Most Schools Won't Fit, 2nd Edition: The Epidemic of Disengagement and What To Do About It

The modern school system seems beset on all sides by problems: inadequate funding, low test scores, and teacher turnover are just a few. But the most fundamental problem is the widespread disengagement of both teachers and students. This problem is caused by an even deeper flaw in the very nature of the system. The flaw is that the model of learning underlying the school system is wrong. Before other reforms can make a difference, we have to correct that flaw.

That flawed model is based on delivering knowledge, skills, and information from teacher to student. The delivery model encourages practices which ignore or even thwart primary psychological needs, which has led to the disengagement that plagues the system.

We can better align our educational system with the needs of students and teachers and with the way learning actually works. Schools already exist which support students' primary human needs. There are also tools available for measuring how well students' needs are supported, which can help us make positive changes and measure the results. Once we accept a better model of how learning works, schools can become joyful places where passionate teachers fully engage enthusiastic students. When students become fully engaged in school then education will become a reliable outcome of schooling.