Gen Alpha Can't Read And It's Worse Than You Think

[@promisemochi]

i'll never forget watching a youtuber in her early 20s say "wait do parents actually read to their kids? i thought that was just something that happened in movies" and my heart broke. growing up, i was always read to. even if it was just for 5min before bed, it was just part of the routine. she really genuinely didn't know that parents should and are "supposed to" read and encourage reading to their children.

[@K000H]

That's actually so sad, indeed. Both my parents would take turns reading to me and my brother. And as we grew older they would encourage us to read alongside them more and more, until we took over the reading and started reading by ourselves before bed. I stopped reading at some point as a kid and started thinking it was for nerds, only because that's what all the other kids said about reading. Then my older sister got me into a book series after showing me a movie, and i was obsessed with reading again after that. As a 12yo i'd show up to school with 700+ page books for reading projects, while everyone else went for the barely 10 page Dora-the-explorer level books. Through my ups and downs in life like any other person, i can firmly say one of my proudest moments in life were as a child in school having my novel writing tests always be the one read to the rest of the class for being both articulate and creative. For a long time i wanted to be an author. (Didn't go that rout cause i fell in love with another art form more) But that just shows how inspired and dedicated i was at a young age from the simple fact that my parents sat down with me to read.

[@aesthetic_hehe]

Wait! Parents teach kids??? My parents couldn't even help me with my school, i don't blame them though cause they are illiterate. But I kept watching KZbin videos with captions on and learned to read and write by myself. I was so good to the point that I knew most words even before my teachers taught me. My classmates were always asking the meaning of the simplest words.

[@bea7823]

I’m 22 and my mom read to me when I was growing up.

[@sluttyMapleSyrup]

Oh that breaks my heart, too. I was read to, but it quickly became me reading to my parents, because they cared and they let me pick books that piqued my own interests (granted, when your kid's into dinosaurs, ancient history/mythology, and space, that's not hard) rather than letting me get toys from the local bookfairs or forcing me to read pre-vetted books.

[@TheCatConqueor-iw4ly]

My grandma reads to me, my mom does too. Except my brother refuses to let them, he doesn’t care about punishment at all.

[@meatcandlepoeple5126]

I'm 18 and I have a Gen Alpha brother who's 7. My parents barely try when it comes to educating him when compared to me when I was his age. They don't even bother teaching him how to do certain things on his own that which they taught me even earlier. They told me the main reason why they gave my brother his own tablet was because everyone else got their kid one. Freaking crowd followers.

[@MiiCreator23]

Same! I’m 14 and have a 6 year old sister. They were more fussy over me than her.

[@theoddbox]

22 with an 11 year old sister. By the time I was her age I had been taught to do my own laundry, cook my own meals and do the dishes. I was even made into the defacto babysitter. My sister can do none of those things, I ask my parents why she can't when I could at her age and they write it off to her adhd despite the fact I was basically made to act as a third adult in the house at 11 while having not yet diagnosed autism

[@MiiCreator23]

@@theoddbox same!

[@Blue71974]

@@theoddbox parents get lazier with each subsequent child, I’m 27, have 24 and 21 year old brothers and even though we’re older I saw it with them too, nowhere near as strict as they ever were with me and I was also given the role of taking care of them. Birth order psychology is a real thing I’m convinced of that and I don’t know why parents get lazier I can only imagine how much worse it is now with Gen Alpha siblings.

[@wintig245]

My mom refuses to make my brother do anything, meanwhile I was thrown straight into independence very early on. I feel bad for the kid.

[@PeoplepersonOG]

As a teacher in Brazil, I have to tell you: we don’t even have a choice. They tell us to pass as many kids as possible to the next grade, otherwise the school won’t get proper funding for the next year. It’s truly bizarre.

[@forgottenanimator4474]

Man,that's truly bizarre. As a student (from Brazil too), I saw so many teens/young adults that were so bad in their behavior, teachers were saying that they were being worse than students from the 7th grade ( and sometimes,even worse than the pre-schoolers),,yet, nobody heard them and they just kept ruining the class. Sometimes, most of the classes were like "the class being disturbed,the teacher trying to stop it so she could teach us" and then it repeats,over and over again (with the only class that was a exception being physical education). It was so bad, the teacher was so piss off, she stopped her religious class and for the rest of the class, she tried to tell the monitors that the students were being little monsters. Not even the monitors can stop these types of students, as they see as something normal. And with that info you passed,I am fearing what will our future be.

[@milacolman]

Here in Argentina is the same, my cousin is 10 years old and he still can't read o write properly but they let him pass to next grade anyway. I'm gen z and I had to learn to read and write at 6 otherwise you couldn't pass.

