How to Trick Kids Into Loving Learning (Without Them Noticing)

The other day I spotted my son Jack, a fifth grader, in the front yard with a tape measure and calculator. He was measuring the circumference of our big oak tree because he learned earlier at school that if he divides the circumference by pi, multiplies that number by the tree’s growth rate, he can determine the age of the tree.

This wasn’t homework or extra credit; Jack was just fascinated that you could perform calculations to discover how old trees are. Up until this point for him, math was just an abstract activity one does an hour a day at school. Sometimes it is challenging, sometimes it feels like a fun puzzle, but nevertheless it was an abstraction.

But now he was experiencing the utility of it. He was learning that math could extend his curiosity. And so he has spent hours measuring trees and documenting his findings.

The Power of Relevant Teaching

Let’s stop here real quick and name something: that is some good teaching.

It’s almost like his teachers tricked my boy into liking math. They found a subject that their students are interested in— trees— and creatively integrated that curiosity with the math subject matter. This is the power of relevance in the classroom.

Jack’s teachers didn’t just hand him a formula and expect him to care—they gave him a reason to learn it. By framing math as a tool for exploration rather than a series of isolated problems, they transformed a subject that can often feel disconnected from real life into something meaningful. Jack wasn’t just solving equations; he was uncovering the secrets of the trees in our yard. And because he had a personal stake in it, he kept going long after the lesson ended.

In a time of rising student apathy, increasing distractions, and AI that can do the work for you, the need for relevance in classroom learning has never been greater. Research on motivation and deeper learning, particularly through Self-Determination Theory, shows that when learning feels relevant—when students see how knowledge connects to their lives or the world around them—they are more likely to persist, think critically, and retain information. If we want students to invest in their learning, we have to give them something worth investing in.

Why Are We Even Learning This?

If you’re an educator, chances are you’ve been asked this question more than once. Or perhaps you’ve looked at content standards or a curriculum guide and asked “Why am I even teaching this?” It’s a justifiable question, and I think it lies at the heart of disengaged students (and many disengaged teachers). We all want to know that our time is valued, and when we get the sense that it is not being valued, when what we’re learning or teaching does not serve a purpose, our behavior reflects that.

The Adult Parallel: Meetings That Could Have Been Emails

For instance, have you ever been in a staff meeting that could have been an email?

Of course you have. And during this meeting that robbed you of an extra hour of sleep so that someone could read bullet points to you, did you give your best attention? Did your mind wander? Did you maybe peek at your cell phone during that meeting? Any chance you intentionally sat by a friend so you had someone to goof off with during the meeting?

Maybe you have more self-discipline than me, but I know that I have done all of the above, and it was always tied to this feeling that the meeting was not valuable.

Conversely, have you ever been in a staff meeting that felt important? Whether it was a student or parent issue, your school was about to launch a new initiative, or you were learning a new technology that requires some direct instruction— were you more attentive during these meetings?

Of course, because you knew the importance of it and how it would affect you and your classes. This is what relevance does for us, and it has the same effect on students. So often students learn content “because it’s in the standards,” or “they need to know it so they can move on to the next grade level,” or “because it will be on the quiz.” For many students, that is the staff meeting that could’ve been an email. It’s being forced into boredom/tedium/discomfort without a strong reason to.

The Impact of Perceived Value on Engagement

Now does this mean we have to eliminate discomfort from the classroom? 

Of course not! Being bored or challenged is a part of life, so not everything in school should be exciting or fun. Instead, we need to articulate the reason we are asking students to engage in something that is difficult. Students have a right to know the relevance of what they are learning. And when they do know it, there is a direct impact on their engagement, whether the task is fun or not.

In my opinion, if we can’t articulate the purpose or value of a piece of content we are teaching, then I’m not sure why we would teach it.

You might be thinking right now: “I teach it because it’s in the standards, I don’t have a choice.” Or, “It’s going to be on the state assessment.” Or, “My students knowing that information or not is how I am evaluated.”

All valid responses. And the truth is, what you teach is largely out of your hands. So if you happen to be a lawmaker reading this, or anyone who makes decisions on what curriculum students cover in school, consider the importance of relevance.

A Call to Action for Educators

But to the educators out there, the call to action is to spend a little time when planning lessons figuring out how you can make the learning relevant. Perhaps it's a Hands-On activity like Jack's teachers did with math and trees. Maybe convert that persuasive essay assignment where the whole class is writing about the same prompt, and let students choose what they want to persuade readers about.

Or it’s just starting every lesson with a simple explanation of how what students are going to learn matters.

“Today we are learning isotopes. But before we do that, I want to show you my X-Ray from when I broke my leg, then I want to tell you how they used isotopes to take pictures of my bones.”

Relevance makes the abstract concrete. It gives our brains something to attach to. So the next time a student asks, “Why are we even learning this?” give them an answer. And then watch the way it impacts the way they learn.

In my latest podcast episode, I got to talk to Jerry Kolber, who is the CEO of Atomic Entertainment and host of the podcast, “Who Smarted.” We talked all about relevance and entertainment as a tool for student engagement. You can listen to the episode here.