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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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.
💯. Im a peds nurse since 2010 and kids are overweight and overstimulated with electronics. So many parents throw the ipad at kids when they out a dinner and no one talks to each other. I always sadly laugh when I see 1-2 year olds with ipads at dinner. Wth people. My kids are smart, read, good social skills and dont need constant technology. Kids need to learn how to deal with being bored once in a while. This plays into the instant gratification and entitlement.
I think it's more than this, though, at least in the US. I grew up with commercials teaching that a healthy breakfast was a bowl of sugary cereal in milk, two slices of white toast, and a cup of orange juice. We were taught to eat "grains" in the form of bread or pasta at every meal. Fat was bad, but a sugar-coated pastry for breakfast was good. Soda was and remains the primary drink. Those of us inundated with these ideas are now parents and grandparents passing on this same faulty nutrition to our kids and grandkids. We need to dramatically alter the American idea of nutrition and get our children off the massive amounts of sugar and empty carbs.
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A comment about number two having trouble focusing.. I honestly think we had just as much problems in the '80s and '90s but ADD, ADHD anxiety, dyslexia and dyscalcula to name a few were way less understood. They usually went undiagnosed and the kids were just called stubborn or lazy. Speaking from experience.
Exactly. My partner is 38 and very dislexic and most of his teachers just assumed that he was dumb or lazy. But he was great at tech and maths just bad at reading and writing
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I read to my kids from the day they were born. Had them read every day, even in summer. It was a big treat to get new books. Both have exceptional vocabulary skills (never baby talked to them), both love to write. I didn't think I was doing anything special (huge reader myself), just sharing my love of reading. Thought all parents did this
No they don't. I know of families who have never had a book in the house.
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There's something to this theory. Me and brother pretty much grew up at our parents work. We interacted with adults frequently, mostly the older folks and younger women i noticed. You can tell when certain kids are comfortable interacting with adults, their vocabulary is noticeably different.
I used to hang out at my mom's doctors office during my summer vacations so yes I learned extremely complex words from adults. And for a non-medical person I am extremely good at medical terminology.
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I was in primary school (UK schooling aged 5 to 11) starting in 1971. I was the fat kid of the class, and I know my teacher at the time bullied me about it as much as the other kids did. Looking back at photographs, and comparing my size then with class photographs of my grandkids school, I would be one of the thinner ones now. There's definitely an obesity problem-we used to walk to school (my siblings and I) and it was about 3km one way. I think parents would be anxious about letting their children do that these days.
I was visiting a family. While there I made their daughter look me in the eyes while talking to her. I looked her in the eyes and talked normal to her in replies to her gobbledygook. The place she was going to for her special needs were surprised she was engaging. Her parents Lived on their phones and never made eye contact with her. Electronics are horrible. I have them and hardly use them and actively keep it that way.
I had a similar experience. My daughter has special needs. In her class one day, a girl approached me and started talking. I had been there 4 times and never heard her speak before, not even to her teacher. You know what motivated her to talk? She wanted me to unlock her iPad. Kids had a big TV screen on and device time as rewards. Kids who have major attention and social issues. That's what happens when you don't fund schools and teachers well. Not enough support and training to find other non-screen rewards.
Load More Replies... But did parents in the past really speak more to their kids? Or are we remembering the past with a bias? At my house my father would soeak to us mostly to lecture us or give commands. My mum was chatty but nobody was allowed to talk during meals because we "anoyed" my dad that was watching TV. With my grandmas is the same. The TV is always on even if you go to visit and they only oay half attention to you (was always like this its not because of age). People forget that previous grew up with TVs and consoles and were told constantly how "tech was ruining their lives".
When I was a kid (1960's) each of us was encouraged to talk about our days plus our parents would talk about theirs. Plus TV was off. I haunted the local Library and talked to adults all the time (was hyperlexic). Guess that helped. Pity that kids today aren't talking as much. As so often, the parents don't see themselves as part of or more, the source of the problem. Young kids don't need a phone or IPad - stop using it for babysitting!
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I had a student absolutely SHOCKED, that I would not give her my phone to play games on. "But I'm bored!", there are the books, there are the toys, or you can color. You can not have my phone. (No my phone wasn't out, she asked if I had one and I said yes. Kids ask about all types of things so I did not see where it was going).
The only thing I had for entertainment were second hand books. The local books store would sell it at a heavy discount. It did not matter is some pages were missing. Used my own imagination to fill them. Books are your friends for life. But I see very few kids reading them.
TBF, they could be reading on their devices. Kindle is still a thing.
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When my daughter was in third grade we went to together to her first parent/teacher Conference. I mentioned to the teacher in front of my daughter that I was concerned that she didn’t enjoy reading. I was looking for tips instead she said in front of her, “I don’t blame you I don’t like to read either”. I was stunned. I call third grade her lost year. Thank God for those Harry Potter books because she started a love of reading with those. Oddly enough when she later graduated from college she was offered an editing job at a children’s book publishing house in part due to her English Degree. (She also was a selective mute in preschool and was very shy but today has 4 degrees and is very outgoing-just a late bloomer I guess).
