From the fall of in-person education due to COVID-19 to the increasing levels of social media addiction more prevalent than ever in our youth today, schools all over the country have become a battleground of reform when it comes to student engagement in the classroom and school environment. Now more than ever, when it comes to participation, more and more students are relying on their technology to fuel short term gratification rather than engaging in class material. According to statistics gathered by Gallup, “Between 25% and 54% of students say they are not having eight engaging experiences in school, such as feeling that what they are learning is important or interesting.” This is a common trend that is being noticed across school environments since the wake of the pandemic but the reality behind student participation can be much more nuanced than we think.
As a student who attends Issaquah High School, I am no stranger to the effects of the pandemic on my learning and correlation to how I engage in the classroom setting. More often than not, silence in my classes is becoming more and more of a norm. This has not escaped the attention of teachers at IHS and their thoughts on the matter. History of Sports teacher Ellie Shane shares how she has noticed in recent years since COVID that “a lot of people were much more glued to their phones” and a negative effect of that “was a lot of times in class during work time students wouldn’t talk to each other at all event at a social level they would just be into their devices and if they did talk to people it was purely based on what was happening on their social medias versus what was happening around them.” It is no secret that the pandemic contributed toward a more screen reliant learning environment for students but it what is emphasizing? also emphasizes how detrimental its effects were even after the integration back into in-school learning. Additionally, it represents how ultimately the main attribution for lack of student engagement in the present can be traced back to that time. However, despite the fact that it seems as though online learning has contributed to a presumed negative impact on student engagement there is a level of understanding and perspective involved. Shane continues and adds that “In a way I understand how devices might have been more exciting because of instant gratification compared to working on a school assignment,” showing how it comes down to the lack of structured environments that student have grown accustomed to since the pandemic that has led to a bigger emphasis and interest in screens.
Student engagement and participation pertain to the classroom setting but also the overall environment and feeling of school. This is illustrated in ways such as engaging in school pride and participating in school sanctioned activities, sports and more. Sophomore Mai Nguyen highlights how she thinks, “A lot of students don’t participate in school spirit because the advertising for spirit days is not always clear or the most effective. Like right now they mainly promote it through the announcements and posters in the lunchroom but in my opinion it doesn’t really correspond with each other.” Nguyen sheds light on an important aspect of student participation: the need for effective communication and inclusivity. When students feel that events are not well-promoted or fail to align with their interests this can lead to less participation. This connects to the idea of behavioral engagement which YouScience defines as the involvement of “factors like attendance, concentration, social interaction in learning, and involvement in extracurricular activities.”
A big part of keeping students engaged and participating are teachers’ methods to keep the classroom environment thriving. AP European History teacher Gregory Harrington shares how he implements ways to do so. Harrington comments how, “For my classes I like to do ungraded discussions, I think that is a controversial subject among teachers but personally I have found that it can be really effective for students to participate.” By creating an environment where students are not pressured by grades in a relaxed setting this allows students to take a more open approach to their engagement and get involved in the learning material more thoroughly. When students are able to focus more on the process of learning rather than the outcome this can help benefit students in that they become more inclined to participate. Especially knowing that such discussions are meant to build conversation and learning rather than assess performance. In a broader context of student engagement, Harrington’s unorthodox methods in the traditional classroom setting further emphasizes how the key to participation may not always lie in traditional methods but rather creating an environment where students feel valued and heard where they are more likely to take an active role in their education.
In terms of the role that teachers play in school spirit at IHS Junior Tasha Gilmour comments how, “I feel like instead of teachers it is mostly the upperclassmen that keep the school spirit alive, I think most of the time teacher’s can also be really overwhelmed with participating in school spirit.” As educators, teachers serve as one of the main examples for their students to look up to. If teachers do not demonstrate that they care about bringing the school together, students do not have a reason to either. As students, finding the energy to participate in school spirit might not always be easy or natural but teachers play a big role in setting a larger tone for the student body by building a collective energy that feeds back into empowering the school community, and in turn helps everyone feel connected which why they play an important role in cultivating the school environment which also feeds into student engagement.
School spirit can also play a role in the academic setting and student success in the classroom. According to Varsity, “Research found that students with higher levels of school spirit also have higher average Grade Point Averages and are more likely to plan to further their education than students with lower school spirit.” This is similar to what Shane has observed in her classroom, she states that, “Yes. The students who are much more active in their learning or even just being engaged in the classroom environment and community tend to have higher test score but also are just more involved in the actual learning.” When students feel more energetic about being part of the school community there is also a clear correlation with academics and engaging in the learning.
Student engagement is an incredibly multifaceted topic, especially as of late in the context of rapid technological influence and student socialization post-pandemic. Engagement and participation is no longer just about physical attendance; it is about how students engage with the material and their efforts to be involved. While certain factors have made that more challenging as of late for educators,. there is no doubt that ensuring students remain actively engaged has tested educators in implementing different methods to help student learning. As external factors and their influences keep evolving and changing it is almost certain that student engagement will fluctuate as well, and only time will tell if students will continue to show ability to thrive in the school environment and embrace active participation in the school community.
