MonkeyPants

Motivation.

Scene: The classroom. J is having a hard time with his vocabulary exercise. I give him some hints, but he isn’t motivated to figure it out; it’s hard. He gets one answer right and I make a funny face: “HellOoo! Look at that! You’ve got it!”

J: (Uncontrollable laughter) Your face! Your face!

Me: (Lightbulb moment) Okay. You get one funny face for every word you get right.

J: (Busily works on vocab, hands it over) Here.

Me: (Scanning) You got one right. Here’s your funny face. (pulls face)

J: (Grabs vocabulary) Only one? (works busily, hands it back in record time)

Me: (Scans) WOOO! You got them all! Okay, that’s, um, let’s see. Seven funny faces. (Proceeds to look like a constipated gargoyle, a surprised emu, a Cabbage Patch Kid and a lot of other undignified things.

J: (Laughs uncontrollably, then works well for the rest of the class)

Sometimes you have to sacrifice your dignity to get things done. Thank goodness, I am not that attached to my dignity.