Is it just me, or are there a lot more special-needs kids? Is it just that everyone is more educated on what this is and are able to diagnose more accurately and freely? Or are people just a lot more freaking sensitive and the environment they're raised in creates an environment where more kids are nature/nurtured into it. Yeah. I know all about sensory issues, etc. I have 2 with these problems. But what came first? Our surroundings have changed so drastically within the last 20 years...who's to say we haven't done this to ourselves?
I think that its mostly that we know better how to diagnose problems. For example I always talk too fast, often mix words, mumble and dont look at peoples eyes. I read and speak too fast so i cannot read out loud well because my tongue cannot keep up. Now they might have diagnosed me with something or just helped me speak better. But then the teachers would force me to read out loud despite the other kids laughing at me. One teacher seemed to enjoy it particularly.
Load More Replies... #3 is flat out ridiculous. Kids shouldn't be on electronics. I agree that they should be reading books because aside from the fact that you don't have to worry about the battery going low or having to deal with lags and whatnot, the kids would find more inspiration from the books and you'd be surprised what they would learn from the books.
Definitely! And key language development starts in the first three years. Even if the kiddos don't understand, it is important to talk to them and point out the things in their surroundings. Reading is also a MUST. No matter what, they will need reading comprehension. Kids are also way less active. They want to sit on devices instead of playing.
I noticed similar language development problems when I was teaching (pre 2009) for much the same reasons.
Yep. I've been in customer service for twenty years and it's the same as those kids slowly become teens, then adults. I frequently have to ask customers if I can help them because they are blocking shelves and aisles by just standing there looking for the same product online with their phone. Don't come to my freaking store, then. Buy your c**p from Amazon.
I remember far back to any 1991, when I'd watch the infants and toddlers during church. There was a 2 or 3 yr old that I could not pick up. She was probably close to 70 lbs at 2 or 3pm. That had always stuck with me, the child was a very cute kid but no clue how she was that large as a toddler. Kids definitely can be bigger now, from working retail, I see a lot. Stay hydrated & cool this weekend, y'all!
Parents have just stopped setting healthy limits for devices and stopped just telling kids to look out the car window, use their own imaginations. Parents are so concerned about preventing their kids from being bored, getting upset and whining like a normal kid they just plunk them down with a phone or tablet. Parents these days just can't be bothered with reading. They view it as a punishment. I've heard it in the bookstore "My son's grandparents are giving him a bunch of books for Christmas. Poor kid hahaa." Yeah, great attitude towards literacy, "mom". Parents are just not practicing academics with kids, that I've noticed. More like drinking wine with the other parents and complaining about parenting and their spouses.
There have always been parents like that. My sister is proud of the fact she hasn't read a book since high school. She graduated in 1987.
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I'm your age and was a teacher in Germany and Switzerland, started the same year. I share your impression. Plus there are 6 y o, not able to change their clothes, tie their shoe laces or brush their teeth due to fine motor skills. And there were always 1 or 2 children in each class with special needs. Now there are 4 or 5.
I feel like parents do plently, they're allowed a break on their phones. Parenting is hard.
Sure, but it was hard before smartphones, too. Parents actually had to stand up and walk to the bottom of the stairs to shout at their kids in their rooms. Now they just send texts.
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We should be looking at vaccines and their impact on a child's body and brain.
I am an Occupational Therapist. My kids are 16 and 14. Daughter got her first phone mid way though 8th grade. My son is 14 and has never had a phone. Neither watched sny TV before age 2. Son has adhd snd there's no plan for him to have a snart phone for the upcoming school year. They both have excellent vocabulary and still like to read. My daughter spends way toouch time on her phone. I let it slide because she buys bookson her own to read.
People converse online, though, too. Kids don't just talk to their parents.
Studies actually show, that kids today read more overall than any generation. Me for example I'm 16. Almost everytime I go on my phone, I'm here reading articles or on webtoon. That may not be super common. But my point is on your phone doesn't mean not reading. The rest is pretty accurate though.
I think one of the problems with society is that we're incredibly critical of everyone else and super self conscious. Example, child throws tantrum at grocery because they want candy. People stare and parent can almost feel the criticism. The instant gratification doesn't just come from wanting to keep your kids happy, it comes from wanting to avoid making a scene. We all want to live our lives in peace right? We need to accept that that isn't always possible in this day and age. You're going to go out to eat and a child at another table a child is going to throw a tantrum, that's life. Try your best to ignore the tantrum and maybe the parent will let their child wear out from that tantrum. If you throw a fit because someone else's child is throwing a fit, that parent may feel compelled to give in.
Back then, students learned reading, writing and arithmetic. We have unions now.
The worst was when auto makers installed TVs in the back of the car’s headrest. Talking to kids stopped right there and then.
I found a lot of parents who were clueless about how children should behave. Outrageous behavior described and parent would say..."Don't all kids do that?" Uh, no.
I mean the weight thing is a problem in general. But the attention issues? I was in my 20's before I was diagnosed with ADHD, and so we're many people I know. They aren't more common we just actually know what they are now so they aren't being called lazy or other things. I also am constantly on my phone, as are my younger family members and older ones. The majority of us are almost always reading when we are staring at it. You don't know what people are doing on their phone but still want to complain as if you do.
