Summer 2026 Book Club: The Disengaged Teen
Learn more and register for the Association for Academic Leaders’ Summer Book Club.
Book Review by Louisa Polos Condon, Head of Middle School, Charlotte Latin School
When I think about what school could (and should be), I envision all students finding joy in learning and remaining actively curious throughout their “formal” academic experience and beyond. This wish may seem impossibly optimistic. I am keenly aware of reports that the majority of students are not deeply enthusiastic or engaged in their learning by high school. Our students are anxious; high-stakes testing fills them with stress and butterflies in their stomachs; and many students are more likely to be filled with dread than with joy as they consider school.
In their book, The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better, Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop emphasize the importance of both agency and engagement in learning, also known as agentic engagement. They note in chapter one, “In elementary school, three-quarters of kids are enthusiastic about school (but) by high school, that figure has flipped–more than 65 percent report feeling checked out of school” (6). So what do we do with this research? How will we shift from the age of achievement to the age of agency? As an educator and as a parent, I found Anderson and Winthrop’s premise that all students are capable of becoming engaged to be compelling, and their straightforward framework is accessible for all adults who work with young people.
This framework outlines four specific modes of engagement: Passenger, Achiever, Resistor, and Explorer. These modes are titled appropriately. Resistors are “struggling silently,” and this struggle may present as school avoidance, “negative” behavior, and/or a lack of communication. Passengers are simply along for the ride. They meet minimum expectations and don’t engage deeply in their classes or activities. Achievers are common in our independent schools and in our society. These young people are determined to earn the best grades (no matter the cost), they push themselves to exceed expectations, and they self-identify as high performers. They are not authentically engaged, however, and this often puts their well-being at risk. Students who are motivated intrinsically and learn because they are curious are in explorer mode. These students are passionate about what they are learning. Their internal drive leads them to achieve their goals. This is the ideal mode of engagement, the authors posit.
As part of their research, Anderson and Winthrop interviewed many students with varied experiences both in and out of school. These students did not fit cleanly into any one of the four modes, say the authors. Instead, any student can move through various modes throughout a day, and perhaps even within the same class period. A “passenger” can become an “explorer” given the opportunity for agentic engagement.
In order to cultivate learning experiences that maximize engagement and encourage students to delve into explorer mode, parents and educators must embrace the age of agency. While teachers work with students to hone academic skills, the focus should be on students’ “self-awareness, and the ability to generate new ideas, build off old ones, and communicate their ideas effectively… they will need to be creative and self-driven” (24-25). Educators understand the importance of this, and yet there is certainly room to be more intentional. Winthrop and Anderson call on both educators and parents to help young people find something that sparks their curiosity, either in or out of the classroom, as one of many strategies to support learners in the explorer mode of engagement. The authors share strategies that are tangible and clear.
One line that stood out to me from the very beginning of the book and that continues to resonate with me as we gear up for another school year working with young people is, “It’s about being present and having conversations– about the substance of their learning, and the hard things they face, and the weird things that matter to them. It’s not about being a teacher, but rather about being a learner. When you focus on growth as much as performance, and on mattering as much as outcomes, it shows” (15-16). Agency matters, and so do relationships.
With all this in mind, I believe that when equipped with this framework and research, we can better help our students and children flex their explorer muscles and find joy in learning. Even when it is tough, we can help them learn to get those “butterflies in formation” and take on whatever the world throws at them. In doing so, we can be sure that our schools and our communities become more engaging and more joyous places for us all.
