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The world is constantly changing, and with it, so are people. However, since the process is gradual, it's difficult to see the results unless you zoom out and look at a broader period.
So Reddit user Vinnymacaroni made a post on the platform, asking teachers to share all the differences they notice in today's children compared to when they started working.
"I've been curious about teaching myself and recently had a thought," the Redditor explained. "I'm just curious to hear from a teacher's perspective because who would know kids better [...], right?"
And they delivered—the thread has hundreds of answers, with educators sharing their personal thoughts on the matter. Here are the most upvoted ones.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
28 years of experience... It's genuine kindness. Kids are so much more kind now than they were when I started in the 90s. They are so accepting of kids of different races, gender identities, intellectual differences like autism. "Accepting" isn't even a strong enough word. Kids that would be in such different social circles due to peer pressure in the 90s are friends now. I'm a straight white guy that was in high school in the 80s. I wish I was brave enough then to be as kind as kids are now.
I have plenty of complaints about phone addiction or the inability to multiply 5x4 without a calculator, but this is the most kind generation of students I've ever taught.
XenoMurph 1 year ago (edited)
Yes, I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I'm generally thought of as a kind person. But sometimes my 16 year old daughter still looks at me strangely. There's a hardness in some things I say that are just lingering expressions or phrases, nothing prejudiced or offensive. Just more harsh than my personality. It's lovely to see her inherent, habitual kindness that gets shocked by it.
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Gaerwing 1 year ago
Lol my brother must be teaching in some magical fairyland school then because the ones I've been through recently were rife with bullying, sexual harassment and segregation. Confirmation bias isn't it. You work in a nice school, you assume it's like that everywhere. I work in the rough schools and think finding a nice one is like trying to find a fart in a jacuzzi.
Aaron Kara 1 year ago
I hate to argue with this post because the sentiment is positive and god knows we need positive, but the community college in London I work in is increasingly enrolled by some of the most apathetic and self absorbed students I've ever experienced, and I've done it for 13 years. The real problem is that when we do get students who are kind and respectful, they are completely alienated by the atmosphere in school. We've never employed so many counsellors, safeguarding officers, and mentors than we do today and yet the culture in the classrooms has never been so fetid. Our staff are quitting or going off on sick in droves. There are institutions that are very different, but on average, working in a state school feels increasingly brutal
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iseefractals 1 year ago
This might be true for that particular teacher, in that particular school...but it wasn't really different throughout my school years in the 90's. My high school had 2000 some kids in it, and while there were "cliques" they all freely intermingled, no one cared about color, and no one cared about sexual orientation, and classes included students with different needs, (i.e several autistic students, a couple with downs, and a couple with CP, whom absolutely everyone adored, because we all grew up together. $hitty kids still existed of course, but they were the exception and not really tolerated by anyone.
Sharkbait1313 1 year ago
I am so greatful for this change in particular. I went to school in the late 80's and 90's and some kids could be cruel. I have an autistic teenage daughter and I was worried when she entered school that she might not make friends or be made fun of. I am so happy to say that she has made so many friends and the students are so kind and helpful to her. It's beautiful!
notreallyraine (they/them) 1 year ago
not at my highschool. it sucks. sometimes i hate living in a small town.
Michael Largey 1 year ago
As someone who taught for forty years, I can confirm what the OP is saying.
RELATED:
#2
As an English (as a foreign language) teacher, heres a positive one: the internet/phones/tablets have made English accessible for EVERYONE.
Even in countries like Egypt where the parents speak no English at all I'm noticing their kids having a great base level just from playing on their phones. Its pretty cool! Even young kids know quite a bit now
Gaerwing 1 year ago
Shame it doesn't work the other way around. It'd be nice if some British and American kids put the same effort into learning some new languages!
RP 1 year ago
I know so many people who learned Japanese because of anime and now more and more kids in school teaching themselves Korean because of K-pop
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René Sauer 1 year ago
So true. In school I was so bad in english. But then came the internet and now I am good enough that I could probably hold a conversation (but probably with a heavy accent)
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
If you catch them when they’re young, people pick up other languages much more easily. Even more incentive to expose your children to different things
Roberta Surprenant 1 year ago
Read yesterday about Australian and British kids developing American accents due to how much time they spend on their phones, partaking of American sourced apps.
Erica Ventura 1 year ago
Dual language immersion schools are really popular in California, at least in the areas I've lived. We have French and Spanish immersion schools in my town and there was a Mandarin immersion school where we used to live. If a kid starts in kindergarten they are nearly as fluent as a native speaker in their last year of high school. We're trying over here! I promise.
Jane Jayne Jain Jeign Jein 1 year ago
That sounds excellent - wish more places did that. Plus, everyone should learn sign language too.
Load More Replies... cerinamroth 1 year ago
It is good, but it has destroyed my profession (translation) because everyone thinks they're an expert in English now...
Heba Shawky 1 year ago
well, I'm in Egypt, and who says parents speak no English at all?? In Middle class Egypt, almost all parents have significant. knowledge of the language, as affordable language schools were made available to all those growing up in the 80s and beyond! while the upper middle classes are all fluent in English.
#3
Entitlement.
And not just in regards to phones. It’s everything.
Wintermute 1 year ago
As an old person, I'd like to clarify that when most of us Millennials and above say "entitlement" we're often referring to boundaries. Older generations were raised with far less agency and self-respect than kids nowadays. Sure, we all played outside more, and yes, that was a very positive form of agency - but behaviorally, there were some very serious shortcomings in the way that western society allowed kids to develop. Mostly it was allowing a polarity between praising tyrannical behavior or being a doormat. Just having self-worth and reasonably asserting yourself was frowned upon. Dominate or submit. Nothing else was allowed. Now kids have a voice, and that's a good thing.
Colleen Glim 1 year ago (edited)
A lot of the entitlement comes down to the “ customer is always right” attitude. We’ve created an entire generation of adults that think it’s perfectly acceptable to have a tantrum if they don’t get what they want
notlikeyou1971 1 year ago
Unfortunately it's more than kids that act entitled. I think when it comes to the kids it's because they are coddled. They don't here the word NO. Include everyone. Participation trophies. No consequences. They grow up thinking they will always get their way. They don't know how to lose or fail. They expect to be included in everything and can't accept rejection. They believe that the world revolves around them. Now the entitled adults,we have " Karens "and " Kevins" . We also have ppl who demand we change seats with them that we paid for. Let their kids misbehave and do nothing. Expect ppl to do what they want them to and throw adult tantrums when they don't get their way. Put their hands on ppl to get what they want ( assault) etc
Kim Kermes 1 year ago
SELF entitlement. Claiming one is entitled to something to which they are, in fact, not.
Gaerwing 1 year ago
Can you actually explain how you think teachers are entitled? All they want is to do their jobs.
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#4
A huge difference I’ve noticed is it is becoming disturbingly common for parents to explicitly tell their kids that they don’t have to follow school rules.
Need to pee in the middle of class? Just get up and go, I’m your mom and I say it’s okay.
Don’t want to put your phone in your locker? Just keep it on you. I pay for it, not the school, and I say you can have it on you.
Don’t like your assigned seat? Just get up and move. It’s not that serious, your teacher is just on a power trip.
Students are always so smug about it when they say that their mom gave them permission, and then equally enraged when they still receive the related consequence because mom doesn’t make the rules at school. And then the mom gets pissed and we have to tell her to find another school if she doesn’t like our rules… it’s insanity. Absolutely could never have been me when I was a student, and this was not a thing when I first started teaching. But this kind of attitude has grown increasingly more common every year.
Luke Branwen 1 year ago (edited)
On the other hand, NOBODY should ever have to ask the question "Can I go to the toilet?" Student, employee, no one. It's a basic human need and nobody should have a right to answer "no" to that question. "Get up and go" is the correct procedure here.
Ace 1 year ago
Of course they should have the right to go, but just like in any adult social situation, it's polite to wait for an appropriate moment and excuse yourself rather than getting up in the middle of somebody talking to you. I don't see why a classroom should be any different, just that it's the teacher who makes the decision of when they're not in the middle of communicating a vital piece of information.
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Pandarosa 1 year ago
Former educator here. Ask for a toilet break anytime, I'll always say yes, i just need to know where you are for your safety. If my school says no phones, then it's no phones, it isn't up to me. Seats are assigned for a reason, but if it isn't working for the student I talk to them about something that works for both of us together. If a student tells me parent/guardian said so, I let them know that school rules apply in school hours, but I would be happy to discuss with their parent/guardian. If I can't reach an agreement with them, it's policy to refer it to leadership. There are c**p educators, and c**p leadership too. I've worked with some, and pushed back hard against them. Sometimes parents can be counter-productive too. But there are many educators who live by the first and foremost principle that the welfare and opportunities of the student comes first, no matter what.
LuckyL 1 year ago
I'd really love for your comment to be the top comment.
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Min 1 year ago
My mother wet herself in class because a teacher refused to let her go to the bathroom. When I started school back in the early 80s, she made sure I knew that I could absolutely leave and go to the bathroom even if the teacher said I couldn't. I had to follow any other rules, but no one was going to do to her kid what had been done to her.
Gaerwing 1 year ago
They're failing their kids by teaching them not to follow the rules. I think some people forget that school is to teach them how to be adults as well - you think you're going to be able to go into a workplace and go "well my mummy said I could have my phone on me so whatcha gonna do?" Nope. (Although I'm inclined to disagree with the toilet thing, no one should have to ask permission to pïss)
Alfey 1 year ago
Honestly though, I think kids should have their phones on them. Not saying they should just use them w***y-nilly, but for safety reasons.
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Michael Largey 1 year ago
On Parent Night at the start of the school year, I passed out my classroom rules and explained the reasons behind them. Never got anything less than 100% parent support - or at least acceptance.