Jeez. My kids talk my ears off. And most times I let them even though it gets overwhelming. We talk about a lot and I'm happy about that. Although, they sometimes jump into a story without giving me context. So, I have them backup and explain it to me from A to Z so I can truly absorb what they're saying. I want them to read more but I need to start reading again, too. We are too distracted to pay attention and we get bored easily. And, I am larger than I should be so I am trying to get them to understand a balanced diet and to try stuff for the sake of their health. As well as do better It's an uphill battle. I tell them that my nickname was Skinny Minny. Metabolism is a b**. My spectrum tween is attached to her phone when we are out. Sometimes I tell her to put it down and live in the moment and talk to us. We live and learn and should try to break out of our harmful habits that they might pick up.
I love this , it is so true and so very very important. I feel like texting and phones helped my marriage to all apart. It became so easy for him to avoid all problems communicating through text and real feelings. I also feel like it's made my kids numb to the words I Love You. I say it to my children every time we speak and they say it back but alot of the time they don't text it back. That's hurts my feelings as a mother but I also think if they heard and said it more as a child them feelings would be easier to express.
Can't like enough. Was a teacher from 2003 to 2014. Even big changes in that time frame.
I'm an English Language student and I'm planning of studying child language development as one of my modules. The only way your kid is going to talk is if you talk A LOT! Even if you talk to yourself or talk yourself through everything your doing and why you are doing it while with your kid as well as talking to them and asking them questions is going to get them into practice of what talking is like and how a conversation works. Talking is a skill purely on practice and copying, it's likely one of the main reasons hearing impared people can't talk as well, because they can't hear how talking plays out and can't tell how well they are practicing. (No hate to anyone, but I just wanted to show a logical comparison that proves the theory)
Conversation with kids can start when they’re born. You just talk to them about what you’re doing as you do it, what’s around them and so on as if they understand you. You can make sounds to them. If you let them see how your mouth moves when you make different sounds they’ll try to copy you. My daughter is totally regular intelligence (nb. no additional needs as this would absolutely make a difference) but she said mama and dada in context at 6 months and progressed rapidly from there. I credit that to me not shutting up from the day I took her home. At meals out it’s colouring or conversation only which she’s happy with as she doesn’t know anything different. Kids are really interesting to talk to if you take the time. They’re funny and imaginative. I love to talk to my little girl and hear her take on the world. She knows she can talk and I’ll listen.
I taught for 34 years and have been retired for 10. I totally agree with all of this. Parents need to model better habits. Let their kids see them reading books. Put the damn phones down.
There has been a major shift in attention, activity and participation since I began teaching high school English in 1978. I'll use participation as an example. Students are encouraged to listen to, take part in Q&A and offer opinions during class presentations and reports. Privately (we use a WebClass system) I also ask the students to rank their classmates efforts. While it has never been easy to get students to do these things it used to be a normal part of the lesson process. Now I'd say it's more like pulling teeth. I've taken to giving lower marks to students who fail to participate and, yes, I do explain this beforehand. Maybe I need to retire.
Christian Amerikkka and 40 yrs of Reaganomics, greed, and dumbing down. Fertile ground for Facism.
I'm a librarian, and I read books on my phone? What are you talking about?
Phones? They've said it about everything. I remember TV being the demon in the 50's. Children reflect their parents. It's more what they observe that they mimic. If parents are unfocused, eat too much, don't stay on task, etc., that's the model children follow. You can't blame poor parenting on a phone.
Add writing skills for that matter. When I see an eighteen year old's handwriting, it looks like a six year old's ...
Another reason for me to not have kids, I can't keep up a conversation to save my life.
The idea kids need to read more i def agree with, what i dont agree with is the specificity of books. Expecting everyone to read only books is discriminatory and classist. I was lucky to both develop an intense love of reading books but also have them available and easy access to libraries while growing up. I cannot say the same for most of my friends. I am happy enough for kids to read a webcomic if it is what gets them reading anything. Also, people with varying degrees of dyslexia stopped reading because their disability made it too difficult. There are now fonts made specifically to help that can be used on phones and tablets and arent available in paper format.
Kids get less recess and barely time to eat they have to scarf their lunches down at school. As far as technology don't put the blame on the parents. Schools are barely using text books. They print everything out with info and have kods use tablets and hs teachers have kods using their phones for things. I don't let my oldest take her phone to school but bc of teachers I've had to let her a few times. Oh and gym these days is a joke. You don't have kids exercise just random sports which isn't enough
i wonder if this varies by location. the kids around here aren't fat and aren't tied to their screens and all the kids i know read a lot. A LOT.
You can’t say their little angels are obese! Mummy and Daddy will sue the school and demand anyone who said it gets fired
It depends on how you use it, but for the most part I agree, especially that kids shouldn't be having phones.
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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.
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.
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.
I still have no idea what to do with the part of my brain that used to store the enormous amount of phone numbers of my family and friends. Yes, I'm one of those: "Hey Grandpa!, more like Grand-Grandpa now, but seriously, I often think about that when I call someone on my phone and look at the number: "Huh..there was a time I could just dial this number without even thinking what the number was, now I just push a button, it's a good thing and yet, kinda sad at the same time.
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.
Poor kids had to do kindergarten online in an educational environment completely unprepared for digital learning. They lived in fear and the world became dangerous. Contact with other human beings which before sustained us and made us a community became a source of fear. It's not a wonder that they're struggling. We all are too.
