I’m going to be real—this post might ruffle some feathers. It might make you uncomfortable. And honestly? That’s kind of the point.

Because if we, as educators, are truly about growth, then we’ve got to be willing to look in the mirror and ask ourselves hard questions.

Here’s one:
Are you expecting students to engage in learning, or just comply with it?

There’s a huge difference.

We say we want engagement…

We say we want students to love learning. We say we want them to be curious, driven, and excited about discovering new things.

But too often, what we actually want is compliance.We want them to silently read another chapter, complete another worksheet (same format, just new questions), or copy spelling words and math problems—calmly, quietly, productively, and with a smile.

Let’s be honest—that expectation is bullsh*t.
(Yes, I said it. You probably didn’t flinch. You know it’s true.)

We are setting students up to answer the question, “How’s school going?” with the unspoken but oh-so-honest response: “Same stuff, different day.”

Think about it…

When was the last time you learned something and thought, “You know what would make this even better? Filling out a workbook page about it.”

Or when was the last time you joyfully sat down to do something repetitive and boring—like taxes?

(Exactly.)

Now flip it.
Think of a time you actually got excited to learn something new. Why were you engaged?

• Was it because you were doing it with someone else? (Group energy = magic. Hello, aerial or dance class.)
• Was it because you chose it?
• Was it because it challenged you in a fun way?
• Was it related to something you care about or a problem you wanted to solve?
  
  

That’s engagement. It’s losing track of time.

It’s calling up your best friend because you just have to share what you learned.
It’s making a breakthrough, doing something you didn’t know you could do.
It’s feeling so proud you want to stick your work on the fridge.

So… are your students feeling that?

Are they engaged in that deep, excited, invested kind of way?
Or are they just doing what they’re told?

Because if they’re silently filling in pages, following directions, and keeping their heads down… that’s compliance. And it’s not the same.

Here’s the good news:

You can shift.
Even if your curriculum is scripted. Even if it’s April. Even if your class is wild right now.

It’s never too late to move from compliance to engagement.

And if you’re ready to learn how, check out our course on Strategies for Increasing Academic Engagement. It won’t just tell you what engaging academics are—it will show you. You’ll experience what real engagement feels like: practical tools you can actually use, ideas that spark your creativity, and strategies that make you want to shout across the hall, “You’ve gotta try this!”

Because imagine this…

What if, for the rest of the year, your students walked out of your room with that feeling of “I love learning” in their chest?

Now that’s something worth putting on the fridge.

Written by Sarah FIllion 2025