How engaging is enagement theory?

How can one not engage with engagement theory? Being a little `old school' it is a little hard to imagine applying it in a class room setting (or do I mean challenging and requiring imagination but rewarding!).

• the three areas are easy to relate to
• in one of my childrens' class they correct each others work and are much harder than the teacher and less soft about delivering the news that it was wrong!
• I have been involved with students in a supportive role who have been `failing' traditional school and have seen some of these students `excel' at school based apprentiships. I have also seen students who were given the opportunity who were barely motivated to learn and take up the opportunity or convert this learning into work upon leaving school . The question I guess is what would motivate these students to learn? Is it the systems fail the student or the student fail the system? Again; not one theory fit all! I wonder that if by the time the student gets to high school they have established their own pattern of learning; one which maybe difficult to shift.
• I think I have to stop thinking of a computer as an advanced word processor and the phone as an old fashioned phone (this course has defiantly engaged me, I am thinking of getting an iphone) and even though the tasks were at times frustrating it was joyous when I persevered and achieved an aspect of one.
• I am having trouble with the assignment concept for that very reason; it is not an assignment in the `old fashioned' sense of the word but a reflection of my learning with academic referencing. Sounds easy but `oh no' way harder than finding the appropriate texts and summising the info and presenting it!
• This seems to me more like learning through experience and that learning somehow becomes more imbedded. Most of us only need to burn our fingers once to know the fire is hot!