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.
This is only in those schools where cell phones are allowed in class. Our class is still super noisy.
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.
I'm not surprised about your mention of young girls never going for bike rides alone. There IS danger of SA or kidnapping, it's not a fear, it's a reality.
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.
That's usually picked up from the parents at home. They listen to mom or dad rant about how they deserve more pay for doing multiple people's jobs. Then also seeing how mom and dad's decisions usually back fire so why the f**k listen to any adult they're all the same right?
Less ownership of learning/sense of curiosity, less grit/resilience, and large sense of entitlement. I teach middle school in the somewhat rural area where I grew up, and I still love my job and "my kids", but damn, it is so much more difficult these days.
I wonder if there’s less curiosity because there’s easy access to knowledge via the internet. If I know I can Google the answer, it kind of removes a lot of the thought process of trying to piece it together in my head first. I can just look it up. I don’t have to figure it out myself to come up with a working hypothesis.
I’ve been a teacher for 15 years and one thing I’ve noticed is that in recent years the “breakfast club” stereotypes like jocks, nerds, etc. seem to be falling by the wayside and kids seem to be hidden under many layers of irony.
Actually i found that the people participating in after school stuff and the gamers still seem to gather in the same spot its pretty easy to pick out the theater kids and cheerleaders
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.
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?
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.
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. "
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.
I would install GPS in my brain if I could. I am "directionally challenged ". Until I go somewhere several times, I use GPS. All the streets in my old subdivision were "Park something " Lived there 7 years and still got turned around. I wouldn't let my kids walk that far alone. Neighborhood might be safe, but things happen. But that's me
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.
This! The grammar, OY! I remember diagraming sentences in 5th grade, and now, I see the damn incorrect overuse of the apostrophe everywhere! 🤦🏽♀️
Lawnmower parents, more emphasis on test scores, and more reliance on technology. Less interest in learning and too much interest in social media.
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.
First off, the kids are essentially the same--it is the parents who are far more immature. They want to be "buddies" with their kids instead of being, well, parents, so discipline is far worse. Kids know they won't be punished at home so the push the envelope at school. Parents are also making far worse decisions in raising their kids--have your family take a week long vacation in September while your child is flunking my class? Sure! That was unthinkable 10-20 years ago.
That said, students have far more distractions now. With the Internet and cell phones, kids no longer talk or even engage with each other in the halls or at lunch. As a result, school activities are suffering as kids now have that damn phone to entertain them after school. This has led to a generation of narcissistic kids that think not only that their **** don't stink, but that we should share in their gift.
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.
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?
I'm an avid reader, several books a week. I reread if I have nothing new. Both kids love to read & both write. Youngest does custom stories and writes D&D stories. She is a fan of Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes & introduced me to several series I wouldn't have read otherwise. Can't live without books
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.
This made me giggle. My dad was a computer nerd from day one. He insisted that I know how to break down and rebuild a system, knew how to use DOS and Keep up on new tech. I really appreciated that. Before word processors became a real thing, I would write my home work using very basic DOS commands. Being able to turn in my papers on dot matrix computer paper was ballin back then lol. Today? I hardly ever use my computer in favor of my phone. lol
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).
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.
Gen X here. I mean, there's no excuse for temper tantrums, but isn't helping your students through a complex problem kinda like... teaching?? And if, as a whole they don't feel confident in their progress, maybe you're actually the problem, as that's your job? Just sayin.
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.
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).
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.
One of my professors loves to reference memes. It's certainly cringe at times, but everyone in the class appreciates the effort.
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.
The parental thing is the one that still blows my mind. When I first started teaching, I'd have a couple parents -- ALWAYS the parents of boys in my experience -- complain. Now, every single goddamn term, I have some mom or dad acting like because they're paying the bills, their kid's education is like a goddamn fast food burger and they "have the right" to demand it "their way" and "get what they're paying for!" Goody for you, but legally I can't and won't tell you anything. With online classes? Even worse. These assholes INTERRUPT CLASS to make these demands. No, parents, I do NOT work for you, and no, you do NOT "pay my bills" by any stretch.
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.
I don't recall giving one flying c**p about politics or social issues until I started paying taxes and that was the popular position among my peers. Activism has always been the exception among youth. I remember being forced to do c**p outside the class in Government because "get involved" and hating every minute of it 20+ years ago. If anything kids are more aware and passionate about "issues" than ever before thanks to social media.
Two words: anxiety and technology.