Guy Bare 1 year ago
Maybe it is like this because parents want their kids to live the opposite of what they went through while at school. In the 90's the rules were very strict for me. And sometimes there were also physical abuse by teachers on young kids (remember my 8 yo buddy getting slapped by our teacher....). So people want to change things and their kids to be respected and have more rights. That would be okay if it didn't fall on the completely entitled side, maybe ?
iseefractals 1 year ago
Respect is earned, not something you get to demand while being an entitled PoS at every opportunity. If you're at work, in a meeting, but sit there the entire time scrolling tiktok, or if you're perpetually late, gonna have a job for very long? How about if you decide that you like your bosses office better, and take it upon yourself to move all their s**t out and your stuff in? Miss deadlines, ignore projects to pursue the things "You!" think are more important? What if every single time your employer tells you do anything, you say "my mom/spouse says i don't have to!" School....and i know this is going to sound a little out there....is preparation for adulthood. If you can't grasp the basic in the setting of a school, you're not going to get very far in the real world, where absolutely no one has to put up with your entitled delusions.
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Lynn Marie 1 year ago
It's not just a matter of excusing someone from class to use a restroom. In our school, students need to sign out of class and sign back in again, noting the times they were gone, because we have so much misbehavior and vandalism in the restrooms. After students sign back in, we have to notify the custodian/offices so someone can go check the restroom for any signs of inappropriate behavior--leaving water running, locking doors so stalls can't be opened (they crawl underneath afterward), writing on the doors or walls, smearing feces on walls and doors, stuffing toilets to overflow, broken locks and faucets, etc. Also, if any student reports being bullied or hurt in a restroom, we need to know which students were in which restroom at the time, so it's not just a matter of "go ahead" in using the restroom. I'm not saying students shouldn't be able to use the restroom any time they need that, I'm saying it's not as simple as others are making it out to be.
Morko the Ork 1 year ago
Breed a generation that does not observe the common shared rules, and be prepared for Mad Max society
Stephanie L Thesing 1 year ago
Boy, when I was in school, the teachers’ word was gospel! We didn’t dare talk back or even complain to our parents about them. Much more respect for parents and teachers back then I believe.
Morgan NicGregor 1 year ago (edited)
I dealt with too much abuse from both the students and teachers that I quit at 16. I was born in 1962. People were complete jerks back then. Two teachers got fired for abusing me.
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Andrew Keir 1 year ago
There's a fine line between "anyone can just go to the bathroom if they have to " and "my whole class just walked out of the room and now I can't find them - but I'm still legally responsible for them".
LuckyL 1 year ago
but this fine line should be made for every student - student A need to go to the bathroom every 60 minutes all day and can't stay in a 90 minutes class. Student B just want's to skip class and leaves for 20 minutes every class. Checkin with the parents - is this valid behaviour or not following the rules. You can't just tell someone not to use the bathroom, because someone else missbehaves.
Load More Replies... #5
I think they’re nicer and have more social awareness overall, but they’re still kids. The behaviors have gotten more extreme. 12 years ago I had a very small handful of students in residential treatment. Now it’s common to have multiple. These behaviors aren’t little things I can address in class but take a crisis team and police frequently to restrain students because they’re a danger to themselves or others.
Unfortunately, residential treatment most of the time is better than their regular life (warm, safe, clean, adults care for you, etc) that they sometimes take issues to get back there.
They don’t drink and drive nearly as much, less d***s, vaping still less common than smoking when I was in school. Overall I think they’re really good people who are just struggling with the reality of the world right now and overwhelmed with information before their mind is able to process it in a healthy way and cope.
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
Social media is so bad for your mental health. Setting them up to fail before they’re even mature enough to see it
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Lynn Marie 1 year ago
Yes, and that is why schools need more social workers, counselors, and behavior interventionists. Students bring those issues into schools and we don't have the staff or expertise to deal with all of that is an effective way.
#6
I’ve been teaching since 1992. Attention spans have decreased. Dependency on spell check. Terrible handwriting. No accountability or behavioral consequences.
MadderPacker 1 year ago
I'm an Aerospace Engineer with TERRIBLE handwriting, chicken-scratch heiroglyph level terrible and one of my professors gave me a lot of s**t about it. Now that I'm working in the field, guess who hasn't used handwriting in a decade or so. People, especially educators really need to adapt to the times and learn to stop teaching only what they have been taught themselves.
keyboardtek 1 year ago
I agree. I always have illegible handwriting. I became an electronics service tech. Handwriting neatness is not an indication of intelligence. I was a top speller in school, but depend on spell check to still find my typing errors.
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Graham_Illegal 1 year ago
Wow, the exact same teaching methods don’t work more than 30 years later? Shocker. Just think about how much our entire society has changed — the way we communicate, work, and entertain ourselves etc. How the ʞɔnɟ could the same teaching methods still work, especially when they were already outdated back then?
Learner Panda 1 year ago
I will continue to highlight mistakes in grammar and spelling in the multiple e-books I read. Some of the writing is truly appalling. I let some slip by that are cultural or language differences, but otherwise - no, you are not going to make money publishing books that would have been thrown out of first grade class.
Sue 1 year ago
A lot of great authors are not great at grammar & spelling. They're great at writing stories. They have editors who handle the mundane tasks. You know what great spelling got me? A job correcting the spelling & grammar of people who made much more than I did. You're ridiculous. So keep on wasting your time while the ones who don't worry about that get ahead of you. From a person whose whole family would have discussions at the dinner table about where a comma should go.
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Sue 1 year ago
I never got to be on the honor roll in elementary school in the 70's. I got straight A's in everything but handwriting. No matter how careful I was. I'm GLAD they're not teaching cursive any more. I've literally never needed it. I doubt most older folks have as good of typing skills as the kids do too, unless they used keyboards for their work. By the time most kids are in school, they've already learned more than their predecessors have. I learned more about geography & history than I ever did in school. We didn't even HAVE geography because teachers were focusing on the reasons for war, not where they took place. But once I saw where a lot of countries were located, some of the wars & skirmishes made sense. I love to go on Google Earth & "walk" through the streets of other countries. And the no accountability or consequences has always been a thing. And if you have spell check, why bother learning to spell?
Deanna Watson 1 year ago
No one is saying that handwriting correlates with intelligence. It's a form of communication, and there's no harm in learning more than one form. A personal signature in cursive is much more identifiable (and therefore useful) than a printed name. Even if handwriting isn't important to YOU personally, it's important to plenty of other people (just like any academic subject or skill) so it doesn't hurt to teach it to everyone. Also, if all information goes digital that means everything can be more easily lost. I like the option of having hard copies of things - typewritten, handwritten, the works. YEESH, y'all.
Morgan NicGregor 1 year ago
Thanks for letting us know you have problems with people with learning disorders and aren't neurotypical. I bet I would have hated going to your class.
Mike F 1 year ago
Tryna read some of the stuff posted is a real challenge so imma agree with you.
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Joy Hild 1 year ago
I think some of these posts are a little dated. I taught for 34 yrs. Retired in 2008. I feel kids are now much more independent. They have been made to be. Going home to empty houses because both mom and dad work Parents have to work because of the cost of everything. I have 18 grands. I try to help with their extra costs. For instance this month has been $150 gor soccer, 90 for cheer, 70 for danve but 210 for 3 sisters, and 697 for school supplies for 5 kids. That does not include clothes or shoes. I hate to say this but teachers expect the independence. Kids are so smart these days thanks to the internet and tgeir independence with phones and tablets. Our school required $100 for each kid to rent a tablet. Families cannot afgord school, or extracurricular activities.
Lynn Marie 1 year ago
Students can use voice typing for certain assignments, but not all. Not everything is done on a computer, such as math. And it's not just solving the problem with numbers anymore, because now they have to show their work, explain their answer, and how they got to that answer. In addition, there is a lot of good research showing the importance of the hand/brain connection in writing, not just using a keyboard. Bad handwriting is often because people write too quickly or simply don't care. It's strange how many people on this thread are proud of their illegible writing.
#7
I thought about this today. I’ve taught high school for a decade, prior to that I was a long-term substitute teacher on and off for five years. Parents paid more attention to their kids 15 years ago. Now, they believe everything that comes out of their precious little mouths. For instance, I had to call a parent because little Johnny had 10 missing assignments. I told her and explained that he needed to make a 70 to pass and probably wouldn’t with that amount of missing activities. She said that it would be taken care of. Then the next day emailed me to say that Little Johnny told her he submitted everything and I refused to grade them. Like why would I refuse to grade a kids assignments? I’m 47.
Traveling Lady Railfan 1 year ago
I guess there have always been parents who have been lied to by their children, and the parents don't realize they're being lied to... Do you think this is more common because people are being fed more misinformation over social media over the past 25 years to the point that official sources of information aren't trusted anymore and they believe whatever source they prefer to believe? I'm thinking about all of the misinformation about politics, medical advice, etc. If you don't believe that vaccinations can save lives and you are willing to believe force-fed political rhetoric that is just scare tactics and hate mongering, then why shouldn't you believe your kid when he says "the teacher hates me and I've handed all my assignments in." If you're used to fake news, why question authority?
Tardis42 1 year ago
No, I think it's just easier to push it off on the teacher than to tell your kid they're lying and make them do something they don't want to do.
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Stephanie Barr 1 year ago
I had this problem with my autistic daughter. She said she submitted them (electronically) and the teacher said they were missing - when I'd look, they'd say submitted. I had to go back and forth three or four times before the teacher noted she'd submit them blank. That was a key detail that made a difference. She doesn't do that any more. (She got all A's with one B [89] her freshman year of highschool despite also being dyslexic so yay, her. But I did have to explain she wasn't in the right to turn in empty assignments).
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
Good on you for understanding that your daughter may have been lying to cover her behind
Load More Replies... Andrew Keir 1 year ago
Parent's accusation means it's *your* problem now. But it might be fun to ask little Johnny to resubmit - give him 24 hours for the lot... heh heh ...
KillerKiwi 1 year ago
Yep. There was a kid in one of my classes and he wouldn’t ever show up. He told his mom he was always marked absent because there was a sub or he was sitting in a different spot and she whole heartedly believed him.
