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27 Teachers Share The Main Differences Between Students Then And Now
Article created by: Viktorija Ošikaitė
We do suspect that kids are different these days than when we were in school. There are many reasons for it: from generational differences to technological advancement, the children of today and those of two decades ago are not just years but rather light-years apart.
But there are people who experience this change first-hand. They are teachers, educators, and professors who have devoted their lives to raising little daredevils into rebellious (or not) teens, helping them to discover their identities, strengths, and weaknesses. They are the ones who have spent the most time with the youngsters, and they surely have collected a lot of observations on their way.
“Teachers/professors of Reddit, what is the difference between students of 1999/2009/2019?,” someone wondered on Ask Reddit, sparking an illuminating thread with incredible insights. Below, we wrapped up the most interesting responses, so scroll down!
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#1
I've taught (still teaching) elementary (mainly 1st - 3rd) since the mid 90s. Differences:
1- Many more obese kids. I'm talking obese at age 6. Not just a little chubby, either.
2- Many more attention problems. Not just the severe ones (ADD/ADHD), but kiddos who just have trouble focusing. Now, I don't want to hear a lot of backlash from non-teachers who say we mean teachers expect kids to sit all day and work. My students change activities frequently. They are allowed to stand instead of sit. We also do quite a bit of hands on stuff. But over the years, I've noticed a HUGE problem with focusing and getting things done.
3- Kids don't read as much. They spend free time on electronic devices. It's addictive and I'm guilty, too. I LOVE to read, but I find myself here on Reddit or elsewhere on the internet instead of actually READING books. But I'm 49. These kids NEED to read. And they need to read BOOKS.
4- Their vocabulary and speaking skills are lacking. Why? Well, the speech/language teacher at my school gave her theory. She worked in the private sector over the summer. Parents would drop off their young kids to her and sit in the lobby on their phones (as we all do). Over the summer she would assess these kiddos and most all of them were of normal intelligence and ability. So why are the kiddos severely behind in speaking and language skills? She claims that parents are not SPEAKING enough to their children. We adults spend so much time on our phones and laptops and are not having enough conversations with our children. I have to agree with this. Fifteen/20+ years ago, we were all not glued to our phones. People CONVERSED more with their kids in the past.
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#2
I've been teaching high school since 1993.
Students are less homophobic by a long shot, at least where I've been. There is still homophobia but they can't be open about it.
Students talk about things like depression and mental illness more; whether the prevalence rate for things like depression actually is higher or not I don't know, but it's more talked about.
Attitudes toward school are about the same. Hard workers, average workers, and slackers are still probably the same proportion.
Obviously the use of technology is dramatically increased, which is good and bad. It's definitely made research super easy.
There's more awareness of bullying, though sometimes this term gets thrown around too casually.
Students in special ed are no longer openly mocked.
Students are larger. A lot larger.
Dating in an official sense doesn't seem to occur anymore; just seems like FWB (or without benefits) is the typical arrangement.
Seems like students spend a lot more time inside than 20 years ago.
#3
Today's students don't know how to struggle or persevere through a problem. If they can't do it immediately, they need help.
On the plus side, they know a lot more about each other and are open to diversity. They communicate their emotions.
#4
In regards to technology, I think “experts” who have been telling us that the students are going to come in very technologically literate don’t actually realize WHAT technology students are using. Students are using cell phones, occasionally tablets, and gaming devices like xBox. They don’t use computers actively at home.
Massachusetts switched their standardized testing to computer based testing. 100% of our students have no idea how to type in a computer when they come to us in elementary school. So not only do we have to teach them the content for these ridiculous tests, we have to teach them how to type fluently and accurately before third grade so they can type essays on the computer at 8 years old. They said the switch was because students are more technologically savvy then ever before, which is probably partially true, but not in the way that they want.
#5
My friend who's a first grade teacher says that kids are more anxious, less able to self soothe, and unprepared to solve even basic (first grader level) problems themselves.
#6
In 1999, class was super noisy when you came in. Everyone talking and then quieting down when you started teaching. Now, like walking into a funeral home. cell phone silence.
#7
My students today are way over protected and far more nervous than when I started teaching in 1994. For example I have had several students ( typically girls) who at 12 or 13 have literally never been alone. Then have not been on a bike ride alone or a walk around their block alone. Their parents are so afraid of stranger danger that they are preventing their students from having the necessary alone time to get into trouble and try to solve problems independently. The students are far more prone to anxiety, depression, cutting and suicidal idealization than previous generations of students. Probably related, but who knows.
Students are afraid of risk and need teacher support and because it is available all the time they kind of expect it. I had a student email me an hour ago because he did not understand a question on his homework. And I responded with some additional info to support this student. On a Sunday morning. Of course I am the one who taught them how to actually email something and I answered the email, so perhaps I am a contributor to this issue. 20 years ago he would have had to figure it out and give his best guess and let the chips fall.
