Growing up, I hated trigonometry because I couldn’t understand what it was for. I got a decent grade in class, but only because I memorized the formulas. It was only much later that I appreciated how trigonometry has practical uses in architecture, aviation, medicine, and many other fields. I couldn’t help but wonder why it wasn’t taught to me this way. Why didn’t my teacher start our year by showing us why trigonometry mattered so we could better appreciate what we’re learning?

This was my own experience of the education relevance gap—the disconnect that happens when a student cannot see the relevance of what is taught in the classroom and its practical application in their day-to-day lives. Multiple studies and reports highlight how the perceived mismatch between what students need and aspire toward and what education systems offer leads to student disengagement, poor attendance, and the eventual risk of dropping out.

A major driver of the education relevance gap is that young people today are exposed to a much larger world than what the classroom or home can offer. Their perspectives and questions are shaped by social media, economic anxiety, climate fears, political instability, new technologies, and an uncertain future of work.