Pewpie Diaper 1 year ago (edited)
This doesn't suggest that the parent "believes everything that comes out of their precious little mouths." This suggests a parent that is practicing due diligence, hearing both sides of a conflict and trying to find what is closest to the truth. As a parent, and former kid with a few awful/lazy/no-integrity teachers, I am aware that people of all ages are reluctant to admit the faults within their control in any given situation.
#8
Biggest change I see since I began in 2010 is admin not being supportive of teachers. When I began, if a kid mouthed off to me, the admin would issue punishment up to suspension. Now, I am the one punished because their attitude is all my fault.
fly on the wall 1 year ago
You really struck a cord with this submission. I did the whole teacher training thing. I was doing my final practicum when I had a student throw a pair of scissors at me. I admit I "over reacted " when I yelled at him. His punishment for throwing the scissors- he had to spend the rest of the afternoon at a desk in the office. My support- I was told my practicum would be terminated if I yelled at a student in the future. I finished my practicum but decided there was no way I could survive in that sort of a work environment and went back to my original trade.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
My first prac at a primary school, the teacher said I would never make it as a teacher if I didn't learn to yell. I still disagree with her, but I have had to yell at times. Not been disciplined, but you don't get much support.
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Pan Narrans 1 year ago
And that attitude will get teachers to stop working as a teacher! When you know the organisation will NOT have your back when it counts, you can't function as a teacher because a teacher needs the ability to enforce when necessary.
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
This goes back to weak admin - a friend of mine (in the 1980s) caught a girl writing on the corridor wall with a permanent marker. Friend took child to admin, child denied whole thing, admin bought it - never even looked at the writing. Friend quit teaching - a loss to education. The other loss to education was that the children knew they could get away with anything - not a lesson that was in the curriculum ...
Lowrider 56 1 year ago
I remember a teacher in Baltimore got beaten up real bad and the administration blamed the teacher for it.
IamMe 1 year ago (edited)
I'm not a teacher, just a parent, but I have seen this myself. After the COVID shutdowns, our school system started a new program. A small class, where the kids do the same amount of work, but online with support of a few teachers, in the room. They only go half days. Two of my kids signed up for it, claiming that the regular classes were "too loud to learn." I thought this was over exaggerating, but they really wanted to do it, and met the qualifications of good grades and behavior, so I let them. I switched to working nights, to make it possible because half days don't get busses. Now, I pick them up at 1:00, when school is in full swing, instead of at the end of the day. Oh, my God! The things I hear, from the parking lot. Kids yelling and swearing, at each other and teachers. Kids crying "Leave me alone!", while other kids laugh. It's loud, really loud. But, I never hear any teachers raising their voice, or sending kids to the office. They're simply not allowed. It's ridiculous. That experimental online class has gone from 20 students to over 80, and had to expand to another building, because it's calm and quiet. There's a long waiting list, because many kids want to actually learn, and are fed up too.
Batwench 1 year ago
Loved teaching at tertiary college, even the “cheek” ones whom, if we could use their personality for good, they could change the world. Got great support from other lecturers and classroom support. Higher admin though, didn’t give a fig about the students, only the money signs above their head. Also they hated the department I taught in, Engineering, as we are a forthright bunch and didn’t kiss their asses.
Lynn Marie 1 year ago
This is why many teachers are quitting. And not just teachers, other school staff as well. Children are not rude only to teachers.
Morko the Ork 1 year ago
100% agree What a pity I will not see the world when that generation is in power.. Crazyest movies will fall short
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
“The customer is always right” isn’t just for stores anymore. Sad but true
#9
Past: Class of 20, 1 or 2 difficult kids, maybe 3 annoying kids, and 15 really good hard working kids that want to learn. Most parents supportive.
Present: class of 20: 5-7 behavior problems, one of those a major problem, 7 -8 unmotivated and uninterested kids. 5-7 hard working kids that want to learn. Most parents not involved.
Luke Branwen 1 year ago
Because parents are too exhausted and burned out from their gruelling job(s) to spend any extra energy caring about their children's situation at school. El problema es el capitalismo, y'know the drill.
MC C 1 year ago
why do you think parents are more exhausted or stressed out than they were in the 80s? I hate when you guys say this sh!t it makes no sense.
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Farah the Turtle 1 year ago
Im one of those 5 - 7 kids who hate the classmates who dont listen and want them to stfu so i can actually benefit from listening
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
Children with behavioural problems deserve to be included. Otherwise you’re just enforcing the behavioural problems. It’s a delicate line to balance, but all children deserve a chance
Load More Replies... #10
Nothing keeps their attention anymore and nothing motivates them. I get them gift bags with a few goodies and I get multiple kids saying, "That's it?" It's not all of them but the apathy is found in the majority now.
keyboardtek 1 year ago
And this generation of unmotivated, selfish people with attention disorders will be running the country eventually, running the nursing homes we will be in. God help us!
Rhiannon Jane 1 year ago
This aged like milk after the US election and the kids didn't even vote.
Load More Replies... Andrew Keir 1 year ago
This sounds rude, I know , but - be interesting? Avoid predictability? Add humour? Not easy, I agree, but if the children never know what's going to happen next, at least they'll be watching, listening - and maybe learning.
#11
No one enjoys reading anymore. Reading for fun feels nonexistent right now. I have a lot of readers below grade level as well. I’m cleaning out my classroom library right now and I feel so sad that it’s been neglected all year.
Guy Bare 1 year ago
France here. If parents don't give their children the taste of reading, school won't be either. Let me explain : the books they "force" you to read, at school, are so boring and non-interesting for kids ! Like no thank you, not interested in your 500 pages of boredom from the 18th century. Let kids read Harry Potter or any modern litterature ! I was and I am always a great reader. But school readings were so hard for me. Only boring stuff... thinking about Robison Crusoe here...didn't read 100 pages!
Annik Perrot 1 year ago
Always à voracious reader, I found myself "blocked" over the books we "had to" read for school. No way. Now I'm " the grandma who offers books" and I read to my grandkids, as I used to read to my kids.
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justagirl 1 year ago
My English teacher says he believes that if someone doesn't like reading, they haven't found the right book.
Maggie Fulton 1 year ago
True. If a kid likes comics or something, at least they’re reading. If they learn to love reading, you’ve won half the battle.
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Fabulous chocolate cookie 1 year ago
The problem already starts with the school's forcing the kids to read uninteresting, outdated and epecially boring books. As a student I had to read around 50 books for English, French and German. And the subjects were as boring as heck. It made me despice reading so much.
Ka Se 1 year ago
I think it depends on the immediate environment in which a child grows up. If children see that their parents enjoy reading, if they are read to a lot, if time and money are invested in reading, then they are naturally more likely to associate reading with a positive activity. I don't know one person who was made to love reading through school. The fact that some dusty classics are read at school, whose actually interesting topics are usually not at all well presented by the teachers, is of course another matter.
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Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 1 year ago
I know a lot of kids who like reading personally... lots who dont of course but reading is still liked
Foodie Patootie 1 year ago
OH WOE, NO ONE ENJOYS READING aNyMOre! Get a grip, maybe the kids didn't like your taste in books. To say NO ONE is just too much. Blech!
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
They model what they see. If you don’t read, they won’t either. Raised three readers. One of whom had a working memory disability that made reading an effort for her
Pan Narrans 1 year ago
I've grown up with books, my mother started with reading them to me, and now I have a small SF&F book collection * in the attic. My 14m reads because he has to. He has so many other distractions I hadn't in my youth, his friends also do other things than reading, it's no wonder he isn't interested in them. I help him with reading for school by pre selecting great stories from with he can choose. If he has to choose he takes the thinnest... * small as in a magazine published a picture of it.
#12
Phone addiction. Their parents, too.
Joshua David 1 year ago
Im going to say it. Social media and the internet (easily accessible information bad and good) ruined the world.
Jess Smith 1 year ago
For me it's screens in general. It was very alarming when due to unforeseen circumstances I couldn't use screens for a few days and was quite literally counting down the hours, like...was I that dependent on them? Sadly it seems to be yes.
Kelly Pankau 1 year ago (edited)
This one made my last few years of teaching no longer fun, especially after the pandemic. Retired a year now--so glad to be out of there. But I think schools and districts are fed up with it and are finally cracking down. It's difficult when the whole school is not on the same page with this.
Pandarosa 1 year ago
Really Paula, and when would a teacher sit for hours in front of their students with their face in a screen?
Load More Replies... #13
Kids just seem dumber overall. Could be the area I teach in, but basic math and literacy skills have constantly trended downward here. We keep lowering the bar for interventions because we don't have enough spots if half the school needs math and reading support.
Not sure why, but they are definitely dumber on average in my area. I still always get a handful of really bright kids which is nice.
iseefractals 1 year ago (edited)
Yeah....a combination of "no child left behind" and the fact that funding is tied to test scores, so there's a financial motivation to keep pushing the dullards along rather than remedy the problem. Parents aren't present enough to know what's going on in their kids life, and in the rare instances they're informed, they act as if the solution is to browbeat the teacher or the school into pretending it's totally normal for a high school student to read at 4th grade level. 54% of the U.S reads at, or BELOW a 6th grade level, the other 21% is illiterate.
Funhog 1 year ago (edited)
I agree with your first sentence. However, I disagree with your last sentence because it states that no one in the U.S. can read above a 6th-grade level. Edit: I see that your post was updated from 79% to 54%, so my comment is no longer applicable.
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keyboardtek 1 year ago
My daughter has Tourette's Syndrome. In 3rd through 6th grade she and my wife would work on math and English homework for about four hours a night. Her Tourette's prevented her somehow from retaining much of the math procedures so every night would be a two hour refresher of what she was supposed to have learned before. Parents need to be involved on a daily basis helping their kids do the homework if they do not understand the material.
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
I don’t think that was Tourette’s. I think 5hat was just your daughter not understanding math. I have a daughter with ADHD and a daughter with Tourette’s and ADHD. The daughter without Tourette’s struggled more that the one with. Some kids get it. Some kids just dont
Load More Replies... Andrew Keir 1 year ago
Is it that the kids are 'dumber' or are they just less educated? Look behind the curtain ...