#8
There’s some sense of entitlement I’ve noticed. Like “I deserve a better grade” or “I deserve an extension because this week has been hard”. Plus some sense of arrogance: “why should I follow your instructions? My way is better”. To be fair, sometimes their way is better and I have learned from them in some occasions.
#9
Been teaching since 2006. Kids are getting worse with computers due to them mostly using smart devices. I'm spending more time teaching things like how to double click and enter a URL than I used to.
Otherwise they seem the same though. It's the parents that are different--they're overextended and their kids are suffering since their parents don't have the spoons to engage in their education as much as they need to.
#10
Mainly, I have noticed kids are both more remarkable and emotionally/mentally weaker. I'll watch a group of ninth graders perform a flawless orchestra concert. Then, the next day they'll break down in a full on anxiety attack. I don't know what happened, but teenagers' coping skills have gone to hell in a hand basket. Maybe overprotective/helicopter parents are to blame? Who knows?
#11
I’m a professor.
Downside:
1) students are getting worse at understanding what a good source is. “Googling” is research.
2) They are significantly less engaged- I’ve taught similar courses for at least 15 years. These cohorts speak very little in class.
3) their oral speaking and debate skills are much worse.
4) They have shorter attentions and can’t focus in on deeper material.
Upside:
1) They are kinder to a more diverse people. Not that I don’t see mean/dickish behavior, but it’s less accepted.
2) they are fairly creative.
3) They want to be involved at a higher level.
But #4 downside plus #3 upside makes them frustrating to manage because they come across to us older folks (gen X here) as very entitled (ie, they immediately want what we worked a long time for & they do not have the skill set or experience for the positions they think they deserve). So I fire a lot more of them than I ever had to in the past.
#12
Not a teacher, but in higher education-- They really really want guidance. A scary amount of guidance. I don't know anyone else's experience, but when I was a kid and had a question my parent's couldn't answer, they would say "well, there are three sets of encyclopedias down the hall and you have a library at school. Figure it out. "
#13
1. Lack of persistence. This is loosely correlated to [instant gratification conditioning.](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:EDPR.0000012344.34008.5c) If they can't figure something out on the first try, they require hand-holding for each step. And if they get frustrated with the hand-holding, they give up.
2. Fear of taking risks. Related to #1, helicopter parenting, and the cultural effects of high stakes testing. For example, a colleague asked if I could pick up his son and take him to lessons because he didn't trust the kid to make it on his own. The kid is 13, and the lessons are a one mile walk from his school through a safe neighborhood.
3. Tech dependent, not tech savvy. Kids who can tell you every YouTube video they've watched this week, and how to download extra skins on Minecraft, but don't know how to use a printer, or how to get anywhere without Google Maps.
4. Lack of problem solving skills. This is directly related, IMO, to all three of the first issues.
#14
Not a teacher in the strictest sense, but I do a lot of tutoring, and I briefly taught some junior comp eco courses at the local elementary school. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is an over abundance of “lawnmower” parents—parents who plow down any obstacle in their kids’ paths without ever letting them challenge themselves. I had parents who would do their kids’ assignments for them because they were “hard,” then yell at the instructors when their children weren’t learning.
The other big thing is that knowledge of proper grammar seems to have really decreased. I know high school honors students who can barely string together a coherent sentence. I read and edit essays/resumes/research papers sometimes, and they were often borderline illegible because nobody knew basic spelling and punctuation. I had to actually teach people—some of whom were in AP English classes—that you need to capitalize proper nouns and put quotes around dialogue. People also don’t know how to use word processors for some reason—loads of students had no idea how to even center text, so they’d just press space until their titles were roughly in the middle of the paper.
#15
Lawnmower parents, more emphasis on test scores, and more reliance on technology. Less interest in learning and too much interest in social media.
#16
Mental health. Each semester, I refer at least two or three students per class to campus counselling services.
A couple add-on observations:
- Students obviously now feel much more comfortable talking to their professors about their personal issues. I believe in educating the whole student, so I am OK with this. Also, I legitimately believe students have more stress on their plates now than they did 20 years ago. Increased competition, a weakening (North American) economy, climate change anxiety, the impacts of social media on self-worth, etc.
- At least 50% of the students I refer to counselling have already gone. I am impressed at the proactive nature younger people are taking with regards to their mental health. I agree that the stigma around mental health is decreasing, which I support.
#17
Computer Science teacher here. There has been a definite move over time from trying to learn how to do something towards trying to find a ready made answer. Whenever I set my students an assignment, we discuss what they should do if they get stuck - typically involving re-reading notes, looking at the resources they've been given, looking at prior work, perhaps finally using web based resources. Students have always (as long as the web has been a thing) skipped straight to the last one, bit the subtle change is rather than searching for HOW to do something, most now just search for a fully formed complete answer which they can copy and hand in.
