This past week, Courtney and I ventured up to Skagit County, Washington to provide middle school staff professional development focused on neurological and ecological factors in human development and how that can inform a deeper understanding of student behavior.  We discussed Broffenbrenner’s Ecological Theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy, ACEs and function of behavior.  

During the presentation, a middle school teacher raised a question many educators have been raising for several years now, “What can we do about apathy?”  The teacher went on to explain that many students seem to have a nihilistic-apathetic perspective of the world and see little purpose in achieving social/civil/community milestones. This view is often closely linked with lack of engagement in the classroom and minimal efforts towards academic tasks.   

This resulted in a deeper conversation about Broffenbrenner’s Ecological Theory, which suggests that systemic and societal factors influence an individual’s psyche and behaviors. We have witnessed a decade of deconstruction of public institutions, resulting in an erosion of public trust. Our middle school students are not immune to these societal woes, and through their behavior and beliefs, reflect this widespread mistrust of local and national institutions. 

This conversation is not unique to Skagit County or Washington State.  In 2024, surveys conducted by the RAND Corporation and Pew Research Center indicated the number one concern among educators is disruptive student behaviors and the third concern was student apathy.  

The American Association of Psychologists defines apathy as “a lack of motivation or goal-directed behavior and indifference to one’s surroundings.” Currently there are a multitude of factors socio-politically, environmentally, technologically, and economically that contribute to this widespread feeling of apathy. As educators, we may not be able to address all of these factors, but we can provide protective factors to lessen the apathetic impact on the youth we serve.  

With Skagit County educators, we discussed the impact of COVID-19 on our current middle school students, who had formative years interrupted with a global shutdown. All students in the current K-12 system have experienced an era in which all public institutions, rightfully or wrongfully, have been challenged, questioned, disrespected, defunded or dismantled.  During this era, individual online screen time has continuously trended upward, resulting in deeper isolation and algorithmic curated information to reinforce perspectives and not provide expository news or information. 

The Continua Consulting Group team has been grappling with the issue of not just apathy but Socio-Political Nihilism as a phenomenon among Gen Z and Gen Alpha.  When interviewing current high school and middle school students, there is a consistent message among them that the current system and structures of socio, political and religious institutions are corrupt, baseless, and meaningless. They don’t see themselves in them, and they see no purpose in learning about them. 

At Continua, we’ve considered a potential way to lessen the apathetic impact on our students, by combining the benefits of structured mentoring and service learning.  Service-learning helps cultivate; agency, purpose, community and connection. While “Learning” how things work in their communities, how to come together to resolve an issue, and how to collaborate and complete a project together, Service-Learning pulls youth out of isolation and into real world experiences. 

Service-Learning was once a State of Washington graduation requirement.  This is no longer a statewide requirement, but some districts, like Seattle, still require a certain number of service-learning hours prior to graduation, with little structure.  When the state requirement was in place, little guidance or criteria were given for service-learning projects, resulting in many students participating in unstructured volunteer hours. Yes, volunteering is service, but it does not ensure the “learning” component of the practice.  

There is a plethora of research on the benefits of structured mentorships, including reduced disruptive behaviors in school, increased social engagement, and skills which support resiliency in life.  Service-Learning is a vehicle in which components of structured mentoring would easily align and the student benefits would be significant. 

Service-learning also has significant psychological benefits as well; it “promotes social-emotional and academic development through active engagement in community activities. It empowers students to think beyond themselves and to develop a commitment to serve others. In so doing, service-learning builds connections with school and community that are critically important.” – Wilczenski & Cook (2015) 

By combining structured mentoring with service-learning projects we can help youth increase social engagement, find agency and purpose while demystifying civic engagement for the next generation. This is a potential universal intervention for social and civic isolation which is a contributor to socio-political isolation.  This approach will help students develop skills, understand how to navigate institutions, and collaborate with peers– all of which results in life skills and increased resiliency.