College teacher since 1999 👩🏫
Swearing amongst children I think has gotten worse. I've heard 1st-hand of what a 'lower-demographic' pupil has said to a teacher and it was horrificly-sexual. Not sure if the pupil was a girl or a boy. I have heard a 'lower-demographic' father saying the same sort of thing to his (cute-sounding) son walking past my house as well, when the son wa complaining another schoolkid picking on him. Very horrific and very sad. (South of England)
Note: this post originally had 52 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I’m a highschooler. as much as i want to complain about grumpy old boomers, these are nearly all true. i see it every day. my mom was an english teacher, so i have a pretty good handle on grammar usage. we are sophomores btw - my classmate asked what a verb was and where the apostrophe goes in “They’re”, all in one sentence. i’m worried about how the kids in my generation act so cold and bratty towards adults. i’m worried about the kindergarteners (my sister is 6) - the PE teacher was right. they are getting less active. i worry about a lot of silly things, but the things on this list actually do call for attention
Let me start off by saying I go to a private school and appreciate that my parents work their asses off for me. But the school (Gr 3-12) hires out a personal trainer and we do workouts every Wednesday so the p.e. aspect doesn't really apply. I am a junior this coming year and I must say I was very shocked when I read about the apostrophe issue. I'm surprised that's actually happening
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College English lit prof here. When I was first teaching in Los Angeles, late 90s/early 2000s, my students--almost all nonwhite--wanted to engage and talk about the n-word. They wanted to analyze the differences between "-ger" and "-gah." They wanted to engage texts that used it and tear into it, hard, from Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes to Mark Twain to rap and Quentin Tarantino. They wanted to talk about the shifts they'd experienced in their lifetimes, and, especially, about their own personal experiences with hearing/using the word. They thought I was lame for not reading it out loud b/c "it's just a word, we don't give it power!" Now, my students of most races refuse any texts that even includes the word, even though I have a practice of not reading it out loud. They frame encountering the word in the classroom as an act of violence perpetrated on them. It's hard to find spaces in that fine line between censorship, historical accuracy, context, trauma, and hate speech.
That is really interesting that you were able to have that experience with them in the early generations. It's not a word we really come across in literature much in Australia, but we did have one book we studied about an Aboriginal boy. There were other racial slurs in there (against both Aboriginal and white people) and we discussed them and why they became part of the vernacular and why they are less common now etc. This was in the mid 2000s, but I would be surprised if the book list and the way it is taught changed that much, as us Aussies don't shy away from difficult topics often. In fact, a couple of years later our play text we studied began with F**k, repeated about five times, so we discussed why it was important to read that, rather than a censored version. If I remember correctly, a few years ago my sister's set text was about a girl who was wrestling with depression/killed her self, which of course led to lots of important discussions.
Load More Replies... I think that it’s wonderful that children now take so much in their stride as far as LGTBQ matters go. My son said that his friend Charlotte is now Charles, he didn’t question it, just respected the change and carried on. My only concern is that children now seem so desperate to label themselves from a very young age, even from as young as six.They shouldn’t be worrying about their sexuality at that age, they should just be playing and having fun. There’s plenty of time to worry about sexual identity when puberty hits!
This is something us "you don't need labels!" Gen X-ers need to reconcile. These kids, unlike us, are probably going to go through multiple cycles of labels and rejecting labels and finding new labels. I think there's actually a thread of commonality here, though, about interrogating and understanding who we are as individuals, and who we WANT to be. That said, every single queer person I've known has expressed that they knew they were queer by the time they were 5-6. It's not about "sex," per se, it's about gender. That these kids can just be like "Mom, Dad, I like boys, not girls" or "I want to wear a dress/cut my hair short/paint my nails" and it's often no biggie is exactly what we spent all of those decades marching for.
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Most of these entires really do sound like “kids these days” grumpy adults.
Definitely. Some have their merit, like the higher stress, being more open with mental health and so. But many are definetly adults looking at their past with nostalgia. Most kids in the 90s and 2000s were not programming, reading constantly or had perfect grammar. We were told the same, that we were lazy, didnt respect them, that TV and videogames was destroying our brains, that we didnt read enough etc. If you lived in a city you werent normally allowed to walk alone until quite late and you couldnt just "be outside playing" because your parents needed to take you to the park and stay there. My partner grew up in a small village and his childhood was more free but i grew in a big city and we barely had any unsurpervised outside time until we were like 15 and could go alone.
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Here is my personal experience as a teacher who teaches programming. I teach college students btw. 1) Write a program to find x percent of y. Students are now confused. Now I ask them to do the same on paper. Some cant do it. Then I explain how percentages work. Now they get it. I do tell them that this is how discounts work in real life. 2) Calculate the simple interest earned on an amount. I have to tell them the formula. If you have a bank account you should know have a basic knowledge of how interests work. As a teacher, I do blame our education system for this. You should know about how these things work or you would get scammed without even realising and they are college students who will be doing highly technical jobs.
Actually, these days students or young adults or working-class adults often don't get simple interest on their checking accounts any more, or it's such a low rate that you've got to have 5+ figures to actually get anything bc otherwise it's less than a penny and is always rounded down. Plus, the interest rates on accounts like savings or retirement are meaningless - the banks are out here changing them multiple times a year, and if it's a 401k they'll say things like "so we told you to expect 8% on average but the market crashed and actually you had a couple months where it was -3% and it's been less than inflation all year, but since we told you that was just an ~estimate you can't do anything about it, sorry!"
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I am an art teacher. I see students have less imagination or creativity. When given an open ended assignment to promote independent thought and creativity, they ask way more questions, wanting me to tell them exactly what to do and how to do it. Kids have to learn there are multiple ways to solve a problem, more than one way to do things. There does not have to be a single "right" answer.
