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What drives Calvin (or holds him back)?
Jordyn & Chinah
The Big Picture...
Calvin’s motivation is stuck in performance-avoidance mode — he’s more worried about looking smart than getting smarter.
If he could shift toward mastery goals (growth, effort, learning), he’d have a healthier way to measure success.
Further connection to the main goal types:
Mastery Goals - Calvin does not seem to have any support in creating mastery goals in the classroom. However, he requests better support for his effort alone--as well as "practice semesters" for him to get better. It is clear that while he does not have the terminology to describe what he wants in the classroom, he would prefer mastery goals that focus on improvement, effort, and understanding.
Performance Goals - Calvin's teachers--and even his peers--focus on performance through report cards, sports, and getting stickers on their assignments. Calvin specifically hates tests and the idea of memorization just for the sake of performing. Even though he doesn't seem to pay much attention to actual learning, he clearly feels that his instruction is lacking and focuses more on the end product than the effort. Mrs. Wormwood's classroom is focused on performance and Calvin struggles with this, especially because he does not understand WHY he should care or WHY he needs to "achieve" the goals.
Performance Avoidance Goals - Calvin very much tends to avoid tasks when he feels he cannot achieve it. From baseball to actual classroom assignments, we can see that Calvin is a master procrastinator and saboteur of his own work, either doing the assignments with minimal effort or in a silly way in an effort to avoid the actual pressure or reality of doing the work. Even when he does get grades, he doesn't like to share them with others, knowing he did worse than them; this often negatively affects his self-esteem and separates him from his higher-achieving peers. It is also very clear that he avoids asking for help for fear of actually facing and accepting his struggle with the material; instead he just seems content to fail as long as he saves face and comes off as just a goofball who doesn't try.
Comic Connections
Calvin often shows frustration with performance-based learning. He complains about being graded by percentages — like when he argues that 75% should count as higher than average — and insists he deserves better grades just for his effort. He often says things like “I just don’t test well,” and even suggests having "practice semesters" instead of constant grading. These moments highlight how external pressures, like grades and comparisons, affect his motivation. Over time, this mindset makes it easier for him to lose motivation when grades take the center stage.
When pressure or competition shows up in Calvin’s life — whether in class or sports — he tends to quit rather than risk failure. In one comic, he says his bad grade lowers his self-esteem, and in another, he gives up on a team sport once it becomes too competitive. These moments fit with what Achievement Goal Theory describes as performance-avoidance — when success feels tied to avoiding failure. This reaction keeps him from pushing through challenges or seeing what he’s truly capable of, and it’s the same pattern he shows in class when grades or comparisons start to matter more than effort.
Calvin also dislikes memorizing information just for the sake of it. He wants school to feel meaningful and not like a checklist of facts to learn (and then in Calvin's case...forget.) He hates deadlines, rigid grading systems, and would rather work in an environment that allows him more freedom and creativity. In several comics, he complains that assignments feel pointless or repetitive, showing how structure and repetition tend to annoy him. This frustration connects to his overall struggle with performance-based learning.
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