If you’ve spent any time in a classroom, you know it doesn’t take long to realize there’s a way we do things in our school system. It’s the right way. The proper way. Heretofore the only way. It’s The Box: that defined space where traditional school success lives. It’s not even nuanced; verily, it’s overt and explicit. For kids to be successful in school, they’ve got to fit in The Box as it’s been built, curated, and protected by school authorities and educators for centuries:

• “Please be seated.”
• “Pay attention.”
• “Follow these directions.”
• “No side conversations.”
• “Phones away.”
• “Sit still.”
• “Here’s what you’re doing today.”
• “Get to work.”
• “Yes, this is going to be on the test.”

You know intuitively and from your own experiences as a student, an educator, and a member of our society exactly what I’m talking about. You can picture The Box quite clearly in your head. You know which kids fit in The Box and which ones don’t, and you know how that plays out in the classrooms, schoolyards, offices, detention rooms, and the diploma lines at graduation.

Inside The Box rest the characteristics we, as an education system, value. The youngsters residing in The Box possess the traits that allow them to survive and thrive in school. They can play the game, because they’ve learned the rules written by the authorities and they know exactly how long their leashes extend.

What are these characteristics? You could probably list them faster than a Google search engine:

That collection of characteristics is displayed in the behaviors of successful students on a daily basis, and this list also won’t surprise you:

Think of the children you’ve known – either from your childhood and/or your professional experiences – that have performed well in school. Most likely, you could tick almost all the boxes in the previous two lists. They’ve stayed on the adults’ good sides, they’ve accumulated points and received good grades, they’ve followed the rules, they’ve colored inside the lines…they’ve remained safely, squarely, and securely in The Box.

The schooling experiences we provide children is an endless parade of lessons, activities, courses, units, semesters, and years of reinforcing The Box. Students are required to comply, and rewarded for complying, with the expectations of the adults in authority. To remain inside is to avoid trouble and increase the likelihood of your personal success in school. To venture beyond the walls is to risk everything school-related and quite possibly land yourself in a heap of trouble.

Maybe you were one of the successful students in your day. Like a dog in a fenced yard, you learned The Box, its borders, its opportunities, and its limitations, and you likely came to fear straying outside the perimeter because of its consequences.

Like it or not, The Box is real. And it is the standard by which we assign value to students in our school system.

The Lie

For generations, we’ve tethered kids’ hopes and dreams for a productive future to their ability to excel in The Box. We’ve told them one of these two versions of The Lie:

“If you can succeed in school, you’ll be successful in life.”

“If you want to be successful in life, you must be successful in school.”

The only problem with The Lie is, well, it’s a lie. Unless, of course, our collective goal in schooling is to force children back into The Box where we can control, rank, and sort them. Fundamentally, The Lie doesn’t hold water, because of these two fundamental human truths:

There are a million definitions of “success” that guide our lifelong pursuits, not just the one to which school success leads.

There are a million paths that lead to the various forms of life success, and school success is but one of those avenues.

A former principal of mine in Reno, Debbie Cylke, once told our teaching staff this story, and I believe it may resonate with you:

One afternoon, Debbie found herself at the bus loop, trying to usher hundreds of middle-schoolers onto their big yellow rides home. It was like herding cats, and to complicate matters one of her students, Greg, was riding his bike in and out of the parking lot, weaving between buses and wreaking all sorts of havoc. Greg, that little bugger, had skipped school that day but for some reason made it a priority to return in time to disrupt dismissal and the bus lines.

After finally wrangling the last student onto the final bus, Debbie waved Greg over. Reluctantly, the lad rode his bike over and faced his principal.

“What are you doing, Greg?” Debbie asked.

In typical teenage fashion, Greg responded, “Nothing.”

“Exactly. You’re doing nothing. Your grades are in the tank, you’re skipping school and always getting in trouble, and you’re not focused on school. You’d better pull yourself together,” Debbie said, eyeing his bicycle, “because you’re never going to make any money on that bike, Greg.”