[@qjtvaddict]

Brazil too?

[@firebat36]

Schools babysit kids so parents can go to work, and your job is to train workers, not educate children. We need them to have an HS degree so they can go to work, they dont need to be smart to work. If you thought you were there for another reason, you should change professions.

[@gabbo13]

Now it's everywhere. Students can't respect the teachers and viceversa because they'll face consequences with the parents, directives and the board.

[@Treblaine]

"We've solved cyber bullying, the kids can't even read mean words online"

[@ChloekabanOfficial]

**distorted tada.wav**

[@jloiben12]

Modern problems require modern solutions

[@goldfish1837]

Broooo 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@SarahJareth]

Its hard to stalk victims when they can't read or follow basic GPS instructions

[@toonman361]

I applaud your directness. Ultimately, anyone who neglects reading is doomed to poverty and destitution.

[@ddd09ish1]

I used to work as a martial arts instructor The most flabbergasting effect I ever had On a kid was the parents disbelief when I expected them to Read I insisted and basically strong armed the parents Into actually sitting down and reading for their child They were startled With the changes that came out over the next few months They were reading better They were behaving better They were listening Parents matter so much and they often undresstimate how much they mean to their kids

[@jows1374]

what did you want them to read?

[@ddd09ish1]

@jows1374 low key, ANYTHING The reading is less important then the quality time with the parent We had some activity books they could use that worked on things like communication skills and self esteem though.

[@MarieAnne.]

@@ddd09ish1 It's wild that it took a martial arts instructor to get them to do this, instead of the child's teacher. But they knew that you were under no obligation to teach their child martial arts, while the school had to take their child, so they were more motivated by you.

[@ddd09ish1]

@@MarieAnne. gosh you are giving me flashbacks to a year or two ago. thats exactly what we would tell the parents they dont like school because they HAVE to be there. They listen to us because they WANT our respect and praise. ugh. ow. my heart.

[@patrickmcathey7081]

We had similar martial arts requirements book reports for each belt past orange otherwise you couldn't grade.

[@carolinec3951]

A teacher in my local public school said they’re not allowed to hold a child back because the student would be harassed for being “stupid”. So every year this child is farther and farther behind.

[@Lynn-Lynn-Lynn]

Farther is physical… further is figurative

[@kenyonbissett3512]

Had a student in special education math getting 100% on all her class work and tests. There was a step up class that would be more challenging and another special teacher didn’t want her in the class because if she failed it would devastate her. We argued that her goal is to quit school in less than 18 months, she already felt like a failure. She switched classes on a trial basis. We explained that it’s common for a student to get C’s first quarter and then B’s second quarter to not give up. She ended the first semester with a 88/B+ and the second quarter with an A. By the end of the school year, she no longer planned to quit and ended up graduating HS. My point is it’s important to address the problem and then encourage them to move on. Students are not stupid, they know if they are failing or unable to keep up with their classmates. They will quit as soon as they are allowed in most cases to find something they can succeed with or worse turn to drugs or alcohol.

[@KS-un3pi]

No child left behind has screwed all this up!! My kid was making A's and B's and struggled to read in 2nd grade!

[@navalemon]

Yep. It’s normally the admins fault because they are too afraid to hold students back (and or force teachers to pass failing students), and it sucks to see how this all gets played out

[@vanessarichardson110]

Back in my day, it's either that or pass the grade. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@Nikki-ks6wi]

From teaching for years, 1. Stop passing them if they are behind 2. Let teachers teach what ever way each student understands 3. The districts need to let school track instead of telling schools they HAVE to teach this one way of a subject 4. Require reading time proctored online once they are home

[@QueenSorrow5150]

It started with no kids left behind..

[@kenyonbissett3512]

The problem with not passing is when you get to middle school you can have 15/16 year old boy/girls mingling with 12/13 year olds. Unfortunately predatory behavior happens. T is a recipe for disaster.

[@cbbcbb6803]

​"No child left behind" was just a catch phrase. It never meant anything.​ It was a term for politicians to sound like they were doing something important. @@QueenSorrow5150

[@najpotenicewolf934]

I feel we should destigmatise not passing a grade. It shouldn't be treated as punishment or a reason to shame someone. Some kids need a little more time to mature and get the hang of things. I feel at certain moments in my life it could have been beneficial for me to prolong my education a little more. I don't think it would really count in my future opportunities, as long as the final results were better. I feel that at certain points I was too immature and developmentally delayed to be able to reach my maximum potential at that point in time. Tbh. I was kind of an exception in my school years, with a permanent health condition and the early years of my childhood spent in hospitals. So every adult was quite understanding that I may have problems. Other children unfortunately not so much. :(

[@kenyonbissett3512]

@@najpotenicewolf934 I agree! Something no commonly know is that a child is ready to read at 4 or not again until late 7 til 8. USA tries to push through, force feed a skill they are ready for. This effects more males than females because the male brain focuses more on gross motor movements like running, jumping, climbing, etc. at that stage. This doesn’t mean they can’t learn, just their brains and body are geared elsewhere.