LilDumpling 1 year ago
I'm a probation officer and we're required to administer a reading assessment if we have no proof of a high school diploma or GED. I've noticed literacy rates consistently dropping in the 12 years since I administered the first assessment. It's gotten to the point where the newest edition of the assessment had to be dumbed down to match literacy rates equivalent to each grade.
Omi bub 1 year ago
Now everything is paid for by card or bought online, kids have little chance to engage with real world maths (or even a toy shop till). Also kids are less likely to have to help out with tasks now that require maths- in school holidays I would help paint our house and had to calculate the amount of paint we needed etc.
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
I’m gen X and would struggle to calculate how much paint I needed for my house. But I also work retail and the number of highschool students that hand me their change and let me count it is astounding. We’re teaching them calculus and they can’t count change!
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Jon Stuart 1 year ago
I was talking to a friend of mine last night who was shocked that at a British public school (private in the USA) we were forced to do homework every day. The thing that parents used to do when their kids were at comprehensive schools years ago cause parents cared. Personally in the 'USA' public system is not the fault of the teachers, it's the parents giving all responsibility to the school for their kids education. Over 60 years that's the one observation I find to be the most powerful. And, big And, maybe corporates have lost the plot and abuse working adults so much they are quite literally exhausted and cannot do this. Isn't pure capitalism great??? (Correct answer is NO)
WhatEvenIsLife 1 year ago
I have to say, Trump getting elected and alllllll the bull$hit that is still ongoing with him was a big wake-up call to me that a not-small percentage of the population is not as bright as I assumed. And a not-small factor in that is how crappy our public education generally is, and the fact that no one in power is particularly motivated to change that, because it tends to work to their advantage. In other words... I don't think "dumb" is anything new. And I don't know that "dumb" is the right word for it. More like, ignorant (not trying to be insulting; it literally just means not knowing something) and lacking critical thinking skills, which can and should be taught, but don't seem to be.
#14
Year 22 starts in July. I don't know if I can put it in words, but there's an air that little children have--it's a combination of silliness, joy, fearlessness, creativity, curiosity, imagination, and sweetness. Occasionally some naughtiness creeps in but it's all very innocent.
They want to climb the tree on the playground all by themselves and they want to know why that chrysalis didn't ever open. They jump up to do the silly dance and hold a friend's hand when they're nervous during a fire drill. They're excited when you hand them a new book or toy or a piece of candy. They want to show you their new backpack and when you give them free choice time, they know exactly what to build or draw.
I've taught K-1 most of my career and while many little kids still have all of these qualities, it's astonishing how many kids don't. You hand them a piece of paper and they say "I don't know what to draw" or "I don't like to color". You encourage a little tree climbing at recess and they say "No, I could fall". You put on a silly dancing song and they not only refuse to stand up, they sit there whining "This is BORING". The water during Science turns blue and they say "Whatever."
I think they're growing up too fast. They're physically risk-adverse but they'll talk to strangers on Snapchat. They're afraid of looking silly or getting dirty or drawing attention to themselves by asking a question. They'd rather be on their phones more than anything in the whole wide world, but since they're at school, a Chromebook will do. If they're asked to do something challenging or "boring" they'll run to the counselor to complain about their big feelings so they can get access to a screen to "calm down".
My kids are 5-8, generally, and they've just...lost a huge developmentally appropriate part of their childhoods. It's going to have long-lasting societal repercussions.
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
I'm concerned that kids have no (or little) chance to just play. Calvinball is an educational experience :-)
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
Because we’re asking them to be mini adults. Let them be kids. Let them explore, and get dirty, and catch frogs, and drink from the hose. We seem to have lost this somewhere along the way
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 1 year ago
I mean im young, in a science lab looking around like an excited child rambling about it all to my friends via my phone, all hope isnt lost
WhatEvenIsLife 1 year ago (edited)
I don't see how this is the result of "woke." All woke was ever about was acceptance and inclusivity - in other words, raising our collective emotional intelligence. This sounds to me more like an issue related to things like addiction to screens, social media, the pandemic, people struggling because cost of living has sky-rocketed, etc., and people just generally feeling like the world's been on fire for years now and it doesn't seem to be getting better. There's a collective sense of doom that's affecting everyone I know.
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#15
level of curiosity . . . almost non-existent today. When I started in the 90s, there were always a handful of students in every class that wanted to know "why?", but in recent years, it's either "just tell me the answer" (If they haven't already Googled it) or "who cares? Just mark it wrong".
She speaks poniards 1 year ago
But don't they look it up ("googling it") because they're curious? May not be the best info, but just means they also need to be taught information literacy ~
iseefractals 1 year ago
It's less curiosity and more wanting the answer, so they can get the grade. Curiosity isn't about getting the answer, it's about getting the answer and seeking to understand the how and why.
Load More Replies... Manana Man 1 year ago
I really don't understand this. I can't watch tv without a phone or tablet cuz I'm constantly wanting to look up things: words, historical references, you name it. Life is boring without curiosity. And I think humans are born with it, so what have we done to these kids that's killed it?
Tyranamar Seuss 1 year ago
It hasn't. She says they google it. That's curiosity. Asking google why is just as curious as asking teacher why.
Load More Replies... Tyranamar Seuss 1 year ago
"Googling it" is asking why. Sorry teacher, you're not the only source of info anymore.
Graham_Illegal 1 year ago
Again, a teacher is surprised that the same teaching methods don’t work more than 30 years later. Hardly anything operates the same way as it did in the '90s, yet they somehow expect to teach children the same way they did decades ago — before the internet, social media, smartphones and tablets, the widening gap between rich and poor, underfunded social services, housing crises, climate anxiety etc, etc...
Traveling Lady Railfan 1 year ago
Reading this, I'm thinking of one thing. When I was a kid I loved learning facts and trivia. Loved it. I don't know how many other 7-year-olds found Jeopardy to be their favorite show but I used to watch it with my grandma. My favorite gift was "world of knowledge" books. And when I was in high school, I joined the school "Reach for the top" team (which is sort of like Jeopardy but for high school students). As the internet became more pervasive and we moved away from desktops to laptops to smartphones so basically anyone can have a computer on them at any time, and anyone can look up a fact at any time, I've become far less interested in acquiring trivial knowledge. There's no achievement in knowing something, and remembering it, if anybody can Google it in literally one second. Why waste the brain capacity remembering things if Google can do it for you, it seems. (Which isn't great)
Eve Jordan 1 year ago
The problem is that these days it is all about the exams, I want to ask why but the teacher would often prefer not to waste time on content that is not in the exam
Foodie Patootie 1 year ago
I call BS on this too. The information is right at their finger tips and the kids know it. The curiosity is mainly what piques the kids' interests. As it always has but now there's an easy way to find out about a massive amount of things. Just because they skip asking why doesn't mean that the curiosity isn't there. Hate these be all end all Doomsday posts.
keyboardtek 1 year ago
I used to repair digital pianos. I was working on one in a high school's piano lab. One student asked my why my screwdriver was sticking to something inside the piano. I started to explain it was a magnet on the back of a speaker. I started to explain how a speaker converts electricity to sound and the kid just wandered away with zero curiosity about how electronics and sound works.
#16
I’ve moved schools so I’m gonna have a rare opinion; they got much better in every area possible. Smarter, kinder, more respectful, self aware, less entitled.
The difference between Philly and the suburbs.
Gaerwing 1 year ago
Wow, so kids struggling with poverty are harder work and more troubled than the kids growing up with money in the burbs? What an absolutely shocking revelation 🙄
RP 1 year ago
But a useful one to highlight. Because talk about this generation like it's a generational problem or a technology problem without thinking about the fact that that middle classes are disappearing and that poverty has increased at an extreme rate. Poor kids have always been at higher risk but there are a hell of a lot more poor kids now. It makes a difference
Load More Replies... #17
The reliance on an adult to solve any problem. Not being accountable to themselves.
Guy Bare 1 year ago
Caring for your children doesn't mean you need to make everything for them. At home and at the most young age possible, show them how to cook, repair, clean the house, sew, swim, etc etc. They're small, not dumb.
Michael Largey 1 year ago
At the other end of the spectrum, there are students who think they have all the answers all by themselves. I believe they call themselves "teenagers".
keyboardtek 1 year ago
As a kid in the 1960's, most of what we learned as kids was from the freedom to run wild around the neighborhood. By age 12 we were riding our bicycles, in the street, all over the city. We would be gone all day and our parents never hovered overprotective of us.
Morgan NicGregor 1 year ago
If you did that now your kids would be taken away.
Load More Replies... Morgan NicGregor 1 year ago
Now if you try to get a kid to be responsible or behave you might get a visit from CPS. You can't raise your voice or discipline you kids anymore. I would tell people to not even bother with kids anymore.
#18
I've been in early childhood for 10 years now, was a sub for about 5 years before that. What I've noticed since covid is a profound lack of social skills.
Not just a lack of curiosity or emotional disregulation, which I've seen in spades, but an inability to play or talk or cooperate with other kids. Each kid is their own little island and they have zero interest in visiting other islands.
I've literally had to teach five year olds how to play basic "toss the ball" games or "work together to build a wall of blocks" whereas before, they would be coming up with wacky calvin-ball type games on their own and pulling everyone under 4 feet tall into the game with barely any effort. Now, I might as well be trying to teach them physics in Klingon.
RP 1 year ago
This must be country specific though. Kids in my area all go to kindergarden from the age of 1 or three at the absolute latest and it's play-based not class based. They have such good social skills it's terrifying to me. They will literally talk to you like a normal human being and will definitely have no issues playing together (aside from the normal expected amount of not wanting to share if someone's had a bad day). These are all kids who were affected by the lockdowns as well.
Taffy Renee 1 year ago
One year off from covid does not cause a lack of curiosity or demotional disregulation. All that started before covid. Beyond sick and tired of people using that as an excuse.
