The Missing Middle

This July, during the launch of curaJOY’s Impact Fellowship, I had a sobering realization. These were some of the brightest high school and college students we had ever worked with—motivated, passionate, and full of ideas. Yet, many had never written a research paper. Few had been asked to conduct original investigations or engage in meaningful peer debate. These aren’t just missing assignments. These are missing skills.

And I don’t believe it’s their fault.

We’ve built an education pipeline obsessed with acceleration—AP classes, dual enrollment, resume-stuffing internships—yet we’ve neglected the scaffolding that helps young people think critically, challenge bias, collaborate effectively, and regulate their emotions. In the race to produce “college- and career-ready” students, we’ve shortchanged the very foundation they need to thrive once they arrive (or even get there in the first place, as the minimum 3-year experience requirements that many entry-level job seekers were surprised to find).

It’s time we talked about the missing middle.

Information-Rich, Skill-Poor

The average teen today has access to more information in their pocket than any generation before them. But information isn’t knowledge, and it certainly isn’t wisdom. What’s often missing are the habits of inquiry, reflection, and reasoning that make information usable and ethical.

A 2021 study from Stanford University’s History Education Group found that over 80% of high school students couldn’t distinguish between sponsored content and real news on a sample website. And Pew Research (2023) reported that only 16% of teens feel “very confident” in spotting false or misleading information online.

Digital literacy is not optional. It’s foundational. And yet it’s rarely taught with the same rigor as test prep.

During the first week of our Fellowship, we focused on just that. My colleagues Dr. Pajot, Dr. Menon, and I walked students through research methodologies, credible sourcing, synthetic vs manual data, and collaborative inquiry—using cyberbullying as a real-world case study. It wasn’t just about teaching tech tools. It was about how to ask better questions.

The Temptation of AI: Shortcut or Setback?

There’s a growing temptation to let generative AI fill in the learning gaps. Why struggle to make sense of scientific papers and find the gaps in existing research when ChatGPT can do it in 15 seconds?

According to a 2024 joint report from Common Sense Media and the Center for Humane Technology, nearly half of U.S. high school students use AI tools like ChatGPT weekly or more for schoolwork, and the number is growing.

Let’s be clear: at curaJOY, we’re not anti-AI. In fact, we use AI to deliver scalable mental health and social-emotional learning interventions at the frequency and intensity that is necessary for real change. But we emphasize responsible technology—and responsibility starts with understanding.

You can’t challenge misinformation, question systemic inequities, or build inclusive tools if you’ve never been taught how to think critically. When students use AI without mastering the fundamentals, they risk becoming passive consumers of content rather than ethical creators of change.

The Broken Bridge Between Learning and Life

Here’s the deeper concern: we’re seeing these gaps widen as students grow older. Even college graduates—those who “did everything right”—are struggling.

In 2023, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that over 40% of recent U.S. college graduates are underemployed, meaning they’re working in jobs that don’t require a college degree. Many are highly credentialed but lack real-world experience in teamwork, leadership, or problem-solving.

At curaJOY, we’ve seen this firsthand. Many of our volunteers hail from institutions such as MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and UC Berkeley, but they came to us because they possessed the knowledge—but lacked the skills to apply it meaningfully, thus unable to launch a career in their field of study. They’d never led a real-world project, collaborated across cultures, or received candid feedback outside a classroom.

They weren’t unqualified. They just never practiced what matters or at least not enough.

A 2023 report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that while 89% of employers rated critical thinking as “essential,” only 56% believed recent graduates were proficient in that skill. That’s a massive gap—and it affects hiring, retention, and even workplace wellness.

What We’ve Learned at curaJOY

At curaJOY, we believe in slowing down to go deeper. Our fellows and volunteers aren’t just here to puff up their resume–they’re here because they’ve experienced the missing middle. They’re here to build together. We start with research fundamentals, peer collaboration, emotional regulation, and ethical inquiry. Then we build up to technical tools, media production, and AI integration.

We’ve seen teens who once avoided speaking up in class now lead discussions with clarity and confidence. We’ve seen students who relied solely on digital interactions (social media) and heavily on AI start asking better questions, being intentional with their technology choices, and becoming part of the solution we all need.

Many volunteers who once struggled to land interviews go on to their first jobs with big tech—not because they had the perfect major, but because they had been transformed by cross-functional team projects, practical professional development, our insistence on accountability and community co-creation and working with teammates across different time zones, ages, genders and cultures.

A Different Definition of Rigor

Rigor shouldn’t mean burnout or hyper-competition. It should mean the courage to slow down and master what matters. To revisit the basics of how we learn, communicate, and grow. To rebuild what our institutions have rushed past in the name of efficiency.

We must stop thinking of emotional intelligence, teamwork, and research as “soft” skills. These are survival skills—in work, in democracy, in life.

If we want to raise a generation that can thrive in the age of AI, we need to stop asking how fast they can memorize, and start asking how well they can think. And that means investing in the messy, layered, beautiful process of real learning.

What Comes Next

As we continue our work at curaJOY, we’ll keep scaffolding—not just knowledge, but confidence, compassion, and critical thinking. We’ll teach students to build—not just with code, but with conviction.

We may need to slow down. But that may be the fastest way forward.