[@arcanine_enjoyer]

"Im not reading allat" is a common response I get to my messages because I like writing all my thoughts in one message if it's a slow discussion (whereas in a fast discusson I would chop it up into blocks based on whatever thought comes up) It is frustrating because it shows how people are too lazy to read nowadays, even if it is something they could easily take the time to read.

[@ldawg7117]

I see people commenting that all the time on comments that are like barely paragraph long.. at most maybe a paragraph or two. It's just like.. ok..but _CAN_ you even read that? Like, if you see a paragraph or two and think that's a lot to read, I must immediately assume you're barely literate.

[@ldawg7117]

I've literally seen people say that under comments as long as yours or mine. Shit is always just.. depressing/disheartening. I do the same as you, btw. Not sure why some people think sending the same amount of shit, but though like 50 texts us better haha. Seems way more annoying, in my opinion.

[@JimmyJones-w3p]

Damn guys tldr.

[@ldawg7117]

@@JimmyJones-w3p reading is hard, huh? Illiteracy is an epidemic. Sorry your school failed you, lil buddy...

[@JimmyJones-w3p]

@@ldawg7117 well fuck I'm going to delete my comment now. I was making a joke alongside your commentary but I see now that irony is lost on you.

[@nathan51782]

I'm not a teacher or anything, I'm Gen Z (2003), but I've also seen a staggering rise of people who are younger (either Gen Alpha or late Gen Z) who just seem to have absolutely no empathy or sympathy for others. The amount of people I've seen who dismiss, go "who cares" or "womp womp" "nobody cares" directly to people who are expressing pain is horrific. I want to have hope for the future, but if people aren't forming sympathy skills then I don't think there is much hope.

[@kathleenscarborough5481]

Empathy comes from the arts and reading great books which help us understand ourselves and others.

[@LettuceGayming]

Yeah ii’l say some stupid shit like “krill issue” if it’s something minor but I cannot imagine saying that in response to something actually serious

[@spacedinosaur8733]

@@kathleenscarborough5481 It also doesn't help when modern society says: "I can't understand what that person is feeling because "they don't look like me". Growing up in the 80's, the most impactful and emotional event is when a 50' tall robot dies. I'm not 50 feet tall and I'm not a robot, but my father died when I was very young so I can understand the grief of the characters around him.

[@nostalgicumbry3279]

Nah that's all over the place. I'm gen Y (1989) and I can remember being younger the amount of times i've been told "No one cares" "It's your problem", whenever i've tried to express something to someone, has possibly mentally scarred me to the point that I don't even talk about my feelings, emotions, or even physical pains. Though now, gen alpha has the term 'trauma dumping' which i find a bit nasty. Like if someone is having a hard time, they came to you because they trust you and feel they can get comfort from you, but all you're gonna do is say they are trauma dumping. Why are you even their friend if you want to feel that way?

[@nostalgicumbry3279]

@@spacedinosaur8733 OMG yes or even the opposite "You're not black, a woman, lgbt, etc*. So you have no input on xyz topic" is the most annoying thing ever. Like why do you have to be part of a certain group to understand harassment or something negative. I'm sure nearly everyone has been a target of some sort of harassment in life. *These are the most common ones i hear

[@Devils.harp.player]

I hate to sound like a boomer, but this is what happens when you let the iPad raise your kids. Gen z still had to read books, magazines, and other stuff. Gen alpha doesn’t really do that.

[@Lady.Fern.]

Well the boomers raised the parents thats are doing the shitty parenting no one group is to blame, it’s just a whole lot of crappy parenting!

[@goldstarsforall]

god yes, I was born in 2002 and whenever we went out I brought a book with me... I remember asking my Mum multiple times to ask if I could read at a table if we where waiting for food... its crazy that she used to take books away from me to get me to watch TV as a family.

[@DogMechanic]

For what it's worth, I think it could be helpful to these parents to turn the sound off on the iPad, and turn on subtitles. Subtitles have been studied in relation to reading abilities, and they can help with reading comprehension. It's obviously not a complete fix, parents still need to spend time reading with their kids, but I know that sometimes, a parent just needs ten minutes to take a poop in peace, and an iPad makes that possible, so subtitles/captions would be a fair medium in those circumstances.