As it turns out, that mischievous middle-schooler was none other than Greg LeMond, who would become a three-time winner of the Tour de France and a member of the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, and he earned quite a bit of money on that bike, Debbie.

Who are we to tell kids their success in life will be determined solely by their ability to squeeze and squish themselves into The Box?

I argue that if you can succeed in school, the only guarantee for future success – and it’s only a partial guarantee, not a sure thing – is in an environment that replicates school. What fits that bill? Let’s consider settings that value disciplined, obedient, respectful, attentive, and calm personnel: a career in education perhaps, as well as the military, a factory, or prison.

Go back to the lists of characteristics and traits I included earlier in this Introduction. These seem awfully similar to a list of characteristics and traits for a good teacher, a good soldier, a good line worker, or a good inmate, don’t they?

The Challenge

Who are the kids that don’t fit in The Box? Why don’t they fit in The Box? How can we help them realize success, joy, and impact, no matter where they are in relation to The Box?

For fun, I asked an AI program to summarize the recent research on why kids disengage from school, and the top reasons follow:

Lack of relevance: When students can’t see how what they are learning connects to their lives or future goals, they may lose interest. 

One-size-fits-all approach: Many curricula are designed for an “average” student, neglecting individual learning needs and interests. 

Too much rote memorization: Focusing heavily on memorizing facts without deeper understanding can make learning feel dull. 

Limited hands-on activities: A lack of interactive learning experiences can disengage students. 

Lack of choice and creativity: When students don’t have opportunities to explore their own interests or apply their knowledge in creative ways, they might feel bored. 

Pace of instruction: If the material is presented too quickly or too slowly, it can be difficult for students to grasp and stay engaged. 

Assessment pressure: Excessive focus on standardized testing can narrow the curriculum and prioritize test-taking skills over deeper learning. 

So, in order to reach and teach the kids who are disengaged from The Box of schooling, how could we make curriculum more engaging for kids? Here are some ideas:

Connect learning to real-world applications: Use examples and projects that relate to students’ lives and interests. If the standard is to analyze the main theme of a written passage, maybe lyrics from a Kendrick Lamar or Taylor Swift track would generate more enthusiasm than Shakespeare.

Differentiate instruction: Offer a variety of activities and approaches that allow all students access to the content, increase engagement, and provide assessment strategies that extract evidence of student learning.

Incorporate hands-on learning: Use experiments, simulations, and projects to make learning more interactive. Couple the hands-on approach with targeted reflective prompts that generate minds-on so the learning remains top-of-mind.

Foster curiosity and critical thinking: Encourage students to ask questions, explore different perspectives, and analyze information. Reinforce the notion by providing provocative questions that include the prompt, “Why?”

Integrate technology: Utilize digital tools and platforms to enhance learning experiences. Our children are tech-savvy; let them use their tools in a way that fosters investigation, creativity, and collaboration.

Collaborate with students: Allow students to have input on their learning and participate in decision-making processes, especially when it comes to learning goals, topics, and avenues from getting from here to mastery. 

The Imperative

Are there wonderful, well-intentioned teachers who are already disbanding The Box and doing these things? Absolutely! Are there wonderful, well-intentioned teachers who are inadvertently promoting and reinforcing The Box? Absolutely.

Most educators want to reach each and every young person; how to reach the ones that don’t fit in the box is the challenge du jour. The work is couched in this question: What is our long-term, holistic vision of success for each young person under our care? How do we define success for any given kid?

Because we don’t often know our kids’ stories, we simply see them as struggling students. They’re not performing well on tests. Their grades are in the tank. Their attendance suffers. Their behaviors exacerbate everything. And we treat ‘em thus: consequences, punishments, plans, removal of privileges, lowering expectations, placed into more restrictive environments…until we start looking at them differently. Then, instead of seeing what they lack, we start seeing their gifts, their dreams, their potential, and what makes them amazing human beings. That’s our responsibility. It’s time to reach and teach the kids who don’t fit in The Box.

Pete Hall is the President/CEO of EducationHall, LLC, and the author of 12 books. He speaks, consults, and coaches with schools and organizations worldwide. You can reach him at PeteHall@EducationHall.com.