Jamahl Keyes-The Magic Motivator is widely recognized as a leading expert in youth leadership giving students, educators and parents the needed leadership tools to be successful in this very competitive global market.

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It is very,
very, very
rare for a
youth
speaker to
write this
kind of
report. Many
youth
speakers and
educators do
NOT have the
time to
articulate
what
strategies
and methods
they use in
the
classroom
that work.
Please take
the time to
read it
carefully.
In fact, if
you are – as
I hope –
very
interested
in finding
out the box
and proven
ways to
educate any
student in
special
education,
then
I urge you
to get
comfortable,
ask not to
be
disturbed,
and STUDY
this report
– it IS that
important!
It reveals
vital
information
that you
NEED to
know!
Jamahl Keyes-The
Magic Motivator
Presenting The
Keynote At The
National Teachers
Association
Conferenece
“How To Motivate Any Special Education Student
Of The 21st Century To Want To Learn.”
www.jamahlspeaks.com

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Dear Fellow
Educator:
It’s shocking but
true.
Every day,
teachers, instructors
and educators get
frustrated in the
classroom trying to
motivate and reach that
one student that gave
up on not only their
school work but life.
Teachers, instructors,
and educators get
burned out very fast and
many develop health
problems all do to not
having the right
strategies and methods
to motivating the special
education student of the
21st century.
Finding the right
method to motivate a
student that doesn’t want
to be motivated is a
DIFFICULT and
STRESSFUL job. There
are so many details that
must be attended to. But
here is the undeniable
truth:
THE OVERALL
SUCCESS OF THE
STUDENT LEARNING
HINGES ON THEIR
MOTIVATION TO
WANT TO LEARN
I realize that you might
not believe that right
now but think about it
for a minute. When is the
last time you
remembered
YOURSELF being
inspired or motivated to
want to learn something
new? Something,
someone or a
combination of both
motivated you to want to
learn therefore it was fun
to learn.
Finding and
applying ways to inspire
and motivate a student
in special education is
the “key” to a
successfully and
effectively reaching
them...
In just a minute, I’m
going to reveal some
methods and strategies to
motivating the special
education student of the
21st century, but first let me
answer a couple of
questions that are probably
on your mind:
Who Are You And
Why Are You
Sharing This
Information?
My name is Jamahl
Keyes-The Magic
Motivator and I’m a
youth speaker, trainer
and curriculum writer.
For the past 20 years
my unique presentations
consisting of interactive
learning, real life stories,
motivation, comedy, and
audience participation
have helped school
systems, educators,
teachers and
administrators including
Notre Dame University,
Concept Schools, South
Bend Community
School Corporation, The
Madison Center and
South Bend Parks and
Recreation position their
“Your program really
touched some points that
we have been alking to the
students about all year,
your program was great
and educational.”
Mr Mathew Urbanski
(Dean Of Students
Gateway Science and
Math Academy 8th - 12th
Grade)
www.jamahlspeaks.com

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instructors to be
successful.
I’m sharing these
methods and strategies
to motivating special
education students for
two reasons:
REASON #1: If you end
up implementing some
methods that are dated
and non- relevant to the
students of this
generation it not only
hurts the students of
your facility but it hurts
the educational system
as a whole. Odds are, if
the dated methods and
strategies your
educators apply stinks,
they’ll be very reluctant
to want to teach with
passion and fervor.
REASON #2: I HATE to
see students not reach
their full potential. It puts
a black eye on the
profession of education.
Okay, now that you
know who I am and why
I’m doing this, let’s talk
about how to motivate
the special education
student of the 21st
century.
Motivating Tip #1:
Exposing!, What is
required of you and
them.
Many educators feel
that if they keep
pounding over the head
of the student that they
are in charge and they
better do what they are
told to do that that
student will magically
respond.
While that is true with
many students a lot of
student that are in
special education have
been disappointed and
let down in many
situation throughout
their lives so telling
them what they need to
do may trigger them to
be oppositional defiant.
True Story:
When I first started my
teaching career at
Navarre Middle School I
would on a weekly and
for some student’s, daily
basis ask them what
they expect from me
and tell them what I
expect from them. What
I noticed by doing this is
that the student made
an effort to do better.
Motivational Exercise:
When you first meet the
student ask them, What
do you expect from me
in this class. For many
students (depending on
age and learning
disorder) it will be hard
for them to articulate
fully what they expect
from you and for others
they may not know what
to expect. So be
prepared to hear some
positive responses and
even negative
responses from
students.
By doing this
motivational exercise
you will find it easier to
discipline the student
and redirect them in a
positive way. By simply
reminding them what
they said about what is
“We’ve had problems in the
past with speakers coming
in and not connecting,
Jamahl came in and not
only connected with the
students, he also
connected with the staff as
well.”
Mrs. Cari Knowlton
(School Counselor-JD Floydd
High School)
www.jamahlspeaks.com

