The best kept secrets in education?
I pre-ordered The Disengaged Teen written by Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop weeks ago. I couldn’t wait. Spoiler: I’m still flipping back and forth. But one key message hit me hard: “The science and practice of good learning is called engagement. And it’s one of the best kept secrets in education.” [1] That should get all of us thinking. Especially me – as a teacher, a mother, and the founder of a learning platform. If engagement is really the key to good learning, why do we still treat it like an optional extra?
We talk about engagement as if it were party decoration: nice to have, looking good, maybe even adding a bit of sparkle to the classroom. It helps the ambiance. It shows we made an effort. But it’s not considered central. Not the thing you invest in or are most proud about. Not the thing that changes everything.
Engagement isn’t the cherry on top – it’s the recipe
At enduri, we disagree. Fully. We believe engagement isn’t the cherry on top – it’s the recipe. And we’ve built everything around it. So what does engagement actually look like? When does it work? When is it missing? And what can we do about it?
Let’s dig in.
The opposite of being bored is not being busy,
it’s being interested.
Engagement Is the Foundation – Not a Bonus
The opposite of being bored?
If a student is quiet, compliant, and ticking the boxes, are they engaged? Maybe – but probably not. Some students are just good at looking like they’re on board. But inside? They’re miles away. They’re there – physically. But mentally? They’re drifting. Doing the minimum. Scrolling in their heads. Or like my son once said: “Mum, it is just all about pretending.” Pretending to hide their boredom. And no – giving them more tasks won’t help. The opposite of being bored is not being busy, it’s being interested. [1]
Engagement is active, not ornamental
Let’s stay with the party metaphor for a moment: you wouldn’t judge a party’s success by how well the table was set. You’d judge it by how people engage – with the food, with each other, with the moment. Same with learning. Engagement isn’t there to make school look good. It’s there to make learning real.
The Appetiser That Changed How I Think About Learning
Learning and eating
In the late 90s, when I was teaching in Mexico, I had dinner with friends who were also teachers. We were talking about how hard it is to “make students care.” No party decorations in sight. Then someone said something that stuck with me:
“Los entremeses no son para llenar – son para abrir el apetito.” Appetisers aren’t there to fill you up. They’re there to awaken your appetite. Learning is probably not so different from eating. A good starter doesn’t overwhelm. It invites. It makes you curious about what’s coming next. It gives you just enough to take the risk of trying more. That’s engagement. Not the main course. Not the dessert. But the attitude. The spark of curiosity. The first connection. That moment where you go from passive observer to active participant. Or in culinary terms: from simply admiring to actively enjoying. And the next step — whether in eating or in learning? The courage to start creating something yourself.
Our only focus? Learning itself
That’s exactly what we aim for at enduri. enduri is content-independent. The sole focus is learning itself – how it is enabled, what fosters it, and how it can be improved. enduri invests in structure, reflection, and strategies – not in subjects. We support the how, not the what. When the learning strategy and the learning approach are right, the content becomes just one “ingredient.”
Think of cooking: enduri doesn’t dictate the ingredients — it shows how to work with them, depending on preference, need, and ability.
The Disengaged Teen: What Most Students Actually Experience
Four Modes of Engagement: A Language for What We See
If engagement is so essential, why do so few students experience it? According to Anderson & Winthrop, by Grade 10 only 26% of students still say they like school. That’s a steep drop – and not because kids suddenly become lazy. Something in the system turns the light off. [1]. Anderson and Winthrop give us a vocabulary to describe how students engage – or don’t. These aren’t fixed types. They’re modes that students move between. And every one of us has likely cycled through all four.
Passenger, Resister, Achiever, Explorer
The Passenger coasts. The Resister pushes back. The Achiever performs. Only the Explorer engages – deeply, curiously, and on their own terms. [1] This isn’t about labelling kids. It’s about understanding how to reach them. Most students today live in Passenger mode – compliant but disconnected. Some flip to Resister when the system feels irrelevant. A few hide behind Achiever mode – seemingly perfect, but terrified of getting it wrong. A small group becomes Explorers: learners who take risks, ask questions, connect ideas. [2] Our job? Create conditions where more students can explore.
Struggle, Done Right, Builds Engagement
Positive struggle is the zone where growth happens
Let’s be honest: real learning doesn’t feel easy. But it shouldn’t feel isolating either. “Kids need positive struggle to learn to become brave, take risks, and drive their own learning – just as they need the time to reflect, and the support to know they matter for who they are and not just what they do.” [1]. That’s when a student says, “This is hard… but I think I can figure it out.” As the authors write: “The kids were meant to feel stuck but not alone.” [1] This statement makes it clear: A moment of difficulty isn’t a problem. On the contrary – learning happens precisely when challenges demand curiosity. And where support makes all the difference.
enduri: Not here to hook students.
As The Disengaged Teen reminds us: “Learning can happen on YouTube and connection on Snapchat – but those apps are designed to hook you and keep you, not actually engage you.” [1] We designed enduri differently.
The Learner ID helps students understand how they learn. enduri’s reflection tools help them name what works. the prompts and coaching guides enduri offers, don’t just ask what you’ve done – but how and why. That’s not decoration. That’s engagement.
Structure. Reflection. Strategy. That’s how we do it
If engagement is the best-kept secret in education – it’s time to stop keeping it secret. What if we designed every learning moment like that appetiser in Mexico – just enough to awaken the appetite, spark the risk, and invite the learner in? What if we didn’t treat engagement as extra – but essential? What if we stopped designing for compliance, and started designing for curiosity?
At enduri, we believe that’s exactly where good learning begins. www.enduri.org.
Sources:
- Anderson & Winthrop (2024), The Disengaged Teen, Oprah Daily
- Next Big Idea Club, How to Help Your Disengaged Teen
- Getting Smart, Building Engaged Learners