[@Saltedroastedcaramel]

@@DogMechanic Yeah there are solutions to the ipad situation outside just not giving your kids one. Education apps and games do exist. It seems like people are ignorant to the fact the "iPad" kids is the symptom of the tv and video games scenario that's still prevalent

[@peggedyourdad9560]

@@DogMechanic I'd say take it a step further and introduce them to shows and movies with subtitles. I was born in 2001 and I think watching anime with subs helped my reading comprehension since I had to read to understand what was going on. And a side effect of this is that I'm still a huge fan of anime lol (not the weird kind of anime fan, I promise). My mom also had me and my younger siblings watch a lot of educational children's programming growing up as well which helped me retain a desire to learn into my adult life. Those shows also slapped and me and my siblings went out of our way to watch them together (Wild Kratts, Sesame Street, Word Girl, etc ftw). I believe there are ways to incorporate technology into child-rearing in ways that can be beneficial in helping them retain knowledge by giving the children opportunities to apply said knowledge.

[@andrewsawdon2170]

Your comment on anti-intellectualism really struck a chord with me. I like to read on break at work and one coworker (we're both gen Z) said that he hasn't read one book in his life, and sounded proud of it too. Each time he catches me reading on break he has to bring attention to it as if I have two heads. One time I was wrapping up my break and he asked me if "story time" was over, in a really infantilizing way. You could make an argument that reading in public is performative and for some people I think that's true. I just use most of my free time to read in general. This air of anti-intellectualism in my generation is at best annoying and at worst scary. It's even scarier to see it dialed to 11 with gen Alpha, especially as someone who's studying to be a teacher

[@mollyk3768]

I’m sorry your coworker is pestering you about reading, it sounds like he could definitely use a high dose of intellectualism. I’m curious what you mean by public reading to be performative. I deleted all personal social media apps over a year ago so I missed this whole convo on tiktok or another. I think that even if someone is “performatively” reading in public, wouldn’t it still have a possibility of influencing others to read more? And through the act of “performative” reading, maybe the person could actually come to love books? I guess I’m not sure what the performative aspect is, like “I’m better than you because I’m reading a book and you’re all on your phones” type thing?

[@chocolatemint9225]

I don’t think reading in public is performative at all. It’s just reading. I push back at the term because it seems like people doing bad things aren’t performative they are just out there living their lives. But if you do something that’s good, decent, moral or uplifting you’re accused of being performative?

[@beybladebaby]

It's certainly performative if I'm doing it because I'm kidding myself if my socially anxious ass can focus on more than a sentence in public with all the noise and distractions 😂

[@Sepi-chu_loves_moths]

It helps to read on a kindle app or something so people don't pester you :)

[@PrincessNinja007]

Probably an overcorrection from when millennials were kids tbh. I could write some really in depth analysis of the manga I read, but one of my core memories is being SCREAMED at in the library because this "ani maya" stuff isn't really reading and I should go get myself something that will ACTUALLY be useful. But not Shakespeare because that might make me want to be a lit major, I need to read something scientific

[@anonymouscausethatshowirol828]

I’m gen Z. I had access to KZbin pretty early, but by that point my parents had already cultivated a love of reading in me. I always hated my bedtime, and for a very short time my parents allowed me to stay up so long as I was reading. They had to stop because I was getting 4 hrs of sleep. Even after that, I would sneak in post bedtime reading whenever possible. Ultimately I think the biggest impact for me was that reading was my easiest and most readily available entertainment, and that we had a large enough collection and enough borrowed library books that that wasn’t a bad thing. I was reading Pratchett by 6th grade as a result. Even when I was struggling in school due to undiagnosed and untreated neurodivergence and mental illness, my reading level always was 2 years ahead even as my coursework was 3 years behind. The private school I went to had no special ed, so they stuck me with the librarian instead, and I gravitated towards nonfiction and learned history and science. Eventually once my ADHD was treated and I was at a different school I rebounded, and was in the gifted track by 7th grade, took 12 APs, and was salutatorian. Long story short- if you’re gonna give your kid an IPad, consider a kindle instead, and don’t put restrictions on books given reading level. I could read satire at 11, give your kid higher reading levels early and they’ll rise to the challenge

[@froggsmile]

my dad got me the PJO box set for my 6th birthday. definitely influenced the direction of my life, even as many other challenges came up...at least I could read. and i wanted to read. my little brother is so smart but because of how he was "raised" (read: each of his parents has maybe one 5 minute conversation with him a day and otherwise lets him do whatever he wants and play video games) he doesn't have the patience for anything other than video games, and he hardly has the patience for that. also kindles these days function basically as an android iPad. So parents, do your research before handing your kids things, actually watch your kids, and...I would say make use of built-in parental controls, but there's nothing in there that wouldn't be prevented just by you watching your kids (and watching them is probably much more effective at most of them).

