Our Students’ Attention Is Not Gone. It’s Redirected.

Step into any classroom, in any century, and you will find the same invisible battle unfolding: the battle for attention.

The ancient philosopher Socrates, standing in the busy Athenian marketplace, had to cut through the chaos of merchants and politicians to capture the minds of young learners who were eager, while also distracted by the noise of the city. Medieval monks teaching in cold stone cloisters had to fight the monotony of endless recitations and the fatigue of apprentices who rose before dawn. In the early industrial age, teachers stood before rows of children trained to sit in silence, but whose imaginations longed to escape the rigidity of the factory-style classroom.

Every teacher in every age has asked the same unspoken question: How do I make them care?

Engagement is not a modern concern. But the forces (technology and otherwise) competing for attention today are unprecedented in their power and ability to constantly distract.

I’ve dealt with it myself. Easily distracted by the tools I use every day for work. And as a Dad, it is a never ending battle. There is no easy button, even if states think banning cell phones finally makes everyone engaged.

Sadly, most students were not engaged before cell phones, and still won’t be after a ban.

The Modern Age of Distraction

We live in a world where every spare moment risks being captured by a glowing screen. The average teenager spends over seven hours a day on devices, not including schoolwork. Their attention is pulled in a thousand different directions. All of these notifications, advertisements, games, and feeds designed to be addictive. Or at least, they are ever-present.

Students no longer compare the classroom to the quiet alternative of boredom, like I did growing up, staring out the window or scribbling in my notebook. They compare it to TikTok, to Fortnite, to YouTube. And in this competition, teachers and schools are often set up to lose.

Yet here lies the paradox: even in this age of distraction, students are capable of astonishing levels of focus and dedication, when they are engaged. Ask the teenager who spends months mastering a dance routine, the gamer who spends hundreds of hours building a world in Minecraft, or the athlete who runs sprints and gets up shots at sunrise.

Attention is not gone. It is redirected.

The challenge for teachers is not to fight distraction with gimmicks, but to build learning experiences in the timeless drivers of engagement that have always worked: belonging, curiosity, challenge, purpose, and relevancy.

Engagement vs. Entertainment

It is tempting, in the face of distraction, to confuse engagement with entertainment. But the two are not the same.

I’ve done the dance before. Tried to be the show in the classroom. It worked for a bit, for some students. Never for all, and ultimately faded over time.

Entertainment is fleeting. It captures attention temporarily, but rarely sustains it. A flashy demonstration, a clever joke, or a trendy reference might win a moment of focus, but it will not create the deep investment required for real learning.

Engagement, by contrast, is enduring. It is when students lose track of time because they are immersed in a question, a challenge, or a story. It is when they wrestle with frustration because they care about solving the problem. It is when they lean forward, eyes alive, because they feel connected to the work.

Great teachers know: entertainment is borrowed; engagement is built.

The Neuroscience of Attention

Modern science confirms what history’s great teachers sensed intuitively. Engagement is not a hope for in learning experiences, it is a neurological necessity (as a former English teacher I couldn’t help but add the alliteration).

• Attention is finite. The human brain is wired to filter out most of the sensory input it receives. We have to provide cues that signal: This matters. Pay attention here.

• Curiosity drives dopamine. Neuroscientists have found that dopamine is released not when we receive an answer, but when we anticipate it. The chase of a question literally fuels the brain’s motivation circuits.

• Belonging regulates learning. Studies in educational psychology show that students who feel excluded or unsafe struggle to process and retain new information. The brain prioritizes survival over curiosity.

• Emotion anchors memory. Emotionally charged lessons are remembered more deeply than neutral ones. Engagement is as much about feeling as it is about thinking. This is not only in the classroom, but on the field, and in life.

In short, the science affirms what teachers already know: students cannot learn deeply if they are not engaged first.

Yet, we often confuse compliance, and getting work done, as engagement. While it may make for an easy student to teach, it does not solve the engagement issue as we have described here.

What History’s Mentors Teach Us

The principles of engagement are not new. They have been modeled by teachers, coaches, and mentors across centuries:

• Socrates commanded attention not with answers, but with relentless questions.

• Aristotle guided Alexander the Great not by dictating, but by fostering discovery.

• Confucius taught through parables that lingered, demanding reflection.

• Maria Montessori designed environments where children’s natural curiosity led the way.

• John Wooden built rituals of discipline that transformed practice into mastery.

• Pat Summitt established presence so strong her players said the gym changed when she entered.

Across cultures and centuries, the greatest mentors have used different methods but shared the same understanding: engagement is the foundation of transformation.

But, for today’s K–12 teacher and Higher-Ed Instructor, the dilemma is a bit more difficult. On one hand, the demands of standards, testing, and curriculum pacing can push classrooms toward coverage over curiosity. On the other hand, the distractions of technology can make even strong lessons feel invisible.

Caught between these forces, many teachers feel squeezed. How do you honor the standards, prepare for assessments, and still hold the attention of students whose brains are rewired by constant stimulation (remember CPA)?

You won’t find the answer in gimmicks, but more likely in principles.

Why Principles, Not Tricks

Tricks fade. They might buy five minutes, but they rarely create lasting change. Principles endure. They are transferable across grade levels, subjects, and eras. They are broad enough to apply in any context, yet specific enough to be practiced tomorrow.

Why does this matter so deeply? Because the future of education (and students) depends on it.

A disengaged student learns less, remembers less, and contributes less. But the cost goes beyond academics. Disengagement erodes confidence, dulls curiosity, and shrinks possibility.

This doesn't mean they will always be disengaged. But, their beliefs in what school and learning at school can offer them change drastically when this is the experience.

An engaged student, by contrast, learns more, persists longer, and dares greater. Engagement ripples outward: into higher achievement, stronger relationships, and deeper purpose. Teachers who engage students do more than teach content. They expand a learner’s future.

Ask any adult about the teachers who shaped them, and you will rarely hear about test scores or standards. You will hear about the teacher who made them feel seen. The coach who believed in them. The mentor who pushed them harder than they thought possible.

Engagement is the legacy of teaching. It is what lingers decades later, when facts are forgotten but feelings remain.

It is also my biggest fear with Artificial Intelligence being pushed into so many schools. Maybe a Gen AI program can help with the tasks of preparing kids for tests, but teachers, coaches, and mentors are the ones who prepare kids for life. We can’t forget that.