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Many students have become disengaged from learning in high school, but the current approach to re-engaging them isn’t working. The problem that needs to be addressed isn’t getting kids to engage in the world—it’s getting them to want to.
Intrinsic motivation is something that children are naturally inclined towards. When babies are very young, curiosity and motivation go hand in hand. If a baby sees something colorful and wants to touch it, they do. But as children get older and become more preoccupied with their screens, they gradually lose that curiosity.
Dopamine is commonly known as the happiness molecule, but it is more accurately described as a chemical that promotes cravings. So when people associate their dopamine levels with electronic devices, they assign all of their desires to a single place. Everything else becomes irrelevant to them.
Perceived relevance hinders interest in school children of all ages. As someone who just graduated from high school, I can attest to looking forward to college just so I could study things that interested me. Like many others, I had a case of senioritis last year, but I still recognized that the curriculum I was learning had a purpose. This didn’t seem to be the case for most of my classmates.
Many of my peers complained that they would enjoy school more if they felt that what they were learning was applicable to the real world. This sentiment is widespread on the internet. A few years ago, it even became a popular online joke to ask math teachers how often they used the math they taught each day. When the teachers came back empty-handed, the teens’ consensus was confirmed: our knowledge was useless.
However, there is a reason for the core curriculum. Although I didn’t plan on majoring in biology, the classes helped me make mental connections outside of the classroom. However, when students fundamentally believe that the material isn’t relevant, their intrinsic motivation goes into hibernation. As a result, many become fixated on their phones.
Making these connections and forming independently analytical views of the world is the skill I’m most grateful for in school. I wish others felt the same about their time in high school. After all, the goal of the curriculum is not just to prepare students for college, but to make them better societal participants—and I get a lot of joy from being able to participate. But it’s important to note that what makes me happy reflects what motivates me. It’s also important to keep in mind that one person’s motivation will be different than the next.
This falls into the discussion of intrinsic motivation. I believe that students in high school would be much more motivated in class if they independently sought out applications for what they are learning. An example of this might be a student searching a university’s course catalog for specific courses that may interest them more than general high school classes. Another example might be looking for clubs or programs with practical applications that are not connected to the student’s school. A change of scenery and a new teacher can make a world of difference to a bored mind.
I urge high school students to keep going. Students need to find something that excites them about the future and find a way to approach that subject in any way possible. The general curriculum is undoubtedly tiring, but these courses will help students achieve their career and life goals.
Reach Leah Stephenson at [email protected] or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
