" I think they ’re growing up too tight . "
There’s been a lot of buzz on the internet for the past couple of years about how kids are doing in school these days. Many are doing just fine; but from phone addiction and apathetic parents, to lack of socialization and outright disrespect,lotsof them are doing poorly in school.
With developments such as theLAUSD cell phone banand the New York billlimiting addictive algorithms for kids under 18, it seems that the general public is getting in on the “kids are not OK” conversation when it comes to how the world’s changes — namely, technology and COVID — are affecting children’s development. And who knows the details of that front better than the kids' teachers?
1.“I’ve been teaching since 2016. Reading stamina seems to be the biggest [problem].”
2.“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 fuck and who did literally nothing. Now it can be a third of the class. It’s mind-blowing.”
3.“I’ve been in early childhood [education] for 10 years now, [and] was a sub for about five years before that. What I’ve noticed since COVID is a profound lack of social skills.”
4.“Fashion has looped back around and now all of my clothing from high school is in style.”
5.“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.”
6.“I’m an art teacher but God damn their handwriting is shit. 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 [is] junior high…”
7.“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.”
8.“28 years of experience… It’s genuine kindness. Kids are so much more kind now than they were when I started in the ’90s.”
9.“Level of curiosity… [it’s] 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’ or ‘Who cares? Just mark it wrong.'”
— atomic number 92 / Pretend_Screen_5207
10.“The kids at my current school [in the Deep South] are quantitatively, qualitatively, and gut-analytically much less intelligent [than those at my last school] in all respects. It’s fascinating in a sad way.”
11.“When I sub, Irarelysee students reading books or drawing for fun (even inart class); they mostly use their laptops/phones to listen to videos or play games. (With no headphones, of course — because fuck other people, right?)”
" But even more baffling are the ones who are told to put equipment away [ and ] just ride in everlasting and total silenceand do nothing but gaze at the desk the entire class . They do n’t do worksheets , they do n’t do homework , they do n’t line ; nothing . "
— u / Seamilk90210
12.“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.”
13.“Been teaching middle school for 12 years. Kids are now testing lower than ever. I’d say I have around 10-15 middle schoolers that are testing at a 1st-3rd grade level.”
14.“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 Thomas Kyd might come in and ask me one question they did n’t really need to ask and just need some reassurance . "
— uranium / enigma7x
15.“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.”
16.“Phone addiction. Their parents, too.”
— uranium / coskibum002
17.“Started teaching in 2013. [The] biggest differences are phone/screen addiction, learned helplessness, and lack of accountability.”
18.“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.”
“…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.'”
19.“The maturity level has been reduced about three or four years since I started in 1990.”
— u / Felixsum
20.“As an English as a foreign language teacher, here’s a positive one: the internet/phones/tablets have made English accessible for EVERYONE.”
21.“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.”
22.“Fine motor skill seems to be way down. I teach instrumental music, and kids [being able to figure] out where to put their fingers and how to maneuver them has gone way down since COVID.”
23.“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.”
24.“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.”
25.“I am a newer teacher, but just the past couple [of] years have shown me that parents DESPERATELY need better rules/boundaries when it comes to tech.”
26.And, finally: “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.”
— u / fleet - tom - Tom Hanks
If you have thoughts, I’d love to hear them down below — especially if you work in education or if you’re a parent. Or, if you prefer, you can tell me what you think via this anonymousGoogle Form. Who knows: your comment may be featured in an upcomingBuzzFeed Communitypost.
mark : Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity .