Episode 170 | Before You Call a Student Disengaged

A student puts their head down. Another stops completing assignments. Someone else seems completely checked out.

It's easy to call these students "disengaged." But what if the behavior we're seeing isn't the whole story?

In this solo episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán challenges educators to get curious before making assumptions about students who appear disconnected from learning.

Using four simple areas, Connection, Access, Relevance, and Agency, Roberto offers a practical framework educators can use to examine the conditions surrounding student engagement.

In this episode:

Why disengagement is an observation, not an explanation

How relationships influence students' willingness to participate

Why struggling students sometimes protect themselves by checking out

How to maintain rigor while increasing access

Why relevance is deeper than making lessons entertaining

How meaningful choices can create greater student ownership

The challenge is simple: choose one student who seems to be disconnecting. Examine Connection, Access, Relevance, and Agency, and change one thing.