Something I noticed when I went back to college about the younger generations is that they are very susceptible to peer pressure. When you get them alone, you can get an honest opinion about things from them, but when they are in class, in a group, they'll go along with whatever the group thinks. You can actually see it happening, almost like a wave going over the class. One kid virtue signals in a discussion, then everyone falls in line. A few times one of the older students will speak out and give a different opinion, which then makes them the enemy and is now an outcast. For the rest of the quarter most of the kids wouldn't even talk to that person.
The same behavior most people have in social media. Not a coincidence.
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I mean… most of these are ok, but some of them just sound like older people complaining about kids nowadays. I’m a teen, and like, none of this is our fault. This is how we were raised. Especially little kids, they don’t just decide to have short attention spans and be super nervous all the time. It’s their parents and the hell of a world we live in today that made them like that.
As a highschool student that stuff isn't true for all students the no activities stuff look at your school and see how much clubs and sports are being advertised my school has a small sheet of paper on a board that people don't notice or don't have enough time to read. The technology ones annoy me a lot because the computer class in 7th grade taught us coding on a website where you drag boxes into more boxes and so far the only class that has taught me real world stuff was half a semester. I think the people in charge of this country should go back to school and get some new experience to figure out what they actually should do and it shouldn't be a private school they should go to a random small town public highschool and spend a month going to class and asking students what needs changed
I understand the view that students 'aren't socialising' and are 'absorbed in their phones/ipads/laptops/other devices', but I think there's something people miss here. That kid typing away on their phone? They're messaging their friends. And, controversial, but I wouldn't say that's any less socialising than talking in real life. If anything, it gives them a chance to think about what they say before they say it, allowing there to be less misunderstandings and mix-ups and meaning less arguments.
My mum was a teacher. The biggest difference was when they closed school for special needs children in my town because some council busybody decided it is discriminatory to label these kids. They just made these kids go to normal primary school where the teachers had no resources nor training to deal with them. Some of them were not problematic, just slow learning. Some of them had serious mental/psychological problems and kept screaming, breaking things, kept running across classroom, some were violent. One such child would distupt entire class all day every day and in the end the child suffered, the class suffered and the teachers suffered. She counted hours not days until her retirement.
I've enjoyed reading this but I (millennial) disagree on one point, and that is that the younger generations are more prone to anxiety and less resilient etc due to upbringing/ helicopter parenting etc. While this might be part of the issue, another big issue is that we have reason to be anxious; we spent the past 2.5 years of our youth in a pandemic, most people my age will probably never be able to own a home as the housing markets are unaffordable nowadays (even with a full-time job and maybe a partner), the dating culture is absolutely horrible and ever glooming threat of the next world war doesn't make it better. Other than that I think there is much truth and also a lot of nostalgia in those shared experiences.
I'm 25 and a high school teacher. Comparing my generation with my high schoolers: 1. Students are less motivated. 2. They have shorter attention spans. 3. More caring about social issues. 4. Much more open about mental health. 5. Cell phones are a big issue. 6. Grammar skills are lacking. 7. Many students do not have automatic respect for teachers and admin, respect must be earned.
Most are parenting issues. Anxiety, depression, bad behavior, lack of language and social skills, screen addiction... Those repeats constantly thru all 30 responses. I know sitting your child in front of a screen makes your life easier, but how much damage are you doing to his/her future? How much hours per week you spend with them? Are you really a parent, or just a food provider? My wife and I don't want kids, because we know we have no time and no patience to raise a kid properly. And I think every couple should think about it seriously before having a kid they can't handle.
I'm not a teacher. I've been hiring people for more than a decade and have really experienced the change in the general attitude to life that resonates with these teachers. From experience, they are definitely less resilient and require more guidance compared to the older group. Perseverance is the other issue as well, so is delayed gratification. It is a worrisome trend because all those traits contribute to building their skillset and eventually a career.
Gen X students were in school in the 80s, and college in the early 90s. 1999 students are Millennials.
Half of these genuinely go over the legitimate changes (good and bad) in schools with some really good points and discussion topics while the other half is just complaining 'back in my day!'-style. I guess it just depends on how the OP frames their thoughts though
I was surprised about some of these, especially the loss of knowledge of computers, so I asked my sister, who is actually in the generation below me (9 years younger) and she said it was probably accurate (though her school's computer room burned down halfway through primary school so that was part of why they stopped IT lessons).
Kids now are more informed than ever and I think that's why they are more anxious and depressed than ever before. Before kids wouldn't know about some law restricting rights or global climate change unless they were watching/reading/listening to the news, but now if you open up Instagram or Twitter or TikTok or whatever you get bombarded with current events that are depressing. The massive increase in school shootings are also a major reason as to why kids are more anxious, they know that every day they walk into a classroom could be their last and there is nothing they can do about it and no one who has the power to do something will do it which is incredibly frustrating.
One thing I've noticed in reading this a) personally I'm gonna use my phone less and read more. I've been missing my books anyway. And b) if I EVER have a kid I'm doing with them what my parents did for me: no phone until middle school. Smart phone that is. I had limited screen time as a kid while I was at home and it was supervised and I would definitely make sure that my child had a way to contact me in case of an emergency, or to make sure that everyone was aware if plans had changed for getting to/from somewhere, etc.