[@JamesBond-sr7fw]

Great comments and advice ☺️

[@shilatozier4254]

This comment is truly inspiring! Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry you struggled but glad of where you ended up.

[@danigarcia758]

Lack of Community spaces also can affect children's way of learning as well. No parks, very few after-school activities that don't require money, lack of community libraries etc. All negatively effect kids social interaction and so their only option outside of school is online. Which in turn doesn't foster a environment that encourages learning over entertainment. The old adage of it takes a community to raise a child really holds weight.

[@mynameisreallycool1]

Also, even when parks and libraries are around, parents don't want to take their kids there due to lack of time or them not caring enough to take them, and then these parks and libraries aren't close by or in places where kids can safely walk alone to these places. Then these places get torn down because the city thinks, "Oh well, I guess kids don't like parks or libraries any more..." when in reality, these kids wanted to go but weren't able to.

[@InFondRemembrance]

I think this feeds into the parents being burnt out as well. Statistically, parents are spending more time with their kids than ever, but it seems like being *with* a child all the time is in some ways detrimental. We socially shame and punish parents for not supervising their kids during every moment of their lives, so they never learn to be independent or have unstructured socialisation with their peers. It's hard to see when parents are meant to get a break. Third spaces and spaces where kids were allowed to have a degree of independence (malls, arcades, parks, libraries, community centres, heck, just playing with the neighbour kids in the front yard) have disappeared, and so all of that socialising is done in the home. And, with fewer multigenerational homes forming multigenerational neighbourhoods, parents (and particularly mothers) have had to step into the gap, while also shouldering the weight of full time or multiple jobs. I do not envy parents or teachers these days, it's miserable.

[@goldstarsforall]

@bradleybrown8428 In London their definitly is. Scouts and Guides, Boys Brigrade. These ALL GO from 4-18 years old. Yes you wont be able to find a space due to the lack of volunteers but clubs are still out there.

[@tlucas7031]

Related to this- and this may be a controversial point but hear me out- the general public has stopped going to church but not really replaced it with anything. I’m not saying this as a religious statement, but just a social one. Churches used to be major community organizations. They’re certainly less so now. Kids used to spend Sunday mornings in Sunday school. Even if you don’t believe in the religious teaching there, it was still another day of education. It would be another day of reading by reading Bible stories (which also probably teaches kids a bit about history and culture- I remember learning a lot about the Roman Empire in church). Kids in Sunday school do art and learn to sing, which is at least helping build creativity, and probably helps with school performance as well. My point isn’t that everyone needs to have their kids in church every Sunday, but that doing something productive on Sundays rather than letting the kids spend the whole weekend on their iPads has to be helpful.

[@dennisahlarson1584]

People who don't enjoy children have children and don't enjoy it. 😂

[@RubberJunk1]

What’s sad is children who are supported educationally by their parents might find themselves standing out and having difficulty relating to their peers.

[@lmho0254]

Me, all the way. I'm a teenager, a black teenager at that, who is in the 8th grade who can read at a 11th-12th grade level. I always score top of my grade and have straight A's with a side of B's sometimes. I have a lot of trouble relating to my classmates because I think that they just don't want to learn and want to scroll through Tik Tok instead, and listen to whoever's trending. I grow up with "no phone until high school", moderated computers, and other stuff, but I know it's for the best. And when I'm in school hearing students getting Fs and failing grades, I'm used to it, but stepping back and really looking at the bigger picture makes me realize how sorrowful and sad it is, and how lucky I am right now to have the mindset I do.

[@MakeSureYouCleanUp]

​@lmho0254 Keep that mindset as long as you can. The internet (unless you're actually seeking information) isn't worth it right now. Far too much hate and misinformation. Just remember when looking up stuff to check the sources given and if possible, check THOSE sources as well, because even then some of the "sources" are fake, wrong or misleading. Good luck 👍

[@wintig245]

Me! My mom is an educator, and has always been strict with grades at my house. I'm definitely performing above level in general, and I'm way above my peers. It's difficult when nobody around you seems to care about their work.

