128 | How I Turned a Student from Total Apathy to Totally Engaged

Enjoy Teaching Again | Elementary, Teacher Burnout, Student Behavior, SEL, Classroom Management · Apr 17, 2026 · 9m

Have you ever had a student who seemed completely checked out? You know the kind… Head down on the desk. Avoiding work. Finding every possible way to not engage. It’s easy to look at that student and think, “They just don’t care.” In this episode, I share the story of one of my own students this year—a student who showed all the signs of total apathy and lack of engagement in the classroom. From the outside, it looked like he had no interest in math… or school… or anything happening in the classroom. But what I discovered changed everything. And slowly, over time, I watched him go from head…