I’m a highschooler. as much as i want to complain about grumpy old boomers, these are nearly all true. i see it every day. my mom was an english teacher, so i have a pretty good handle on grammar usage. we are sophomores btw - my classmate asked what a verb was and where the apostrophe goes in “They’re”, all in one sentence. i’m worried about how the kids in my generation act so cold and bratty towards adults. i’m worried about the kindergarteners (my sister is 6) - the PE teacher was right. they are getting less active. i worry about a lot of silly things, but the things on this list actually do call for attention
Let me start off by saying I go to a private school and appreciate that my parents work their asses off for me. But the school (Gr 3-12) hires out a personal trainer and we do workouts every Wednesday so the p.e. aspect doesn't really apply. I am a junior this coming year and I must say I was very shocked when I read about the apostrophe issue. I'm surprised that's actually happening
Load More Replies... College English lit prof here. When I was first teaching in Los Angeles, late 90s/early 2000s, my students--almost all nonwhite--wanted to engage and talk about the n-word. They wanted to analyze the differences between "-ger" and "-gah." They wanted to engage texts that used it and tear into it, hard, from Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes to Mark Twain to rap and Quentin Tarantino. They wanted to talk about the shifts they'd experienced in their lifetimes, and, especially, about their own personal experiences with hearing/using the word. They thought I was lame for not reading it out loud b/c "it's just a word, we don't give it power!" Now, my students of most races refuse any texts that even includes the word, even though I have a practice of not reading it out loud. They frame encountering the word in the classroom as an act of violence perpetrated on them. It's hard to find spaces in that fine line between censorship, historical accuracy, context, trauma, and hate speech.
That is really interesting that you were able to have that experience with them in the early generations. It's not a word we really come across in literature much in Australia, but we did have one book we studied about an Aboriginal boy. There were other racial slurs in there (against both Aboriginal and white people) and we discussed them and why they became part of the vernacular and why they are less common now etc. This was in the mid 2000s, but I would be surprised if the book list and the way it is taught changed that much, as us Aussies don't shy away from difficult topics often. In fact, a couple of years later our play text we studied began with F**k, repeated about five times, so we discussed why it was important to read that, rather than a censored version. If I remember correctly, a few years ago my sister's set text was about a girl who was wrestling with depression/killed her self, which of course led to lots of important discussions.
Load More Replies... I think that it’s wonderful that children now take so much in their stride as far as LGTBQ matters go. My son said that his friend Charlotte is now Charles, he didn’t question it, just respected the change and carried on. My only concern is that children now seem so desperate to label themselves from a very young age, even from as young as six.They shouldn’t be worrying about their sexuality at that age, they should just be playing and having fun. There’s plenty of time to worry about sexual identity when puberty hits!
This is something us "you don't need labels!" Gen X-ers need to reconcile. These kids, unlike us, are probably going to go through multiple cycles of labels and rejecting labels and finding new labels. I think there's actually a thread of commonality here, though, about interrogating and understanding who we are as individuals, and who we WANT to be. That said, every single queer person I've known has expressed that they knew they were queer by the time they were 5-6. It's not about "sex," per se, it's about gender. That these kids can just be like "Mom, Dad, I like boys, not girls" or "I want to wear a dress/cut my hair short/paint my nails" and it's often no biggie is exactly what we spent all of those decades marching for.
Load More Replies... Most of these entires really do sound like “kids these days” grumpy adults.
Definitely. Some have their merit, like the higher stress, being more open with mental health and so. But many are definetly adults looking at their past with nostalgia. Most kids in the 90s and 2000s were not programming, reading constantly or had perfect grammar. We were told the same, that we were lazy, didnt respect them, that TV and videogames was destroying our brains, that we didnt read enough etc. If you lived in a city you werent normally allowed to walk alone until quite late and you couldnt just "be outside playing" because your parents needed to take you to the park and stay there. My partner grew up in a small village and his childhood was more free but i grew in a big city and we barely had any unsurpervised outside time until we were like 15 and could go alone.
Load More Replies... Here is my personal experience as a teacher who teaches programming. I teach college students btw. 1) Write a program to find x percent of y. Students are now confused. Now I ask them to do the same on paper. Some cant do it. Then I explain how percentages work. Now they get it. I do tell them that this is how discounts work in real life. 2) Calculate the simple interest earned on an amount. I have to tell them the formula. If you have a bank account you should know have a basic knowledge of how interests work. As a teacher, I do blame our education system for this. You should know about how these things work or you would get scammed without even realising and they are college students who will be doing highly technical jobs.
Actually, these days students or young adults or working-class adults often don't get simple interest on their checking accounts any more, or it's such a low rate that you've got to have 5+ figures to actually get anything bc otherwise it's less than a penny and is always rounded down. Plus, the interest rates on accounts like savings or retirement are meaningless - the banks are out here changing them multiple times a year, and if it's a 401k they'll say things like "so we told you to expect 8% on average but the market crashed and actually you had a couple months where it was -3% and it's been less than inflation all year, but since we told you that was just an ~estimate you can't do anything about it, sorry!"
Load More Replies... I am an art teacher. I see students have less imagination or creativity. When given an open ended assignment to promote independent thought and creativity, they ask way more questions, wanting me to tell them exactly what to do and how to do it. Kids have to learn there are multiple ways to solve a problem, more than one way to do things. There does not have to be a single "right" answer.
