This morning, I stumbled across statistics that show challenges with engagement, creativity, and well-being begin long before people enter the workforce. So, while Positive Business DC’s mission is to use science-backed research to help people improve their companies, culture, and the bottom line, let’s take a moment to see how we can improve the level of well-being with our kids. According to The Future Project, students lose interest in school at an alarming rate due to disengagement, lack of fulfillment, and lack of motivation. (Sounds familiar, right? Research tells us that people need autonomy, mastery and purpose in order for their jobs to be fulfilling. It should come as no surprise that students are motivated by the same needs and emotions as adults.)
Disengagement
• 80% of students ‘don’t see how school contributes to their learning and growth’
• 60% of students ‘don’t rank learning as a reason they go to school’
Lack of Fulfillment
• 80% of dropouts would stay in school if learning were project-based rather than drill and kill
Motivation
• 50% of dropouts leave school because they’re bored
• 50% of students spend ‘an hour or less on their schoolwork each week’
More than 1 million American kids drop out of high school every year… that’s a run rate of 25%. How can that be possible? And more importantly, what can we do about it?
The folks at The Future Project conducted an experiment to improve high school students’ levels of engagement last year, and the results are pretty interesting. The program experienced a retention rate of 86%, which exceeded principals’ expectations by 5x. If you’re interested in the program, check out their site to learn more. If you want to try something at home to pique your kids’ curiosity and raise their levels of engagement, you might want to download The Future Project Playbook. It has some interesting exercises that I’m thinking would be good for most everyone to try… regardless of age. The framework provides a step-by-step guide for tapping into your potential.