Gaerwing 1 year ago
It's so sad. I think lockdowns have a lot to answer for, they've crippled the social abilities of an entire generation.
Lynn Marie 1 year ago
Yes! The number of students who have social skills goals on their IEPs seems to go up every year. They don't know how to communicate well or deal with frustration, and they're not learning those skills at home.
#19
Screen addiction. To their phones. And when you take their phones away, it’s the school issued device screen. When you tell them to put those away they either sleep or get indignant - like how dare you tell them to do school while in school.
AI dependence. Because they can’t kick their screen addiction, they have terrible reading skills but also even worse writing skills. So they’ll turn to plagiarism and/or use AI. They also can’t spell or know when to capitalize things because every don’t read. This is high school.
Apathy. They just don’t care and/or see the value of education. Why bother because they’ll just become social media influencers or YouTubers. And with credit recovery, why bother passing the class while they’re sitting in it because they won’t write the paper. Despite the fact the teacher had a week of instruction of how to write the paper and class time to work on it and then another week to finish the paper. And daily reminders after that to turn it in. But they fail anyway because they didn’t turn it in, take the class in credit recovery where they never have to write a paper. Meanwhile, they waste their time staring at their phone during class.
Trista JW 1 year ago (edited)
If AI is the problem, the solution is simple: fail the bastards. AI is unacceptable and letting them pass is even worse. If they face sh1t at home for failing their damn classes, they will have to pull their heads out of their asses and do their work. And DRILL IT into their STUPID asses that being an "influencer" or "streamer" is NOT a job at all. Slap them in the faces with a cold, hard dose of reality, just like I was when I was in highschool many years ago. The b******t HAS to stop.
Matthew Wolfe 1 year ago
FYI public schools in my area at least never fail students
Load More Replies... Guy Bare 1 year ago
A solution for stopping the use of AI : stop giving them homeworks. Make them write only while at school under the surveillance of the teacher ? They are already all day long at school, when they're home, they probably want to finish their homework as soon as possible and use AI so it's quickly done. Stop the homework.
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
However, they do need to practice their newly-learnt skills. The football coach doesn't just tell the team the new play and walk away... they drill it in, until it's knowledge in their bones. Classes work the same way.
Load More Replies... Joshua David 1 year ago
Im sorry but why are devices allowed on school property. We recieved messages from the office if our parents called us and they'd let us use the office phone. Something wrong with that?
Ace 1 year ago
I love the poor use of English in this post. "They also can’t spell or know when to capitalize things because every don’t read.". What now?
JJ 1 year ago
"every" seems to be the only mistake and it might just have been autocorrection of "they". Or English is not their first language.
Load More Replies... keyboardtek 1 year ago
Also textbooks are so poorly written these days. Only a few publishers in conservative Texas provides all the USA's textbooks. The books are so censored of any interesting controversial knowledge. Students find the material so dull and poorly presented. Just reading about something is rather dull for kids. Sitting still for hours in a desk all day! They are activity and hands on learners in youth.
#20
It is all about the phone addiction and the ability to get anything they want on demand.
Like I can't show movies or videos anymore because it is all boring to them. It is boring because they have Netflix on their phone and they can watch whatever they want at any time. It isn't special to watch a movie.
Or kids have major trouble listening. I can give whole class instructions, but they don't listen. They have earbuds in or think it doesn't apply to them because there isn't an algorithmically generated content pop up for them.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
I tear my hair out every day because kids don't listen! Like, no recognition I've said anything at all most of the time, when they do, often they yell/talk back to me. I've tried talking quietly and calmly, giving them plenty of warnings, warned that I was take toys off them etc, all the things you are supposed to try with neurodiverse children, and I get nothing.
DC and S 1 year ago
For the first time ever this last year, I had to explain the purpose of listening to instructions. "I am going to tell you exactly what you need to know. By the end of my words, you should know what to do. Ready?". ... Worked like a charm actually. But yeah, had to explain the concept of listening.
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Andrew Keir 1 year ago
I can see a problem with 'whole class instructions' where the children are used to being one-on-one with their screen/device. A worksheet - even if it's the same for everyone - might seem more personal than just 'teacher talking at the front of the class'
#21
Been teaching middle school for 12 years. Kids are now testing lower then ever. I’d say, I have around 10 - 15 middle schoolers that are testing at a 1st - 3rd grade level. Student also lack the ability to be resourceful and persevere. They give up the moment something gets too difficult. They can’t write and can barely hold a conversation. The parents are also getting lazier and dumber. I really feel like a lot of my parents should have had their tubes tied so they’d never have kids.
keyboardtek 1 year ago
My neighbor's son is 15. He came over to see what I was building in my garage. I tried to tech him how to use a hand saw. Measure a length of 10 inches and draw a line across the wood with a t-square. He had no clue how to read a ruler. No clue that there are 12 inches to a foot or three feet to a yard. This in 10th grade!
FoxEcoLimaIndiaCharlieIndiAlfa 1 year ago
Honestly this entire thread is just confirming my fear of getting old and having to rely on these people, in order to live any type of quality of life, as I age. I'm being 100% genuine and honest, when I say this. How fùcked up am I, to hope to not have to live long enough to ever have to find out?
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
Part of the problem, to me, is the compartmentalization that goes on. "Well...that's the teachers job"...no, Susan, it's yours/and your mates too. But... we had a 1st grade teacher who chastised my wife for teaching our daughter to do BASIC reading over a summer.."why did you do that?Now she'll be bored". So the flip side is true as well. Make up your minds, you want us involved...or not?
Morgan NicGregor 1 year ago
Right wing parenting makes you incurious and thinks learning is for fools.
RightSoFar 1 year ago
What a f*****g stupid comment. Spoken like a true Libtard.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 1 year ago
Not been my experience, but I've mainly taught preschool/kindergarten.
#22
I am a newer teacher but just the past couple years have shown me that parents DESPERATELY need better rules/boundaries when it comes to tech. Elementary schoolers don’t need brand new iPhones or to be playing video games for hours unsupervised.
We have our own kiddo and I absolutely will not be giving her access to a smart phone until high school.
Montanavanna 1 year ago
If you don't think a device is crippling your children then take it away for a day or two and just watch them. Their capacity for imaginative play will bloom right in front of you. Their curiosity, their interaction with those around them, their interest in doing things will all increase.
RP 1 year ago
Not it's not. It is responsible and informed by research. It's fine to learn how to use a computer and this should be taught, but giving kinder and primary school children smart phones is not helping them learn about tech. We're actually getting one of the most tech illiterate generations coming through because they're used to using interfaces but don't understand the mechanisms behind them. I have university students who don't know how to use Word. There is no reason for a child to have a smart phone and every reason for them to not. If you want to teach them about social media and tech etc then you have set aside dedicated time for that on a family tablet or computer under supervision
Load More Replies... #23
I started in 1997. I have several observations:
1. Kids are not curious. They have the world at their fingertips but no academic interests.
2. Phone addiction
3. Maturity. When I had 8th graders between 1997-2006, I had to watch for kissing in hallways, making out under the bleachers. Now, my 8th graders don’t know how to communicate let alone be in a relationship. My 8th graders play tag in class. It feels like they are 4th graders. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad not to see all the making out and PDAs, but there was definitely a shift when the iPhone came out in 2007.
4. Litigious parents… get a life. Let your kid problem solve and figure things out. Build character and perseverance instead of “clearing their path” and threatening teachers and admin o er the slightest thing.
#24
I’ve been teaching since 2016. Reading stamina seems to be the biggest one.
Wintermute 1 year ago
I've noticed this even with myself. Before I deleted the distraction apps off my phone I had a hard time concentrating on books. Now I can focus again. Non-essential mobile apps are cancer. It should be illegal for kids to have access to most of them.
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
Once kids get used to cartoons with squeaky voices, books seem less attractive. But once they start to look for nuance and subtlety in characters and plotting, the printed word comes back on top. One possible compromise is to offer 'books on line' - so they can be read on the children's phones or tablets.
#25
Shorter attention span
Less creative play
Worse fine motor skills
Writing (mechanics, handwriting, and ideas) are much weaker
Less support at home
But my gosh they can figure out how to beat the Chromebook filter in no time.
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
May I also add, no fear of consequence? If my folks got a notification that I was googling "Boobs" on my Chromebook, it would NOT have gone well.
Wendy Harris 1 year ago
This one right here. I deal with this on a daily basis. Kids come in on their mom's or dad's phone or they have an iPad, but can't remember what a B looks like or count up to ten. Whew! I pray every day.
#26
They literally have no concept of consequences.
The number of stories I have read, videos I have watched, and incidents I have witnessed where a young student gets into serious trouble simply because they refused to follow simple instructions just amazes me.
For example, young man was told to leave a McDonald's (not sure which city, didn't catch that part) by a police officer and he just simply ignored him. Finally left, only to walk around to another door and go back inside. Officer arrested him, and he was completely confused as to why. Between all the cussing and other words we are not allowed to say/type it boiled down to "I'm hungry, so I'm going to get something to eat!".
Ace 1 year ago
I think we have to assume that he was causing a nuisance and had already been asked to leave by the staff. The reasons are irrelevant, it's the fact that he thought that, having been forced to leave, he would then be OK to just come back in again.
Load More Replies... #27
I found a video of myself student teaching in the mid 90s. Something I must have had to do for my practicum. I was teaching a lesson on direct/indirect objects. There were 26 kids sitting in rows, facing me, listening, raising their hands, and answering questions. The lesson was (upon reflection) pretty straightforward but not very exciting. Then I turned them loose onto some sentence writing and circulated around the room to check in here and there.
So besides the very 90s fashion choices, I was blown away by what I saw. The behavior of the kids was like something out of a time capsule. I remember having 1-2 “hard” kids, but there they were answering questions about indirect objects. No one was yelling, swearing, crying, or having a tantrum.
#28
Kids now are belligerent when you ask for their phone —straight up refuse. I have to call admin to come get phones. They just say no like I gave them an option.