#18
I’ve noticed that students don’t read as much. I used to read all sorts of books when I was young, and I believe that I’m a better writer for it. I fell in love with Steinbeck in 9th grade and read his works multiple times. How can you learn to write if you’ve never read great writing?
#19
They're more alike than different, but students of 1999 were more likely to be able to write their own web page in raw HTML, and students in 2019 aren't sure how to make a basic Powerpoint or attach something to an email. I've been doing this long enough that I remember when the professors were baffled by all things computer-ish and the students were impatient with how clueless we were, and now it's reversed.
That, and even my smart students have zero idea how to use an apostrophe. That's something that's shown up in the past five to seven years. I blame autocorrect.
Edit: Thought of a couple more. In 1999, there was a hum of chatter with occasional outbreaks of laughter before class started, and I had to quiet them down to begin. Now there might be one or two people talking, but everybody else is glued to their phone. Also, back then there was a lot of flirting before class, and male and female students mixed and sat next to each other. Now it looks like an eighth grade dance: females on this side, males on that.
Edit: OK, two more, and then I'm done. In 1999, my female students tried to dress nicely for class, and my male students showed up in sweats and a t-shirt. Complete reversal now: the males dress fashionably and the females wear sweats and hoodies. And in 1999, just about everybody wore a baseball cap -- when it came time to take a test, I had to tell them to turn it around or take it off, not because I thought they might have answers written in the bill, but because I needed to see where their eyes were. When I gave that instruction, hats were turned on all but one or two heads; it was just as much part of the college student uniform as a backpack. These days, I might have one student in a ball cap once or twice a term. I think everybody puts more effort into their hair.
#20
I was a university advisor for many years and now I’m an adjunct professor. Students today refuse to use their textbook/take notes to their detriment. They’ll turn in papers with applications of definitions/concepts they found by googling as opposed to ones discussed in class or in the text. It’s amazing how much research they’ll do that goes against what has been taught (and is easily at their fingertips).
#21
Students lack the tenacity to stick with a task until they figure it out. Most will try once and if they aren’t perfect will give up and blame the teacher if they can’t do it. I teach physics, 11th grade, they want me to grade each step of each problem before they move forward. And if I don’t, some throw temper tantrums.
#22
Physical education teacher here. Watched a steady decline in fitness test scores over the years. Kids were in far better shape 20 years ago. Over the last 5 I’ve seen a dramatic dip in fitness in elementary age kids. Fewer outliers on the top end and far more kids on the low end. We do the PACER cardio test. We might have 1-2 kids in the whole building fail the pacer 10 years ago. I now see approx.18% of student fail it. (You can almost walk the first 8, passing for most boys is 23 and 15 for girls. Also used to 10-15 % of student over 65. I think we had 2 in the whole group that was tested. (About 400) We’ve also see strong correlation between fitness scores and “end of grade” testing. Usually the students with better cardio fitness do better on testing and those with lower scores do worse on EOG’s. In theory if we can boost their fitness scores we can boost their EOG’s. We will see a major health crisis in 30-35 years. With a strong rise in preventable disease, due to inactive lifestyle.
#23
The need for instant gratification due to technology; they have a harder time engaging in critical thinking activities because of standardized testing; better entrepreneurs (always bargaining to get the best for them).
#24
In 2009, kids were blown away if you could reference online memes. Nowadays, not so much. They’re more likely to sneer and call you a boomer.
#25
I work in a college and hear the stories of professors.
While students are obsessed with grades and bugging the professor on what they have the minute you say "i have your grades, come to my office between 11 and 1 and get it and if your missing anything ill let you know" not a soul showed up - no emails saying "hey i have classes then can i come in at a different time?". Students have been drying in professors offices over grades and its not the ones who really do try but just dont get it - its the ones that are missing 2 labs, 10 homework assignments, and missing quizzes but feel they deserve a C in the class because they show up ALMOST every day.
During labs and such like others have said they dont read instructions or if it doesn't explicitly SAY something they wont do it (like turn the meter on sorta thing)
Professors have had parents call their office demanding to know what their childs grade is. Professors have to remind them that your child is over 18 and legally an adult i cannot divulge that information to you. Or parents want to know why their kid is almost failing their class and why they are making the class so hard.
#26
Students now seem to stay away from politics and activism completely because they don't know who to trust. İt's very sad. Becoming engaged with the world beyond ones family and hometown through political activism used to be a important -- perhaps the most important - part of university. İt is not that students now are apathetic, they are just being told that everything is 'fake news' and so they don't want to feel 'duped' into being passionate about issues that might not be real.
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