Our schools today are failing the very people they’re meant to serve. Somewhere along the way, we stopped prioritising real learning and grit. We began coddling students under the guise of “wellbeing.” Instead of building resilience and fostering achievement, we’ve created a system that rewards superficial wellbeing and encourages a culture of excuses. This approach is a disservice to students, teachers and society. We need a serious wake-up call.
This critique isn’t just a rant. It’s a call to action. I care deeply about seeing students succeed—not just within the walls of a school but in real life, where the stakes are far higher. True wellbeing is not about avoiding struggle. It’s about learning to face and overcome it. This system of low expectations and feel-good incentives might seem compassionate in the short term, but it’s setting students up for failure. We need the courage to demand more because students are capable of more. They deserve the pride that comes from real accomplishment.
The Incentive Problem
Students
We’ve taught students to game the system, exploit loopholes, and do as little as possible, all under the banner of “protecting their wellbeing.” When students learn they can get by with excuses and shortcuts, they don’t develop resilience, accountability or the satisfaction of overcoming a challenge. They’re not naive. They understand and adapt to the system, but life isn’t so forgiving, and the safety net schools have built for them won’t last. Eventually, students face a harsh reality—maybe not in university (which often lacks rigour too) but in life. Jobs expect results. Goals require persistence. Relationships thrive on trust and resilience.
“Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome”
Charlie Munger
When I was in school, this wellbeing focus was just starting to creep in. I took advantage of it whenever I could. It wasn’t just me—it’s what kids do. We’re not thinking about our future. We’re mostly thinking about getting through the day with as little effort as possible. If we’re not given the option to coast, we’ll step up. But if that option is there, of course, we’ll exploit it. The classroom is a wild place, and students quickly sense weaknesses in the system. Choosing comfort over challenge was natural because the path was laid out for us that way. But by following it, I missed out.
I graduated without the resilience or accountability I needed and had to unlearn that helplessness on my own. The school was so busy shielding us from discomfort that it forgot to prepare us for reality. It’s no coincidence that I dropped out of my first go at university.
Today’s students face a deep-rooted fear of difficulty. At the first sign of a challenge, many feel stuck and immediately look for someone else to give them the answer. This is why I receive questions like the one I got today: “What should the heading be?” They could find the answer themselves, but they’ve grown used to avoiding even minor discomfort. This learned helplessness is reinforced by a system that treats struggle as something to escape rather than a tool for growth. In high-performance fields—sports, the arts, business—difficulty and even failure are essential for improvement. Students need to approach challenges as opportunities to develop resilience and confidence, not as obstacles to be avoided.
Teachers
I entered teaching to inspire growth and achievement, but the reality of the system quickly set in. Teachers aren’t incentivised to take risks or push students to reach their full potential. Instead, we’re evaluated on our ability to maintain “wellbeing” in the classroom rather than fostering academic growth. I’ve never seen a teacher disciplined for poor academic results, but I’ve seen colleagues face serious consequences over perceived wellbeing concerns.
There were times I wanted to challenge my students, to push them beyond what was comfortable, but I knew that doing so came with risks. I could feel the boundaries set by the system. I’d sometimes hesitate before pushing a student too far, knowing that if they felt stressed or uncomfortable, it might come back on me. When your job security depends more on avoiding conflict than on fostering resilience and achievement, it’s easy to see why teachers avoid taking risks.
This approach not only holds back academic growth but also makes classroom and behaviour management more difficult. By emphasising “wellbeing” over accountability, the system undermines teachers’ authority in maintaining discipline. Students are aware that the priority is keeping things “positive,” and they exploit this. They test boundaries and resist structure because they know the system discourages us from pushing back. This makes it hard to create an environment that demands respect, responsibility, and focus.
In the end, this focus on keeping things smooth and easy shifts the priority from real growth to simply ensuring students feel good in the moment. It robs both teachers and students of a deeper, more meaningful educational experience. It’s no wonder why we’re in the midst of a global teacher shortage. To truly support learning, teachers need the freedom to set high standards, manage behaviour effectively, and foster accountability without fearing repercussions for pushing students to grow.
What Education Should Incentivise
Actual Learning
It’s time to re-establish the value of real achievement in education. Instead of prioritising superficial wellbeing metrics, we need to shift focus back to rewarding genuine effort, accountability and academic rigour. Students must learn that real confidence and wellbeing come not from easy passes or minimal effort, but from accomplishment and the resilience built through overcoming challenges. Learning should be an engaging and demanding process, pushing students to expand their skills and knowledge.
The key is to create an environment that expects and values growth. By setting a high bar and supporting students as they strive to reach it, we can help them recognise their own potential. A return to explicit instruction—teaching that builds real, durable skills—is crucial in making this shift. Students need to know that education isn’t about shortcuts or temporary comfort. It’s about equipping them with the capabilities to face the world with confidence and competence.
Actual Teaching
An effective education system must also create a welcoming environment for teachers who are passionate about their subjects and committed to sharing their expertise with students. Many teachers enter the profession driven by a genuine love of learning and a desire to inspire others, but they often find themselves caught in a system that values compliance and superficial metrics over authentic teaching. This is the classroom struggle nobody’s talking about.
To retain and inspire great teachers, we need schools that prioritise subject expertise and allow educators the autonomy to teach in ways that engage and challenge students. Teachers should be able to delve deeply into their content and focus on nurturing critical thinking and curiosity in the classroom. This means moving away from policies that force teachers to prioritise student “comfort” over intellectual growth or administrative tasks over meaningful engagement.
When teachers are encouraged to share their knowledge freely, to challenge students, and to maintain high standards, they can do what they came to do: foster a true love of learning. Schools should be places that inspire teachers as much as students, giving educators the respect, support, and freedom to teach with purpose and passion.
If you found this interesting, I highly recommend reading Jonathan Haidt’s The Coddling of the American Mind. The implications of Haidt’s research on the overprotection of children are severe. It’s stuff we’re all thinking but now we know for sure.
Both the paperback and audio version are on sale at the moment:
Book: https://amzn.to/3UPXcaU
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/3YP1Max
A Call to Action
It’s time to rebuild our education system with real achievement, resilience, and accountability at its core. Students deserve a system that challenges them, pushes them to grow, and respects their capacity to rise to high expectations. Teachers deserve the autonomy to teach, mentor, and inspire students to reach their full potential.
Education isn’t a sanctuary from discomfort. It’s a place where students learn to face challenges with courage and perseverance. True wellbeing doesn’t come from coddling. It comes from conquering. Let’s make sure our education system prepares students for the world, not just for the classroom. Let’s have the courage to demand more because our students are capable of more, and they deserve the pride and purpose that comes with achieving it.