I’ve never had a kid destroy property and scare the class until this year, and I’m lucky that I’ve made it this long.
cerinamroth 1 year ago
With how harmful and addictive phones are, it would be great to see them banned for kids until age 16 like smoking and drinking (I'm in Germany). Watch them get their attention span and hobbies back, it'll be like magic.
RP 1 year ago
Honestly, I'm starting to agree. I never thought I'd be THAT person. But we're seeing the results in real time. I think you should be allowed anything until we've proven as a sociat that we cannot cope with it. We've proven that we (parents) cannot be responsible with phones. They need to go
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 1 year ago
"I’ve never had a kid destroy property and scare the class until this year, and I’m lucky that I’ve made it this long." my feelings exactly, except that's the way it was at my first job and now since I started my new job 2 years ago.
#29
I'm an art teacher but god damn their handwriting is sh*t. Comically big, completely illegible, letters not formed correctly, not within lines/margins if it's on loose leaf paper - straight up looks like a 1st grader wrote it. And this would be reg ed junior high...
Sometimes I feel so frustrated at them not getting incredibly basic art concepts and techniques, such as copying a similar value/line/angle or whatever, then realize they can't even write a letter g correctly, and it makes sense. They really cannot compare the likeness of something, be it letters or where a line should be placed. Concerning, as this was not something that I dealt with 10 years ago, outside of students with special needs. I have to use projects I used to do with middle schoolers with my high school classes. Projects I used to do with elementary are now used at the MS level. It's sad and scary to see the regression.
UnicornSnotRules 1 year ago
I'm an occupational therapist, and the amount of students that get referred to me for handwriting skills is astonishing. Most can't write/distinguish between upper and lower case letters - and these are middle schoolers. It's because learning to write has taken a back seat to typing/device use and testing. What people don't realize is that learning to write and prewriting skills helps us to learn all kinds of other useful skills besides actual writing!
Lowrider 56 1 year ago
My 2 step daughters, in their 20's, can't write in cursive and what they do write is a mess. Misspellings, indecipherable letters and very sloppy looking. When I was in grade school we had classes just for writing. Yeah, I'm old.
Graham_Illegal 1 year ago
As someone who has completed an MFA and a DLA in visual arts, I have to say that you don't grasp "art concepts" if you're approaching them through standardized handwriting and copying values, lines, or angles, rather than focusing on self-expression and visual communication.
#30
I run a knitting and crochet group at the high school I work at. Most of the kids are interested in crochet. As I'm teaching them, I have noticed quite a few kids lack the fine motor skills to manipulate the crochet hook and yarn.....like way beyond the "I'm a beginner" sort of mistakes one would expect to see.
Gaerwing 1 year ago
That's twice lacking fine motor skills has come up, how odd. I wonder what the cause is?
WhatEvenIsLife 1 year ago
This is just a guess, but maybe because kids are spending more time on screens at younger and younger ages instead of doing the things kids did in the pre-screen days: drawing, playing physical games, playing with things like Play-doh and Legos, etc.
Load More Replies... Andrew Keir 1 year ago
But I expect they can type on a phone screen much faster than you can. Maybe, look at what they *can* do - and try to vector that into a skill that achieves what you want them to achieve. They use thumbs more than we ever did , for instance - start with that?
#31
There's a total lack of independence or ability to do anything for themselves. Honestly, there is a lack of motivation to do anything slightly difficult.
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
Again...goes back to the home. "I can't". "Yes you can, and here's how, now YOU do it. It's ok to fail, but you are at LEAST trying".
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
"Ever failed? Never mind. Fail better". Failure is the beginning of progress, not the end.
#32
15 years in: kids do t have hobbies any more. They think playing on their phone is a hobby.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
Most kids I know are overbooked after school. Gymnastic, dance, basketball, footy, martial arts...they have a lot of hobbies.
Winter 1 year ago
That their parents chose for them, and then indoctrinate them that "It'll be good for you/fun/make you stronger/more able to look after yourself" etc. Ask the kid, before mother and father have had a chance to pick something for them, and I think you'd be very surprised at their choices!
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Luke Branwen 1 year ago
Yes to this - I'm a tutor (not a teacher, technically) and there's nothing more soul-destroying than seeing those kids with absolutely no passions, no hobbies, no genuine interest in anything except the endless TikTok slop (and I'm not even that old - young millennial).
Atom Bohr 1 year ago
I teach 1-1 online. I have a kid who practically every day recently (summer holidays) has said he's done nothing except play on his phone. Yesterday he told me he'd watched his brother and cousin play on their phones. He'd watched. That's it. I asked what they'd been playing - he only knew what his brother had been playing because he hadn't seen the screen of his cousin's phone. That was his day.
Joshua David 1 year ago
Kids are so dumbed down by thier own parents. Crying? Heres a tablet. Pare ts who allow tablet use unrestricted should have CPS called on them.
Mapenzi Jp 1 year ago (edited)
It is a hobby. But not to your standards. They use tools available in their's era. I'm pretty much old parent. And all that I read and hear about is children's screen addiction. People my age and younger speaking about it. And listening to them I have a feeling that these people are so much older than their real age. 'When I was young...' Tipical generation gap. People tend to compare everything to their experiences and thinking that their ways were better. Having this young child I have a feeling that new worlds and ideas are opening to me. In the beginning I was very much against videogames, Youtube. But my child is way more fluent in English, foreign language for us. In reading and in writting even better than his own mother language. Way more advanced than I was in his age. He is constatly looking for and learnig strategies, tricks, and improving. Why would someone collecting napkins consider a hobbie, and playing games not?
Gaerwing 1 year ago
Your kid is using technology to learn, which is a good thing and should be encouraged. That's not what this post is talking about. A vast majority of these kids are just mindlessly scrolling tiktok for hours. That's not a hobby.
Load More Replies... #33
For about 70% of them, their mental age is nowhere near their chronological age. Especially middle schoolers. Their mental age seems to match their reading grade level.
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
We may have to re-define how we calculate mental age? The goalposts may have moved, and it seems unwise to just ignore the advent of social media and instantaneous world-wide communications.
#34
Two things
1. Attention span has dropped in increase proportion to cell phone appeal. We fought texting twenty years ago. Now we fight the universal dopamine dispenser.
2. Respect for authority and leadership. There were always some kids who challenged your authority, but they could usually be dealt with early in the year and they either cut it out or found themselves in alternative school. Students now see no difference between a teacher and a student, getting upset when the teacher uses a phone, lighter, knife, or unblocked website to do part of their job. "You're not supposed to have a knife!". No, child, YOU are not allowed to, as a STUDENT. I am not restricted because I am an ADULT doing my JOB.
#2 is probably fanned by our systematic inability to make good on the discipline promised for #1, and due to growing parental and political attacks on teachers.
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
"I can do this but you can't, 'cos I'm an adult and you aren't" - may be true but still needs to be explained and justified to the young. They deserve this, at least. AND - how does "the discipline promised for #1' relate to 'pupils' reduced attention span'? If we want their attention we have to earn it, justify it and/or persuade them to give it. It can not be demanded and should never be enforced (outside of a prison, anyway).
Roberta Surprenant 1 year ago
same as when they start work, "why can't I take an hour and a half lunch, so and so did!", "well, so and so is your boss so gets to set the rules".
Load More Replies... Graham_Illegal 1 year ago
The fascistoid statements about "respect for authority and leadership" and "cut it out or find themselves in an alternative school" should disqualify anyone from educating children.
#35
Fine motor skill seems to be way down. I teach instrumental music, and kids figuring out where to put their figures and how to maneuver them has gone way down since COVID.
#36
I just finished year 34, all in upper elementary and middle school.
Back in the day, I'd have one or two kids in a class who didn't give a flying f**k and who did literally nothing. Now it can be a third of the class. It's mind-blowing.
I will have several assignments over the course of a trimester where *less than half of the class* will get the thing done and turned in. Nearly every assignment will have a couple of kids who write their names on and then turn in *blank pieces of paper.*
For the first time, I'm having multiple kids not bother to finish their iReady diagnostics—they'll just sit there looking at the screen for several days until the window for administering the test closes.
#37
Attention span of a goldfish and it has to be entertaining or else they totally tune out. This is 2nd grade. Also the rudeness towards others, kids and adults.
#38
When I sub, I *rarely* see students reading books or drawing for fun (even in art class); they mostly use their laptops/phones to listen to videos or play games (with no headphones, of course — because f*ck other people, right?), but even more baffling are the ones who are told to put devices away that just sit in complete and total silence and do nothing but stare at the desk the entire class. They don't do worksheets, they don't do homework, they don't draw; nothing.
I'd definitely goof off or draw a little in classes I found boring, but I literally can't imagine not doing a single productive thing the entire day. These kids are turning school into a prison for themselves, rather than "I overall like this, but there's a few classes that suck."
They even get home room and recess now! I never got that. :(
Trista JW 1 year ago
Stupid fvcking phones, i-whatevers, tablets, kindles and personal laptops need to be banned from all schools
LavenderHippoInAJar 1 year ago
Personally, I don't have a problem with Kindles as much as the rest of those, as long as they're just for reading books. As long as there's no real way to do anything but read on them, I don't see how they're that much worse than books, and they can be really useful for someone like middle school me, who sometimes couldn't carry all their books with them.
Load More Replies... Lynn Marie 1 year ago
They can't deal with life without technology. First day of school and I'm out with the other teachers greeting students and monitoring the playground. I notice children lining up to go into school before the bell rings. I tell them there's still plenty of time to play and they (about four of them) tell me they're bored and want to go inside. Later, kindergarten students ask their teacher what time they get to watch TV. Still later, about two weeks have gone by, and the kindergarten teacher tells me to come listen to her class who are coloring pictures. I hear strange mechanical type sounds coming from some of the children. The teacher tells me they are imitating the sounds they hear from video games, not even aware they are doing it. They do it because it's in their heads and soothing to them. She said they are being raised by machines.That was one of the scariest things I ever heard.
