Episode
The Fastest Way to kill a kid's motivation with Brenna Clarke Gray | OpenEd
- Podcast
- The OpenEd Podcast
- Published
- Nov 6, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 3306
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Summary
Teaching is relational work. When we turn what a child naturally loves into a graded assignment, we destroy the very motivation that made it beautiful in the first place. Join Brenna Clarke Gray, an educator and researcher who studies how technology and systems shape learning, as she explains why grading something your child loves might be the quickest way to kill their intrinsic motivation. Brenna hosts the podcast **Community of Praxis**, which explores big ideas in education through a care-centered, student-focused lens while acknowledging real structural limitations like time, funding, and precarity. As a mother of two, she advocates for protecting childhood, limiting data harvesting, and teaching kids to think critically about technology rather than simply using it. Resources: - Brenna's website: https://brennaclarkegray.ca/ - Community of Praxis Podcast: https://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Scholarly-Podcasts/Community-of-Praxis --- 00:00 - Welcome & Guest Introduction 00:31 - How Brenna Got Fascinated by Teaching 02:46 - Faculty Support and the Hidden Problem with Education 05:26 - Why Teaching and Learning is Relational Work 08:20 - We Measure Compliance Instead of Learning 10:41 - Universal Design for Learning: Multiple Pathways 15:46 - The Content Overload Problem 18:36 - The Pandemic's Missed Opportunity 21:05 - How External Standards Shape Student Behavior 24:35 - The Intrinsic Motivation Paradox 30:10 - Boredom as the Fuel for Lifelong Learning 34:30 - The Moment You Kill Your Kid's Love of Learning 37:00 - Home Culture and Technology Boundaries 41:20 - Intentional Limits on Screen Time & Data Privacy Want even more? Sign up for the OpenEd Daily newsletter at https://opened.co for practical tips and insights about more open and innovative approaches to educ…