[@catelynh1020]

I was reading at a college level probably around middle school (i don't remember when, but i know i was reading authors like stephen king and piers anthony by 6th grade, which i think is "middle" school if a school has one (ours was prek to 6, 7 to 12)). Loved reading. Wanted to be an author and have an in-home library (the last one i have done, since it's only 1k books and they don't _have_ to be on shelves). I excelled in school except for gym, health, and one math class i hated the teacher of. But i had absolutely nothing in common with the kids in my grade. Kids would be so unenthused about reading they'd barely read the sparknotes while i'd read the assigned book in the first 2 days. We read romeo and juliet and i was trying not to laugh in the back of the room because it was *funny* and the rest of the kids weren't paying enough attention to even really know what was happening. Skip forward a decade or so from school, i have been doing musical theater. Sometimes our director would write his own show to be frugal and we did one that floored me with how little people understood what was going on. I mean, i guess "eunuch" isn't a common word so it's possible not to know it, but all the references to great literature and classics was completely missed by teens and young adults. I had to explain the oedipus complex joke to somebody who was 17. And i didn't think my schooling was that great, but we still learned about classics and the references in modern media to them in high school. I'm sure of it.

[@sleepkae]

relatable because my education was supported at a very early age that i now enjoy learning in high school and its very hard to relate to my classmates, i understand why they behave the way they do but its sad and sometimes it does get hard to learn in school (Im latina)

[@420funny6]

No child left behind has left generations behind

[@mikeg3439]

I'm pretty sure blaming a President from decades ago who has had nothing to do with forming policy of the DOE over the last 15 years, is not really a logical approach to this. No Child Left Behind was useless, but not destructive.

[@m.g.d.8504]

Exactly. Now they put the blame on the parents. And the children from the left behind generation are not good parents sadly.

[@CoryPchajek]

It’s what happens when you put ADMINISTRATORS in charge of education and MICROMANAGE the teachers.

[@mikeg3439]

@@CoryPchajek worse than that, they indoctrinate the teachers into their cult-like ideology.

[@Ralph981]

What's interesting is NCLB nearly solved this problem. It funded Reading Rescue which took kids in early childhood through a comprehensive scope and sequence of foundational reading skills. However, curriculum developers and publishers, and their apologist professors were all benefiting from selling balanced literacy curricula that didn't include foundational skills work nor any comprehensive and systematic scope and sequence to districts across the country. They lobbied against Reading Rescue and it was scrapped. Struggling readers, particularly those with dyslexia, lost the most. The science of reading movement has been trying to correct this over the last few years, but we're still seeing the same special interests blocking dyslexia screening mandates and lobbying against the funding and implementation of science of reading-aligned curricula and teacher training.

[@KittyS-gg5gd]

"Leave no child behind" has FAILED US! QUIT shoveling kids thru without teaching them squat!

[@MrMLHoganjr]

It’s insane that we’d expect a kid to read at grade level when they come from households with zero books in them. I’ve dealt with parents that are openly hostile towards owning books, let alone actually cracking one open on occasion.

[@PrincessNinja007]

So Weirdly this was both exactly like, and antithetical to my childhood. I was reading college books and given all kinds of science magazines, and I was encouraged as early as 6th grade to read books on the AP list But reading a book about space travelers, or any graphic novel, or even stuff like Beowulf for leisure, was discouraged because it's "brain candy" and "you can't make a career out of it"

[@mht5875]

@@PrincessNinja007 Interestingly enough, if one plans on becoming a writer, especially a writer of fiction, reading fiction is a necessity. Classical literature should also be read for wanna-be writers.

[@sanders2378]

I read in a book last night about a similar situation in the UK a few years back, pre internet, when a little boy was asked to bring a book from home, and the only book in the home was a mail order style catalogue. When the story was reported with horror, the catalogue company gifted the family with lots of books. So it's not a new problem, but gets repeated through generations if not dealt with.

[@shep9231]

I hear ya bud/.

[@ctualPerson]

Damn I’m gen alpha (2015) and I can read at a 9th grade level. That iPad time was superfluous, gen alpha.

[@arrtwo1375]

That video of the ballet teacher crying over her students breaks my heart every time. You can tell she knows what those little girls home life is like and how they’re gonna grow up if they ask for music like that. That helplessness and inability to make a positive change is something all recent college grads gotta be feeling rn

[@CraiiZeD]

I empathize with her as a piano teacher. I’ve had to let go of several students due to poor behavior, and it’s not only embarrassing for the parents, but it’s tragic for the child that can’t sit for 45 minutes to study and enjoy their hobby because they have no discipline or patience and just want to go home and play Roblox. And you’ve never seen a disobedient child until you’ve seen a disgruntled 5 year old muslim child that is raised to not listen to women. Had to explain to the parents that he wouldn’t listen during lessons and it was very obvious he didn’t respect me as a female teacher. The parents sullenly nodded, as if they weren’t the cause of the child’s behavior. I can’t imagine how he behaves in school now and what unfortunate teachers have to deal with his learned behavior. Parents need to discipline their children, and teachers need to have more of a backbone. A child will walk all over you once they know you’ll let them do whatever they want. I don’t think kids need to be beaten, but they need more than a spineless adult as a proper parental figure. They need guidance. Today’s parents just sort of hope their child will grow themselves up, did y’all grow yourselves up? That’s not how humans work in a proper society.