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expected from you and in return
what is expected from them.
Motivating Tip #2:
Teaching them, with a
topic of interest.
Wow! This is a biggie.
Of course all teachers
and educators have a curriculum
that they must follow to teach the
student. However, have you ever
considered using things of
interest to help them along in
math, science and even
language arts?
After doing this her grades went
up rapidly and she even
graduated with honors FROM
COLLEGE!
Motivational Exercise:
Have your students create a
chart of interest for the
classroom. Schedule a time for
them to share their interest with
the classroom. (By spotlighting
the student it will give them
something to look forward to.)
After they present their interest
to the classroom have a
question and answer session
with the class on how their
interest applies to school.
Motivating Tip #3:
Ensure the students that
there is a element of fun.
In this social media hungry,
music video playing I want it now
online culture it is a must that
every teacher uses fun out the
box methods and strategies to
reach the students in special
education.
True Story:
Magic tricks have always been a
passion of mine, I actually
started learning magic tricks
because of my mother (who was
a school teacher for 41 yrs) used
magic books to help me learn
how to read and comprehend.
“We really
enjoyed
javing
Jamahl-The
Magic
Motivator
the students
and parents
loved him.”
Mrs.
Shaheed-
Carson
(Principal
Snacks
Crossing)
www.jamahlspeaks.com

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Motivational Exercise:
All of us have a passion; use
your passion in your teaching.
By doing this your students will
find themselves having fun and
learning at the same time.
For Example:
If your passion is tennis,
introduce a concept or method
using tennis.
Motivating Tip #4:
Enable your students to
showcase the finished
product.
Everyone wants to be
acknowledged and students
especially want to showcase
their efforts. Many schools
acknowledge the students that
are on honor role, perfect
attendance and so on.
But we must, as educators allow
students on a daily basis
showcase their efforts.
True Story:
I once had a student that I was
trying to reach and motivate to
do well for the grading period I
would on a daily basis do the
classic pep talk and rah! rah!
speech….And I didn’t reach him.
After the awards assembly I
noticed the student was down
and was ready to give up so I
came up with a new game plan.
After every homework
assignment, test and even quiz, I
had the student showcase his
work either to me, his mother,
the staff or someone he knew in
the community. By doing this, I
noticed the student was very
much motivated to do his best
and finish any assignment small
or large after he was done.
Motivational Exercise:
Create a weekly time for
students to be showcased.
Create a place in the classroom
where a student is showcased
not for a great grade but for
completing a assignment that
was given.
Create a showcase folder that
has the names of 3 people that
the student may want to
showcase their work to.
Motivating Tip #5:
Implement “transparent”
learning climates.
It is a must that educators create
a environment encourages these
three elements positivity,
challenges and risk taking. Let’s
face it, if our students are to be
successful in school and life they
must be taught by these three
elements.
True Story:
When I was put over a at-risk
group of students at Jefferson
Middle school I was told by the
principle to put in place some
methods and techniques that
would encourage students to
take risk.
To my surprise after 4 weeks in
the program the students
productivity in school work went
up 15%. After further
investigation I found that they
were more productive because
www.jamahlspeaks.com

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“Jamahl you are amazing, you have an open
invitation to speak to my class whenever
you are in my city. You have a great,
wonderful and much needed way of
educating and entertaining as well.”
Mr. Anthony Douglas
Careers Teacher & J.A.G. Job’s After
Graduation Instructor Washington High
School)
they were not afraid to TAKE A RISK…
Motivational Exercise:
Start the habit of telling your students that it is
alright to be wrong as long as they continue to
work towards being right.
When your students make a mistake with their
school work, tell them what they did wrong by
enforcing what they did right two times.
For example:
I like the way you wrote this out but your
answer is wrong. Keep writing out the problem
like that.
****************************
Well, there you have it. Obviously, if you’re
a seasoned educator you may have already known
some of the motivation methods revealed in this
report. But I hope you found a few gems that you
can use to motivate your students.
If I can help you or you want to contact me,
please call 866.230.9808.
Best,
Jamahl Keyes-The Magic Motivator
P.S. For more details about my programs go to
www.jamahlspeaks.com or call me at
866.230.9808.
www.jamahlspeaks.com