Sharkbait1313 1 year ago (edited)
Ii miss the days of kids "talking too much in class" or passing notes. Even ditching class with their friends to hang out in some area of the school that wasn't patrolled. I miss those types of friendships/relationships between kids. It seems like you don't really see the groups of friends that always hang out together, or super tight friendships where they are spending as much time with each other as possible, having sleepovers or eating dinner over at each other's homes.
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
A kid sitting in silence is always a bad sign - and there probably aren't enough staff for the children to be individually challenged / interested / educated. My only hoe for those children is that every step forward in literacy - starting with the invention of writing - has been challenged by those who stuck with the old ways . Read Simonides on the use of writing to record poetry - or the vitriolic reaction of the Church to general literacy ("Who are these people who think they can read the Holy Books for themselves?"). There may well be a change coming, and we can't see what it is yet - but it will almost certainly be progress.
#39
My (high school, foreign language) first 3 years were at a good public school. A competitor for best school in our state. My next and current 3 years were at a public charter which ranked DEAD LAST in the state for all high schools. My reason for moving was location and necessity and survival.
The kids at my current school are quantitatively, qualitatively, and gut analytically much less intelligent in all respects. It's fascinating in a sad way. All humans are programmed to learn a language, so we all have the same machinery. But my former students believed in their machinery and my current ones don't - they just assume everything is too foreign and it's just funny and embarrassing to talk different.
So my change was quality of students. Deep south - I hate to say it but they are as dumb as they come. I start a new job next month at the best school in the state. Hopefully they still care.
WhatEvenIsLife 1 year ago
If you're talking deep south - and I live in the deep south, and went to school here - it's not that they're less intelligent. It's that there's a very active culture of anti-intellectualism in a lot of places. The south tends to be more conservative and more religious. In my state, there's a constant push for things like creationism to be taught in public schools. Our state board of education is a bit infamous for things like wanting to adopt factually inaccurate textbooks. There's huge blowback against things like critical race theory and factually accurate sex education. People mock universities as "liberal brain washing." It's an entire vibe down here, man. Not everywhere and not everyone, but it is pervasive.
Hassel Davidhoff 1 year ago
This is precisely why I truly hate living in the U.S South. I've lived here 21 years, moved from a foreign country for reasons that are my own and I'm kind of stuck here, at least for the next 10-15 years. It sucked when I got here and just keeps getting worse. An angry, stupid, scared, pathetic populace that is embarrassing to live with. I feel like an alien a lot of the time. I don't have a lot of friends because I'm a bookish, left-wing, educated, atheist, vegan guy with a funny accent. It's tough. I wonder if these folks realize how stupid they look to the rest of the world? I wonder if they did realize, would they even care? I have my doubts.
Load More Replies... Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
Yes, but, at the public charter they could talk about Jesus right? So long as the demonic public school is not teaching my child critical thinking, and how to overcome differences with others, praying will cure it all. Just think, the trend is in this direction.
Michael Largey 1 year ago
If a charter school is part of a public school system, or is its own public school system, separation of church and state still applies in the US.
Load More Replies... #40
At the start of my career, on days leading up to and day of an assessment my mornings would be absolutely devoured by students seeking extra help. Like, a full hour before the first bell I'd be circulating around answering questions and I would have to make a turn order and consolidate kids who had the same questions.
Last three or so years? Absolutely silent. One kid might come in and ask me one question they didn't really need to ask and just want some reassurance.
Dragon mama 1 year ago
They also take 5 times as many of those test as I did. Feels like there's a class exam or a school exam or a state exam or a nationwide exàm every darn week.
LavenderHippoInAJar 1 year ago
In my Latin class in high school I had a quiz/test every week, just as part of the class structure
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 1 year ago
My teachers always said not to try and cram right before an exam/test. If you don't know it the night before, you won't get it to stick for the exam. Better to get a good night's sleep and breakfast. Maybe it's finally caught on that self care is still important before an exam.
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
Reassurance is the start of individuality - nearly anyone can, if they choose, obey instructions, but understanding them takes courage and personal growth.
#41
The apathy is unreal.
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
Sorry, I can see (I think?) how heartfelt this is, but it fails to explain the underlying feelings. Tell us more.
#42
The maturity level has been reduced about three or four years since I started in 1990.
Luke Branwen 1 year ago
Idk, I'd say the kids are forced to mature faster nowadays. In this hyper-capitalist meat grinder, they're expected to have perfect school score, a job at 15, move out the day they hit 18, have a career at 20... there's barely any room for any real childhood.
#43
You are going to see a lot of the same responses, so I thought I'd add a couple of variations:
1) level of curiosity . . . almost non-existent today. When I started in the 90s, there were always a handful of students in every class that wanted to know "why?", but in recent years, it's either "just tell me the answer" (If they haven't already Googled it) or "who cares? Just mark it wrong".
2) parents' belief that any parent-directed time out of school (vacations, family reunions, etc.) are just as - if not even more - valuable as being in school. (On top of this, I am expected to provide makeup work for students that have missed days for this - ha!).
Bec 1 year ago
In the US we don't have a standard school calendar, school]s operate on all kinds of schedules. I think it is ok to pull kids out some, as long as students are able to master what they need to.
Bec 1 year ago
But I teach at a community college and we offer free summer classes to high school students. I have had kids tell me they have a family vacation or tennis camp and are going to miss 1-2 weeks of an 8-week class. No, you made a commitment, you can miss as much as you want but there may be consequences for missing quizzes or work you can't make up. My homework is online though, so as long as they do it, I don't care if they come to class.
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Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
Yes, but...go ahead and tell your boss the critical project you are in the middle of is unimportant 'cause you are getting family time. Most teachers will have NO problem assigning work to be completed during a vacay.
Load More Replies... Hmmm hmmmm 1 year ago
I'd argue that if you have family that you only get to see once every couple of years , then maybe that is more important than one day of school
Kelly Pankau 1 year ago (edited)
Natural consequences--if you're choosing for your child to miss school, that choice may affect your child's progress. Some can handle it, others not so much. But the teacher shouldn't be the one working the hardest in this situation, as it is YOUR choice to keep your child out of class. Fortunately, with technology and learning management systems, teachers are often posting assignments online anyway.
Kelly Pankau 1 year ago (edited)
Several years ago (pre-technology), I had a 7th grade math student who was going to be gone to Vanuatu for the whole month of January. Met with the mom a couple of times--I couldn't predict exactly what I would be doing each day and we had a problem-solving curriculum, but gave her a book and put together assignments that would cover the same topics. Even gave the mom a resource book that she could refer to so she could help her daughter. When the daughter returned, I asked what she was able to get done. Nothing. "It was too hot."
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Ange Marsden 1 year ago
Our current govt is looking at fining parents for every day of school their kids miss - meaning more holidays for the rich kids and less lunch money for the poor ones
#44
At the highschool level it's participation in extracurriculars. It's hard to get kids to join clubs and what not.
René Sauer 1 year ago
And? If they don´t want to join clubs that´s nobody´s business. Maybe they have enough stuff on their plate elsewhere to care about clubs.
Ellinor 1 year ago
I agree. I used to do so many sports and stuff and then one day dropped all, because I could not keep doing that longer. (I was called a quitter but at least I had time after the day to do other things.)
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Andrew Keir 1 year ago
And if they do, parents are sometimes suspected of 'encouraging' them into it. Kids want to be kids, and there's a whole new world of social media out there that us adults hardly even realise; and kids want to 'play' with kids. Little change there.
FoxEcoLimaIndiaCharlieIndiAlfa 1 year ago
True, but if more kids chose to play at these after school clubs and activities than being on social media, this would be less of a problem.
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#45
They are just so much more casual with people in positions of authority. .
WhatEvenIsLife 1 year ago
I think this is kind of a "pendulum swinging too far the other way" thing. When I was a kid, you had to "respect" authority to the point of putting up with all kinds of c**p from adults simply because they were adults and you weren't allowed to call them out on it. It didn't matter if they were being illogical, unreasonable, petty, or downright stupid; if they were an adult or authority figure, you just obeyed. We didn't want our kids to suffer the same way, so we taught them that just because someone is older doesn't automatically mean they're right. In some cases, the attitude may have swung a little too far in the direction of "no one in a position of authority ever needs to be taken seriously."
Andrew Keir 1 year ago
Depends on, what authority (Cartman or police?) but maybe teachers may have to work at *earning* respect rather than *expecting* it. Also a good thing, imho.
Load More Replies... Ellinor 1 year ago (edited)
I was always punished because I couldn't (like honestly could NOT) understand why I had to bow to the teacher if they flat out disrespected someone. Like that kid who was punished for another one's mistake (just because he was the troubled kid), I defended him against the teacher and was punished for "Insolence" ??? Like no I'm not going to respect someone who does that. (And I have a thousand of examples.)
#46
Over my 11/12 years honestly.... very little really.
Lazier hair.
Fashion has looped back around and now all of my clothing from high school is in style.
I guess kids are way less aware of what is happening in the world than 10 years ago since people don't watch TV news anymore or get newspapers, they aren't passively exposed as much. Though I still think the average kid today is more informed than the average kid pre-internet.
Grenelda Thurber 1 year ago (edited)
It might seem like kids are less informed about happenings in world than they used to be, but the amount of information (and disinformation) is so much larger than it's ever been. Kids are hugely informed about some things, just not the things that their teachers might think they should be. I feel like I'm drinking from a fire hose when I check up on the news. And most of what we call "news" isn't that at all anymore. It's morphed into being whatever makes us scared and/or angry. It's propaganda. It's how they keep us watching and clicking. I avoid "news" channels as much as possible these days. It's better for my sanity.
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
You can't openly talk about what is going on in the world without triggering some clownish parent who figures you are grooming their kid to be a "liberal". Had a citizen ask me, a janitor, if "they" were teaching critical race theory. I replied, "Jim, if you are talking about what happened in places like Tulsa, and Greenwood, Fl. , where entire communities were destroyed for doing "separate but equal", and were VERY successful at it, shouldn't kids be taught about that so it NEVER happens again"?
