How do we achieve real engagement?
Oct 21, 2025Tommy the dog, classroom engagement, and a trip to South Africa.
What do these three have in common?
During one of my visits to Green School South Africa, a group of teachers asked:
“Rob, how do we achieve real engagement?”
I smiled. “Let’s go outside—and observe Tommy, the dog.”
Tommy, the former principal’s dog, roams the campus with a ball in his mouth.
He pauses, studies where people are headed, and gently drops the ball in their path.
Close enough to notice. Never pushy.
If no one engages, he simply picks it up and tries again later.
Same person. Same ball. Same patience.
That’s real engagement.
👉 Notice the direction a learner is already moving.
👉 Find their stretch zone.
👉 Place something small—something joyful—in their path.
And if they don’t respond? That’s not failure. It’s feedback.
Maybe the timing was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t what they needed.
Reflect. Recalibrate. Try again.
Because learning doesn’t begin with instruction.
It begins with wonder.
So here’s my question:
👉 What “ball” could you place in your learners’ path tomorrow?
