The Crisis in Education Didn’t Start with the Pandemic. I Felt It Decades Ago.
Every few months, someone posts a clip or quote about the “alarming drop” in student engagement. Often, it’s framed as a new phenomenon, accelerated by the pandemic, social media, or some other modern distraction. But let’s be honest: student disengagement isn’t new. It’s just getting harder to ignore.
I’m 50. I was miserable in school at least 40 years ago. Not because I was lazy or didn’t want to learn—but because what school offered didn’t connect with who I was, what I cared about, or how I learned. I went to school to get through it, not to be transformed by it. Sound familiar?
We keep talking about reforming education—tweaking the curriculum, introducing “engaging” tools, adding digital whiteboards or mindfulness classes—as if those are the answers. But what’s in crisis isn’t just how we teach. It’s what we think school is for, who it serves, and how we structure the entire experience.
Teachers are still expected to control rooms instead of nurture curiosity. Students are still treated as passive receivers of knowledge instead of active creators. And we still organize learning by bells, walls, and tests, even though the world outside those walls has changed completely.
The system is outdated. What we need isn’t reform. We need reinvention.
The future of learning isn’t in classrooms—it’s in communities.
It isn’t led by authority figures—it’s led by mentors.
It’s not about abstract theory—it’s about real-world experiences that matter.
Any attempt to make education “engaging” without changing these fundamentals will fail. Not slowly. Dramatically.
That’s why I started Teens Media Network (TMN). Not to fix the system, but to build an alternative. A space where young people learn by doing, create media that matters, and are guided by people who don’t see them as empty vessels—but as creators with a voice and a future. I don’t even like the word “students”—I’d much rather call them creators. And I’m not a fan of the word “teacher” either. I believe those who guide young people should be mentors, not authority figures.
We need to stop pretending this is a new crisis. It’s not. The only thing new is that more people are finally willing to admit it. That’s a good start—but it’s not enough. What we need now is the courage to imagine something entirely different—and the commitment to build it. Not reforms. Not tweaks. A new culture of learning, rooted in creativity, community, and purpose.
That’s exactly what we’re doing at Teens Media Network (TMN). If you believe, like I do, that the future of education doesn’t live in classrooms but in creators, communities, and real experiences—come be part of it. 🤟🏽