[@mymop4422]

i was raised in a GATE (gifted and talented education) elementary school and usually, you only had 1 or 2 of those “troublemaker” students. of course, the number grew in middle school (that required GATE education for admission) but was still small. because my parents moved, i switched to a closer high school in a different district that was not associated with the GATE program. education was worse, obviously, but so was everything else. the school was much smaller and usually at least half the class were so disrespectful either to each other or to the teachers. the teachers usually reprimand them but they do not change. for example, my spanish teacher (not in my class) has so many students fight in class, yell in class, and refuse to do work. despite calling parents, nothing changes because they say, “in school, teachers should handle their students. it is your fault for not controlling them.” i know this because my spanish teacher holds a very small spanish 3 and AP spanish literature class (that im in) that helps her relax.

[@kaplingnag7267]

​@@CraiiZeDaw shit the sexism taught starts that young huh? Poor thing

[@BMoney8600]

It really breaks my heart that content like that is easily accessible for children! What the heck is this world coming to?!

[@ChilIdeas]

​@@CraiiZeDMy own piano/keyboard teacher has to deal with this bull crap. He doesn't deserve the constant interruptions, which is why many speculate hes leaving the school😢.

[@vernowietsch]

What baffles me is how many kids say that they "hate" reading, that it's not fun, and in worse cases, how reading is viewed as a negative, nerdy, uncool activity. I've seen kids being bullied for reading in their free time. I see kids proudly exclaiming that they can't read as if it makes them the alpha macho football captain or something. Like WHAT?

[@sycration]

I always felt this way myself. To this day, I've never found the act of reading pleasant. Not in fiction, nonfiction, comic books, text based video games, nothing. However I still read all the time in my daily life! Loving novels is not a requirement to be good at reading.

[@mxcrro]

I know write! As a child, I loved books. Books should be REQUIRED.

[@lumityviktuuristanartist4100]

As a teen ( young gen z) I'm not the biggest fan of books but I definitely used them in my childhood to develop my reading and writing skills , and I never bullied the kids who loved reading, I was actually curious about what they read and asked questions, but I agree, some kids make fun of other kids that read books and call them nerdy

[@Matsnat64]

@@mxcrro you cant say you love books when you said "i know 'write'"

[@mxcrro]

@@Matsnat64 Just a small mistake probably autocorrect or something. Ofc I know the difference of “write” and “right”. No need to make a big deal about it.

[@cashcreations8797]

Im in 8th grade, so obviously last year i was in 7th. I said the word vaguely at one point, and this group of 3 girls behind me had no idea what it meant. I tried to give them an example, and one of them said, "Is that a vaguely?" I better speedrun though school before my entire age group gets held back

[@LDSVenus]

My grandson was struggling with reading in the 6th grade and doing book reports, so I told my daughter she would instruct him tho come to my house after school (I live 1/2 block from his school). I instructed him to get a book he thought would be interesting and bring it to my house after school. I was appalled at his reading level. He absolutely hated reading, but I told him if you want to play football you have to be able to read, no wonder he hated reading because he couldn’t read well. I started off reading a paragraph, he had to follow the words I was reading so he could see and hear the words as I read. He read the next few sentences with my help as I taught him how to sound out the words he didn’t know and teach him some of the English language rules so he could sound them out. By the end of 6th grade he discovered the kind of books he enjoyed more, still didn’t enjoy reading but was getting better at it and we were up to reading a chapter each. By the end of 7th grade he was reading much better and that summer he even read on his own without being asked to. He was enjoying reading historical fiction, true history with fictional characters. So in 8th grade he no longer needed to come over everyday after school and his reading and literature grade went up to C+ to B’s. Children need someone, who will stand firm on what’s expected, while showing positivity in their effort and you need to be consistent. They are children, we are shaping their habits and ability to control themselves, it’s not the teachers jobs to do that, they are busy teaching reading, writing, math, history etc. Parents (or grand parents if needed) are responsible to teach their children good and positive behavior, the children come first, they are our future.

