV/luxury brands/money? I'd love to hear.
At the Ivy, I didn't need to inspire students. If they graduated, they'd be set. I was just out of grad school; I was fired up with theory, and I loved my subject. But, those were the days when we had to go to a computer center to do work. I was in NYC during the summer, and went to my old school to use the computers there. One day, I met the chair of a department who said they needed someone. I decided to take a position there because most of the students were like me.
Few of them had ever met someone who'd gone to an Ivy League school or taught at one. None had ever been encouraged to do anything more than get a degree and get out. So, since I had been relatively successful, I inspired them by simply telling them my story, and what I thought of the educational system. Outside of modelling, I deliberately shamed them by emphasizing that they didn't know what they needed to know. I mean, what they needed to know to be successful people, not just students.
My strategy was to ask them why they knew whatever they thought they did. I told them that if they couldn't express themselves, the'd be useless to themselves and the community. I stressed that it wasn't their fault they couldn't write well, but they could fix it themselves. Of course, not all of them took the advice. However, even students who failed said they knew it was because they didn't work hard enough or listen.
I think they liked the class because I was there to learn and enjoy myself more than to fill their heads. I.e., it's hard to inspire someone to do something that one is not inspired to do. My students never thought that I took what I did in the classroom as work. I told them honestly that I'd do it for free.
I know many of my students have gone on become teachers. My youngest son has a PhD. My daughter has her MA, but she's also got three kids. My oldest son is a colonel and taught at West Point. That's another point I use to inspire. I tell my students that my job is to make them teachers. So, I only teach them what I think is really important for them to know.
Btw, I taught the same things I would have in the Ivies. The only modification being that I might give two chapters of a book to read rather than the entire novel. Students didn't always do all the reading. However, I tested them the same way. In fact, the colleges were/are having university initiatives to ensure that curricula are consistent. Students want a degree from one college to be equivalent to another. But, that's not the case. Sometimes, credit for certain courses from certain colleges are not accepted by "elite" colleges in the city.
Well, since I was on the committee, I suggested that all the colleges use the same syllabus that the elite schools, and give the same tests. Surprise, it wasn't close to happening before I left, and I'd been suggesting it for more than a decade. Frustration over things like this were what made it easy for me to retire. I couldn't imagine putting up with that bs for more years.
"A man is rich when he has time and freewill. How he chooses to invest both will determine the return on his investment."