Something I noticed when I went back to college about the younger generations is that they are very susceptible to peer pressure. When you get them alone, you can get an honest opinion about things from them, but when they are in class, in a group, they'll go along with whatever the group thinks. You can actually see it happening, almost like a wave going over the class. One kid virtue signals in a discussion, then everyone falls in line. A few times one of the older students will speak out and give a different opinion, which then makes them the enemy and is now an outcast. For the rest of the quarter most of the kids wouldn't even talk to that person.
The same behavior most people have in social media. Not a coincidence.
Load More Replies... I mean… most of these are ok, but some of them just sound like older people complaining about kids nowadays. I’m a teen, and like, none of this is our fault. This is how we were raised. Especially little kids, they don’t just decide to have short attention spans and be super nervous all the time. It’s their parents and the hell of a world we live in today that made them like that.
As a highschool student that stuff isn't true for all students the no activities stuff look at your school and see how much clubs and sports are being advertised my school has a small sheet of paper on a board that people don't notice or don't have enough time to read. The technology ones annoy me a lot because the computer class in 7th grade taught us coding on a website where you drag boxes into more boxes and so far the only class that has taught me real world stuff was half a semester. I think the people in charge of this country should go back to school and get some new experience to figure out what they actually should do and it shouldn't be a private school they should go to a random small town public highschool and spend a month going to class and asking students what needs changed
I understand the view that students 'aren't socialising' and are 'absorbed in their phones/ipads/laptops/other devices', but I think there's something people miss here. That kid typing away on their phone? They're messaging their friends. And, controversial, but I wouldn't say that's any less socialising than talking in real life. If anything, it gives them a chance to think about what they say before they say it, allowing there to be less misunderstandings and mix-ups and meaning less arguments.
My mum was a teacher. The biggest difference was when they closed school for special needs children in my town because some council busybody decided it is discriminatory to label these kids. They just made these kids go to normal primary school where the teachers had no resources nor training to deal with them. Some of them were not problematic, just slow learning. Some of them had serious mental/psychological problems and kept screaming, breaking things, kept running across classroom, some were violent. One such child would distupt entire class all day every day and in the end the child suffered, the class suffered and the teachers suffered. She counted hours not days until her retirement.
I've enjoyed reading this but I (millennial) disagree on one point, and that is that the younger generations are more prone to anxiety and less resilient etc due to upbringing/ helicopter parenting etc. While this might be part of the issue, another big issue is that we have reason to be anxious; we spent the past 2.5 years of our youth in a pandemic, most people my age will probably never be able to own a home as the housing markets are unaffordable nowadays (even with a full-time job and maybe a partner), the dating culture is absolutely horrible and ever glooming threat of the next world war doesn't make it better. Other than that I think there is much truth and also a lot of nostalgia in those shared experiences.
I'm 25 and a high school teacher. Comparing my generation with my high schoolers: 1. Students are less motivated. 2. They have shorter attention spans. 3. More caring about social issues. 4. Much more open about mental health. 5. Cell phones are a big issue. 6. Grammar skills are lacking. 7. Many students do not have automatic respect for teachers and admin, respect must be earned.
Most are parenting issues. Anxiety, depression, bad behavior, lack of language and social skills, screen addiction... Those repeats constantly thru all 30 responses. I know sitting your child in front of a screen makes your life easier, but how much damage are you doing to his/her future? How much hours per week you spend with them? Are you really a parent, or just a food provider? My wife and I don't want kids, because we know we have no time and no patience to raise a kid properly. And I think every couple should think about it seriously before having a kid they can't handle.
I'm not a teacher. I've been hiring people for more than a decade and have really experienced the change in the general attitude to life that resonates with these teachers. From experience, they are definitely less resilient and require more guidance compared to the older group. Perseverance is the other issue as well, so is delayed gratification. It is a worrisome trend because all those traits contribute to building their skillset and eventually a career.
Gen X students were in school in the 80s, and college in the early 90s. 1999 students are Millennials.
Half of these genuinely go over the legitimate changes (good and bad) in schools with some really good points and discussion topics while the other half is just complaining 'back in my day!'-style. I guess it just depends on how the OP frames their thoughts though
I was surprised about some of these, especially the loss of knowledge of computers, so I asked my sister, who is actually in the generation below me (9 years younger) and she said it was probably accurate (though her school's computer room burned down halfway through primary school so that was part of why they stopped IT lessons).
Kids now are more informed than ever and I think that's why they are more anxious and depressed than ever before. Before kids wouldn't know about some law restricting rights or global climate change unless they were watching/reading/listening to the news, but now if you open up Instagram or Twitter or TikTok or whatever you get bombarded with current events that are depressing. The massive increase in school shootings are also a major reason as to why kids are more anxious, they know that every day they walk into a classroom could be their last and there is nothing they can do about it and no one who has the power to do something will do it which is incredibly frustrating.
One thing I've noticed in reading this a) personally I'm gonna use my phone less and read more. I've been missing my books anyway. And b) if I EVER have a kid I'm doing with them what my parents did for me: no phone until middle school. Smart phone that is. I had limited screen time as a kid while I was at home and it was supervised and I would definitely make sure that my child had a way to contact me in case of an emergency, or to make sure that everyone was aware if plans had changed for getting to/from somewhere, etc.
