The
actual physical donations were important but more important was the intention
and motivation behind the giving. God was looking for intrinsic motivation, the
inspired and motivated heart , and people being moved by their
spirit. It was a national outpouring of emotion and fervor in
order to become closer to God and perfect themselves as individuals .
The
princes were motivated in a different way. They looked at the building of the
tabernacle- mishkan as a project. In a noble gesture, they said they were
willing to 'underwrite and make good any materials that would be
lacking. They asked – what does the building need, how can we build the '
perfect ' tabernacle. The focus of the princes was on ' perfecting the object ,
on ' achievement' and driven by the extrinsic motivation – the need to build a
tabernacle-mishkan. The asked - what does the miskan need and not what do I
need to do ?
The
people were inspired and intrinsically motivated by a spirit of generosity , in
order to make a contribution to the mishkan. This was as an expression of
fervor and a deep connection with God , and a process of perfecting the
self. Moses had to put a stop to the ' process' as the people had
brought more than enough.
The
word נשאם- =
princes is written without the ' yuds ' . It should be . נשיאים The
defective spelling, leaving out 2 letters , the 2 yuds which symbolize
spirituality, is an implied rebuke of the leaders for not bringing their
gifts until everything else had been contributed. The national response was so
generous that there was almost nothing left for the leaders to give except the
precious stones needed for the Ephod and Breastplate. Because they were ' lazy'
in not coming immediately , the Torah spells their title defectively.
The
problem with our approach to behavior and academics of our kids is that
we use rewards or consequences, grades , honor rolls and other measures of '
achievement to drive the motivation of kids. There is no reason to engage in
learning because it is interesting and relevant to my life and has inherent value
but they do so only for the grade or so I can get a good job or please my
parents. The only reason that I behave in certain ways is what will be done to
me if I don't and this is a good way to impress my teachers and parents. It has
nothing to do with whom I am and that the way I act is an expression of
who I am and my values and beliefs.
Instead
we should help kids focus on the process – enjoying learning and being the
people we want to be. In order to do this , we should according to Jerome Bruner
help kids experience success and failure not as reward and punishment but as
information. This will help kids focus on what they are doing and not how they
are doing.
There
are many kids who are not ' lazy' , and they seem to work hard and be
internally motivated. But if we look deeper , it is as if they are being '
compelled' from the inside to work hard and perform because of the expectations
of their parents and competition. We can help kids become more intrinsically
motivated, focused on the process, perfecting the self rather than on
achievement – perfecting the object by supporting their autonomy – let them
generate choices and have a say in the curriculum, support competence and
relatedness - building community of learners who collaborate and cooperate
with each other.
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