Recently, a teacher went viral on TikTok for talking about just how behind students are in school. "I teach seventh grade, they are still performing on a fourth grade level," @qbthedon said.
Many teachers stitched or commented on the video with their own similar experiences.
Since that video went viral, I've come across quite a few videos of teachers saying that today's kids are much different than previous generations, both in performance and behavior. In one case, a creator revealed that she kept a TikTok folder containing all of the videos she saw of teachers crying as a result of Gen Alpha's poor behavior.
So tell me, whether you're a teacher or parent, what school-related issues are your kids having that weren't a thing when you were their age?
Maybe you're a teacher and you've noticed that trying to keep the attention of the class is basically non-existent compared to 10 years ago. You are convinced that, because of social media and TikTok, today's students' attention spans are much shorter.
Maybe, like this parent, you've noticed your younger students are much more aggressive and disrespectful to their peers. You often have to manage explosive tantrums you haven't seen in your years of teaching.
Maybe you're a parent and you've noticed your youngest child has struggled much more with mental health than your older kids did. Your daughter isn't a teen yet, but she wants expensive skincare and makeup and is much more aware of her body image than your older kids were. After school, she spends much less time outdoors and more time online.
Perhaps you're a teacher and there's more of a systemic issue at your school. Your school forces you to pass kids in order to meet quotas and secure funding, which results in students falling behind. Now, further hindered by the pandemic, your students are struggling to keep up, and not much is being done to address it.
