Why E.N.G.A.G.E.?
Need for Change:
A System of Disconnect
Jesse’s Story: Learning by Following Her Passion
Jesse M was a high school student with a big curiosity. She wanted to know if mustard seed oil, which is used in herbicides, could help fight malaria—a disease that affects millions of people each year, especially in poor areas. She discovered that the oil killed 96% of malaria parasites in tests—better than many current medicines and without bad side effects. Thanks to her passion and hard work, Jesse got to work with top scientists at the University of Toronto and the MaRS Discovery District. But even after all that, her school board still told her she had to finish her Grade 12 biology class to graduate. This shows a problem with how schools sometimes work: even when students do real-world, meaningful work, the system can be too strict to see it as “real” learning. Jesse’s story reminds us that students learn best when they follow their passions—and that schools need to be more flexible to support this kind of deep learning.
This highlights how rigid education systems often fail to recognize and support authentic, self-directed learning.
See Jesse explain the situation in her TEDx talk from the University of Toronto. https://youtu.be/GYzLcpN8dso?si=qOzmqJUkJfHIiffr
Key Statement: Traditional education systems were built for an era of scarcity—scarcity of information, scarcity of knowledge keepers—but we now live in an era of information abundance
The Problem
A Legacy of Compliance
Public education systems were founded in the mid 1800s on the notion that learning is a one-way transmission of information from teacher to student. Knowledge was scarce and access to information was limited compared to today’s 24/7 instant access. In this time of information abundance educators need to shift from filling empty vessels to finding sparks and tending embers.
Contemporary education systems fall short at meeting the needs of modern students. Traditions such as compartmentalized subjects, hinder the ability to make connections between different areas of knowledge. Rigid structures prevent the system from adapting to advances in our understanding of how the brain actually learns (which thrives on connections and flexibility).
Traditional methods prioritize rote learning and compliance over understanding and engagement.
ENGAGE 3D (Engagement, Compliance, Dependence) as a structured way to understand how students interact with this outdated system.
Traditional schooling inadvertently rewards and reinforces compliance archetypes:
Teacher Pleasers: High compliance, high dependence on authority approval.
Mark Chasers: High compliance, high dependence, driven by grades over knowledge.
This focus fails to cultivate the critical thinking and creativity needed in the 21st century.
George Land's landmark creativity study showed that while 98% of 5-year-olds scored at the "Genius Level" for creativity, only 2% maintained that level into adulthood. George Land concluded “ . . . that non-creative behaviour is learned.”
Sir Ken Robinson’s 2006 Ted Talk asks Do schools kill creativity? TED2006 - https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en
The Human Cost
Student Archetypes
The Rising Crisis of
Disengagement
More and more students are rejecting conventional schooling, leading to a rise in disengaged archetypes:
◦ Good ‘Nuffs: High compliance, low engagement, focused on doing the bare minimum.
◦ Social Seekers and Isolated Observers: Showing detachment and prioritizing social activity or retreating inward.
The system has responded by offering alternatives to traditional schooling for students who cannot cope. The fastest growing education sector for virtually every school districts is ‘Alternative Education’.
Disengagement is a systemic feature, not an unintended bug, of this compliance-first design.
As the world increasingly rewards those who think differently, create boldly, and adapt quickly, education must move from compliance and rote achievement to nurturing Smart Creatives.
