Students find Joy in Giving vs. Receiving

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This spring, our MA Fellows in the School Leadership program will share blog posts about their coursework and learning journey. Interested in becoming part of a future cohort? Connect with us here.

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By: MaKenzie E. Talbert

From my earliest school memory, I can honestly say that I felt joy at school, and it’s that joy that carried me into the profession. At the time, I didn’t question my experience; I was just glad to be there each day learning, even struggling, and becoming myself. However, it’s worth examining what was behind that joyful experience. Did that just happen, or were there careful and considerate teachers curating and cultivating joy-filled opportunities for me?

Where Did the Joy Go?
In my experience as a teacher, I’ve noticed across the last decade that students seem less joyful. Students present themselves as disengaged and disinterested in the classroom, and though that’s challenging to combat as a teacher, I can see that it’s a mirror of their experience in a world that’s been disengaged and disinterested in them. Children today have to compete with technology for face-to-face attention with parents and peers, and often it’s a draw at best–we give kids as much attention as we can without sacrificing the priority in our palm. Sadly, at the upper-elementary level, I’m seeing in real time that many of my students have stopped competing altogether and don’t know how to meaningfully engage with people around them. However, this generalized observation of mine isn’t enough to go on. When you dive into peer reviewed research, you’ll quickly find no shortage of studies that confirm the same. For example, the research of Juliana Martins, et al. (2021) was able to trend student engagement data at the elementary level, confirming its decline. This elicits an imperative response from educators. How do we help our students recognize and contribute to a joy-filled school experience? It’s my belief that initiating real human connection, where each student feels seen, known, and loved, is the key to rediscovering joy. Klem and Connell’s (2004) study on student-teacher relationships indicates that elementary students can combat the risk of disengagement with increased teacher support, fostering engagement. To see if the same is true in my own circle, I went ahead and asked my fifth grade students at the start of this year how they’re feeling about the topic.

The Research
Baylor University developed a survey for students to help evaluate their joy-experience at school. Overwhelmingly, my students ranked teacher-centric questions positively. These questions focused on teachers being kind, helping when students don’t understand, making good use of time, etc. The survey also showed that they heavily agreed with one another on more student-centric questions, but their honest feedback wasn’t as praiseworthy. The data showed that students view themselves in a lesser light when it comes to demonstrating respect to their teachers in the form of behaving the way he/she asks of them, working hard on assignments, and time-management. The honest responses from my students took courage, and I appreciate what they offered toward my own understanding of our current culture of joy. Although my students had high rankings for their own treatment at school by teachers and staff, they still weren’t feeling joyful when it comes to their own output. They recognized that collectively the student population wasn’t often demonstrating hard work, positive behavior, or time management. It’s hard to ignore the connection between their own contributions and their joy-experience. In short, the students, nearly unanimously, agreed that their teachers were doing great, but they needed help being the best versions of themselves. I couldn’t believe it! The survey truly helped voice a need my students hadn’t been able to make words for themselves. This relationship in the data led me to strategize in a way I did not expect at the start of this inquiry.

Seen, Known, and Loved
We’re early in this journey of helping our students re-cultivate joy through contribution.This endeavor worked nicely with a campus initiative we already had in the works–that is “The Leopard Way.” My school promotes perseverance, responsibility, and kindness as our campus mantra. However, PRK has been our campus motto for a couple years now and it hasn’tseemed to increase joy for our students. Recall what I said about the survey giving voice to a need my students didn’t have the words for? This unspoken need–a tool for voice–was still missing. Realizing this led me to implement what we are calling the PRK Call-Out Card.

The PRK card is an adapted version of the Life-Giving-Moment Card developed by Baylor University, a tool I got to use as a masters student in class this summer. The card is filled out anonymously by students to highlight when they spot their peers demonstrating PRK. These are turned in throughout the day, and each afternoon we read them aloud, celebrate, and add them to our Leopard Way Bulletin board in the hall for all to see and share in the joy. When students hear their name noted by a peer for having demonstrated PRK, being seen, known, and loved fans the flame to their contributions to a culture of joy within our classroom and campus. Also, after implementing this for about two months, I’ve seen my students change in the way they seek to pay attention, rather than get attention, finding joy in highlighting the great work of others. This demonstrates the Biblical truth that there is more joy to be found in giving than receiving, (Acts 20:35b).

Looking Ahead
We were approaching a much needed break from school. My students were antsy and eagerly awaiting their two and a half weeks off from class…as am I. In this stretch, I’ve given the joy survey mentioned above a second time. Would you believe a group of 5th graders who were approaching Christmas break is self-reporting higher rankings of demonstrating respect to their teachers in the form of behaving the way he/she asks of them, working hard on assignments, and time-management than at the beginning of the year? It’s true, and I can see the difference. Watching this data trend has taught me a lot about each of my students, but also about myself and education in general. Does joy just happen at school? It can–spontaneous or unexpected joy-filled moments do occur; however, sustainable joy is found in relationships and in encouraging others. It’s found in paying attention, rather than getting attention, and having the courage to humble ourselves so that another can be seen, known, and loved. My teachers fostered an environment like this for me as a student, and I aim to do the same for my own.

References Martins, J., Cunha, J., Lopes, S. et al. School Engagement in Elementary School: A Systematic Review of 35 Years of Research. Educ Psychol Rev 34, 793–849 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09642-5

Klem, A. M., & Connell, J. P. (2004). Relationships Matter: Linking Teacher Support to Student Engagement and Achievement. Journal of School Health, 74(7), 262–273.

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About the Author 

MaKenzie Talbert is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of East Texas Baptist University. She has 10 years of experience spanning 3rd-6th grade, teaching 8 years in public education and 2 years in the private setting. Currently a masters student and fellow in the Baylor University School of Educational Leadership, I aspire to lead teachers and students in the pursuit of education, finding joy in becoming more of who God created them to be from the heart of a classroom.