Reflections on The Disengaged Teen
In third grade, about 75% of kids say they love school. By 10th grade, that number plummets to just 25% — a trend author Jenny Anderson calls a “travesty” because “we are literally losing our kids along the way.”
What’s even more concerning? A stunning 65% of parents believe their 10th graders love school. This disconnect reveals a profound blind spot around student motivation, leaving many educators and families asking:
What happens to our kids’ natural curiosity, and what can we do to get it back?
At Cascades Academy, we continuously strive to sustain deep engagement as students grow. This year, our Middle School faculty explored The Disengaged Teen by Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop as their summer read. Along with Jenny’s February Ed Series event on our campus, the book gave our community a shared language for understanding how students show up to learn — and how we can help them thrive in a rapidly changing world.
The Disengagement Crisis and the Four Modes
Based on surveys of over 65,000 students globally, Anderson and Winthrop found that fewer than 30% of students feel that what they learn in school connects to their lives outside the classroom.
To help adults understand this disconnect, the authors outline four common learning modes. Importantly, these modes are not fixed or binary labels. Depending on the situation, the subject, the teacher, their peers, or what’s happening in their lives, they may ebb and flow between modes — sometimes within the same day.
Passenger: Coasting and doing the bare minimum. A shocking 50% of middle and high school students spend most of their time in this mode.
Resister: Acting out or withdrawing. These students have agency, but it is directed away from learning.
Achiever: Driven by performance and collecting “gold stars.”
Explorer: Curious, self-directed, and proactive. Explorers dig in, ask questions, and adapt when things go wrong.
The Trap of “Achiever Mode” and the Rise of AI
For decades, traditional schooling has rewarded the Achiever. While these students may look highly successful on paper, they can become what Anderson calls “fragile learners,” whose self-worth is tied to perfection. Fear of failure discourages risk-taking and authentic problem-solving.
“Achievers aren’t problem solvers. They don’t try to solve hard problems because they might not be able to. They solve easy problems so they can get an A.”
— Jenny Anderson
This dynamic is especially concerning as we enter the age of generative AI. Today, AI can easily perform many of the routine tasks Achievers have been trained to master: following explicit instructions, summarizing information, and producing standard responses.
“Generative AI is doing a lot of what Achievers are being trained to do. They’re being trained to be excellent followers, and we need kids to be able to navigate the world they’re going to go into.”
— Jenny Anderson
Employers today are not looking for rule-followers. They are seeking creative problem-solvers, adaptable thinkers, and effective collaborators. To succeed, students must shift from the Age of Achievement to the Age of Agency.
At Cascades Academy, we are leaning into this shift by adapting our curriculum to teach students how to use AI thoughtfully and ethically — as a tool for inquiry, iteration, and deeper thinking, not as a substitute for it.
Where We See Explorer Mode at Cascades Academy
Research suggests that less than 4% of middle and high school students regularly experience Explorer mode in school. During her visit, however, Anderson recognized something different happening on our campus:
“This place…is giving kids real-world experiences all the time — in nature, in internships, in impact projects, in developing their own voice in eighth-grade projects. I can honestly say that I haven’t seen a school that develops so closely for Explorer mode in all of my research.”
— Jenny Anderson
Across all divisions, Cascades Academy intentionally designs experiences that invite students off the “golden path” of checking boxes and into authentic exploration. Here are some examples:
Lower School: Storyline Learning - Students engage in interdisciplinary learning that builds belonging, sparks curiosity, and develops collaborative problem-solving skills that AI cannot replicate. This fall, K–5 students explored National Parks as Junior Park Rangers, creating characters and researching the plants, animals, and ecosystems that make each park unique.
Middle School: Expeditions & 8th Grade Project - Instead of sitting passively at desks, middle school students engage in Expeditions such as Welding, Entrepreneurship, and Robotics. They culminate this growth in the 8th Grade Project, pursuing inquiry driven by personal curiosity, conducting original research, and presenting their findings.
Upper School: Traveling School & Internships - Whether navigating the complex issue of water management in Southern Oregon or exploring the geology and history of Guatemalan volcanoes, Traveling School demands resilience and adaptability. The required Junior Year Internship Project has students locate and manage their own real-world internships, empowering them to take initiative and navigate environments without a clear syllabus or rubric.
Partnering with Parents: Nudge, Don’t Nag
Cultivating Explorers is not just the school’s work. Parents play a vital role.
Anderson noted that while our instinct may be to micromanage a disengaged teen, brain research shows that when teenagers hear a critical or nagging voice, the problem-solving center of their brain shuts down.
Instead, parents can act as a bridge between school and the real world:
- Ask open-ended questions about interests
- Focus on effort and strategies, not just grades
- Connect learning to real-life relevance
- Encourage autonomy and problem-solving
For more, visit the “Parent Guide: Moving from Disengagement to Discovery” that we shared with our community.
“Engagement is not the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae. It’s the actual ice cream.”
— Rebecca Winthrop
At Cascades Academy, our aim is not simply to help students achieve, but to help them become curious, resilient learners prepared to navigate an uncertain world. By prioritizing connection, relevance, and agency, students become the lifelong Explorers the future so urgently needs.