Isaac Harvey 1 year ago
I assist with seasonal martial arts day camps. I think my main issue is that parents nowadays expect camps/extracurricular activities to be full substitutes for parenting. Teachers shouldn’t be expected to be the only ones to teach basic etiquette. Even a schedule chock full of extracurricular activities isn’t an excuse for lackluster parenting.
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RP 1 year ago
So many of these issues are coming from parents not doing their jobs. But this isn't just because parents randomly decided not to parent one day. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but the insane increase in rents/housing prices and gutting of social services and stable employment means both parents working full time (plus extra side hustles for many) but nothing in the system (like high quality daycare - it's terrible in Australia) or full school days.
Fishpanda (fish/panda/it) 1 year ago
However, these can also occur if a parent is too strict and controlling. There has to be a slight balance.
Load More Replies... Pan Narrans 1 year ago
I might get some flak for this but what is mind boggling to me is that in last years class of the intern three of them were in gender transition. In a class of 20! To me, gender dysphoria is real, and I have met some in a support group long ago. But three, in 20, is unfathomable for me. There will be a very big scandal in 10-20 years. Lots of regrets, and much blaming.
Fight Hypocrites 1 year ago
I agree completely with this. I don't know how old the kids are that you're talking about, but there are facts to support your statement. 1) Some of the kids that "want to transition " haven't STARTED PUBERTY yet. How in the heck do they "know" that they're the "wrong " gender when they don't fully understand the all the differences between male and female (there's much more than vagina vs penis). They haven't begun producing the amounts of estrogen and testosterone that they will as teens and adults. Those hormones not only make us develop and function as one gender or the other, but have drastic effects on our outlook; both mental and emotional. How many of you out there wanted to be a boy/girl when you were 3 or 4 because (insert pre-schooler logic here). I wanted to be a boy because I wanted to pee standing up outside (lived on a farm) and not squat because it can be messy. Also, I wanted a cap gun. Santa brought a cap gun. He did not bring me a penis.
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Miss Tinker 1 year ago
As a teachers aid I can relate to so many of these. So sad & frustrating to see children in Kindergarten & 1st class (I’m in Australia, so the students are ages 5-7) who don’t know the alphabet & struggle to spell their own name. Not the mention the countless times I have to tie shoelaces for 8 & 9 year olds because Mum & Dad haven’t bothered to teach them. Learning starts at home, yet it seems some parents expect teachers to do it all…
kelsischloe1986 1 year ago
I'd argue that a lot of working parents are so overworked and overwhelmed and spend the majority of their time breaking their backs trying to earn money. They don't have the time to be there for their family. It's always easier to say a parent just doesn't want to be a parent. when in reality, this world works against everything we actually want to do and enjoy doing outside of working. When you sit down and really think about it, majority of people are good people doing the best they can in a very messed up system that is constantly against them. Yes, there are parents that do not care and are not doing right by their children. But it's very few compared to those of us that would love to be there for our kids and enjoy raising them. but unfortunately, most of our time is spent working not to mention trying to sleep just to be able to get up and go back to work again. I figured I would give a different perspective on this subject.
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Grenelda Thurber 1 year ago
I started high school in 1979, and I heard almost every complaint listed here about "kids today" when I was a kid. We didn't have the internet or cell phones, but we had more of everything than most of our parents did, we had cars, our own bedrooms, telephones in our rooms, televisions in our rooms, the latest albums and fancy stereos, the latest jeans and tennis shoes, and in the case of my parents, indoor plumbing. We didn't appreciate any of it as much as older people thought we should, because that's all we knew. Elders have had the same complaints about kids since the beginning of time: Socrates (469–399 B.C. ) QUOTATION: "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households."
Ace 1 year ago
I think that every generation of teachers since the dawn of time will say exactly the same as this, with only the props changed. The older the teacher gets, the less tolerant they become and the more they remember their own education and how much better it was (in their own head).
RP 1 year ago
True to a certain extent, but there are measurable mass changes in society that make it idiotic to assume there wouldn't be visible effects on students. Smart phones are one of the biggest. AI is the next.
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Scott Rackley 1 year ago
From someone who has to teach these kids a skilled trade after the teachers are done, WTF. No attention span, no critical thinking, no perseverance, no initiative (that's the one that irks me). It's like teaching a goldfish how to bake a cake. I know it isn't all on the teachers but god damn.
Blue Flower 1 year ago
I am a product of the 60’s, I feel your pain. I could never imagine bringing up a child in this day and age.
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Squiffle Noses 1 year ago
A lot of people talk about 'teachers' a pejorative fashion. Most teachers I remember were very good of very bad and had very little in common in their approach to children. I genuinely believe that a few of the F hated children. we need different words for different types of teacher so that we can talk about them properly.
Fabulous chocolate cookie 1 year ago
The biggest difference between now and then that I see around here is the growing number of fatbikes (electronic bicycles), phone addiction, tiktok culture, the normalization of carrying knives on the street, smoking/vapes/drinking from the age of 12 and especially the fact that parents neglect their children so much that these children seriously misbehave towards others. Furthermore, everyone is now on tiktok or other social media and children are almost born with an iPhone in their hands or are given one shortly after birth to keep them quiet.
RP 1 year ago
So many of these issues are coming from parents not doing their jobs. But this isn't just because parents randomly decided not to parent one day. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but the insane increase in rents/housing prices and gutting of social services and stable employment means both parents working full time (plus extra side hustles for many) but nothing in the system (like high quality daycare - it's terrible in Australia) or full school days.
Fishpanda (fish/panda/it) 1 year ago
However, these can also occur if a parent is too strict and controlling. There has to be a slight balance.
Load More Replies... Pan Narrans 1 year ago
I might get some flak for this but what is mind boggling to me is that in last years class of the intern three of them were in gender transition. In a class of 20! To me, gender dysphoria is real, and I have met some in a support group long ago. But three, in 20, is unfathomable for me. There will be a very big scandal in 10-20 years. Lots of regrets, and much blaming.
Fight Hypocrites 1 year ago
I agree completely with this. I don't know how old the kids are that you're talking about, but there are facts to support your statement. 1) Some of the kids that "want to transition " haven't STARTED PUBERTY yet. How in the heck do they "know" that they're the "wrong " gender when they don't fully understand the all the differences between male and female (there's much more than vagina vs penis). They haven't begun producing the amounts of estrogen and testosterone that they will as teens and adults. Those hormones not only make us develop and function as one gender or the other, but have drastic effects on our outlook; both mental and emotional. How many of you out there wanted to be a boy/girl when you were 3 or 4 because (insert pre-schooler logic here). I wanted to be a boy because I wanted to pee standing up outside (lived on a farm) and not squat because it can be messy. Also, I wanted a cap gun. Santa brought a cap gun. He did not bring me a penis.
Load More Replies... Miss Tinker 1 year ago
As a teachers aid I can relate to so many of these. So sad & frustrating to see children in Kindergarten & 1st class (I’m in Australia, so the students are ages 5-7) who don’t know the alphabet & struggle to spell their own name. Not the mention the countless times I have to tie shoelaces for 8 & 9 year olds because Mum & Dad haven’t bothered to teach them. Learning starts at home, yet it seems some parents expect teachers to do it all…
kelsischloe1986 1 year ago
I'd argue that a lot of working parents are so overworked and overwhelmed and spend the majority of their time breaking their backs trying to earn money. They don't have the time to be there for their family. It's always easier to say a parent just doesn't want to be a parent. when in reality, this world works against everything we actually want to do and enjoy doing outside of working. When you sit down and really think about it, majority of people are good people doing the best they can in a very messed up system that is constantly against them. Yes, there are parents that do not care and are not doing right by their children. But it's very few compared to those of us that would love to be there for our kids and enjoy raising them. but unfortunately, most of our time is spent working not to mention trying to sleep just to be able to get up and go back to work again. I figured I would give a different perspective on this subject.
Load More Replies... Grenelda Thurber 1 year ago
I started high school in 1979, and I heard almost every complaint listed here about "kids today" when I was a kid. We didn't have the internet or cell phones, but we had more of everything than most of our parents did, we had cars, our own bedrooms, telephones in our rooms, televisions in our rooms, the latest albums and fancy stereos, the latest jeans and tennis shoes, and in the case of my parents, indoor plumbing. We didn't appreciate any of it as much as older people thought we should, because that's all we knew. Elders have had the same complaints about kids since the beginning of time: Socrates (469–399 B.C. ) QUOTATION: "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households."
Ace 1 year ago
I think that every generation of teachers since the dawn of time will say exactly the same as this, with only the props changed. The older the teacher gets, the less tolerant they become and the more they remember their own education and how much better it was (in their own head).
RP 1 year ago
True to a certain extent, but there are measurable mass changes in society that make it idiotic to assume there wouldn't be visible effects on students. Smart phones are one of the biggest. AI is the next.
Load More Replies... Scott Rackley 1 year ago
From someone who has to teach these kids a skilled trade after the teachers are done, WTF. No attention span, no critical thinking, no perseverance, no initiative (that's the one that irks me). It's like teaching a goldfish how to bake a cake. I know it isn't all on the teachers but god damn.
Blue Flower 1 year ago
I am a product of the 60’s, I feel your pain. I could never imagine bringing up a child in this day and age.
Load More Replies... Squiffle Noses 1 year ago
A lot of people talk about 'teachers' a pejorative fashion. Most teachers I remember were very good of very bad and had very little in common in their approach to children. I genuinely believe that a few of the F hated children. we need different words for different types of teacher so that we can talk about them properly.
Fabulous chocolate cookie 1 year ago
The biggest difference between now and then that I see around here is the growing number of fatbikes (electronic bicycles), phone addiction, tiktok culture, the normalization of carrying knives on the street, smoking/vapes/drinking from the age of 12 and especially the fact that parents neglect their children so much that these children seriously misbehave towards others. Furthermore, everyone is now on tiktok or other social media and children are almost born with an iPhone in their hands or are given one shortly after birth to keep them quiet.
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