[@crystaloliver362]

❤❤❤❤❤❤ so ture

[@paulawashington3175]

As my mother often said, people who don't read live one life, but people who read live many lives.

[@Tianke]

That is so important that you were able to give that support. I was taught to read by my great grandfather. My parents read to me, sure, but grandpa had more time to do it, and we'd make a game out of him. He'd pretend to fall asleep in his rocking chair and and I would run with a book and "wake him up" to read. I thought it was super funny. Thanks to him I was reading fluently by 6 years old. These days, with everyone so busy, supportive grandparents are worth their weight in gold.

[@user-tz5gt9tm9x]

Ture​@@crystaloliver362

[@TheReesemonster7]

The queuing method of reading doesn't teach phonics and decoding it's context based. That's what they've been teaching. And kids cant read words and just guess what the word is. It's gnarly how much harm it's done to reading levels.

[@nyxflames5679]

I’m 17 in high school and I see this all around me. Personally I’m trying to figure out what exactly is going wrong, why we are where we are, and how it can possibly be improved. But the more I research the more I find just how unbelievably complicated this topic is. And because of the nature of schools and their policies it’s really hard to communicate with teachers and higher levels of administration so you just end up feeling stuck.

[@itsmealex8959]

Hey man, I'm 24 but have been feeling the same way since high school. To be frank, it is getting worse and us two individuals might not be able to change it on our own, but being aware makes navigating it a lot easier and can help keep you optomistic about the future.

[@thoughtlesskills]

Its like my gen thinking they can all be game devs. Only its much worse and everyone thinks theyre gonna make money online. Also: more households with two woking parents barely making it doesnt exactly breed confidence in normal jobs.

[@four-en-tee]

Its mainly 1) The parents dont care 2) The state doesnt care 3) The students dont care The only people that do care are the teachers. My advice to teachers would be to find books that appeal to the interests of these kids first to use as a gateway into reading other stuff. For me, i've been trying to read William Gibson's Neuromancer whenever i feel like reading. I do have to refer back to stuff online since its a bit difficult to parse, but i do appreciate how vivid everything is.

[@megabyte01]

If you figure it out, let me know... Near as I can tell, it's a combination of students who don't care and administrators who don't care - save for not losing face. There are no consequences if they fail, so why should they care, they think miopicly. Just... Try to focus on working on yourself. Keep yourself open to truly positive connections and close the door on energy vampires.

[@batrainn]

I'm almost 16, and I have noticed people using ChatGPT in class, and they somehow still passed. I'm not from the U.S, but I've noticed it in my classes. Or, there's people who do nothing. I only do nothing when I'm done my work, to reward myself. I feel like I'm not liked sometimes because of how I think, since I think a lot, and critically. And I'm wondering what's going on. I also want to try and fix things, but I'm not sure where to start, and yeah, it's hard to communicate with certain teachers.

[@xxxxxx-pb5kr]

This really reminds me of the book "Fahrenheit 451". Its mindblowing, how a book from 1953 can still be so true now🥺

[@JRM-1301]

As a Gen Alpha (I was born in 2012) I worry for my generation. Some people in my Year 7 class (or 6th grade class if you're from the States) can't read the most basic sentences in the most basic books. It is highly concerning.

[@tristantheoofer2]

late gen z (2007) here and yeah i worry a fuck ton for yall in gen alpha. like somehow in 10 years weve gone from MOST people being able to atleast get to 7th grade reading level to less than half at that point. literally my brother with a professionally tested iq of 72 can read at a better level than these people

[@apodiktis]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@tristantheoofer2The problem is not IQ, but lack of productivity. You can have 160 IQ and if you’re lazy, person with 80 IQ will be more successful than you. I Pads etc. don’t lower IQ, but stop your education by increasing lazyness. People are more lazy, because it’s comfortable. I’m also lazy, hopefully less and less, because I try to do something. I’m 15 and despite I was called gifted and tests confirmed it, I wasted 3-4 years of my life for being lazy and not productive.

[@faerie5926]

​​@@apodiktis It's not exactly laziness so much as it's kids getting shortened attention spans because of being on tik tok often. I have ADHD already, so I try to stay away from short form content for that exact reason- it trains people's brains to seek out constant positive stimulus and school often isn't stimulating in the right way for kids to keep their attention on it. Having ADHD sucks because it makes it hard to do anything besides watching KZbin because anything else, even stuff I enjoy doing, isn't enough stimulus without something else going on in the background-

[@BRexclamationmarks]

I would never thought that these comment can be typed by a 12 years old💀 like god damn my friend cant even read at the age of 16💀.bro now ended in special need class that is for the dissabilities 💀 NAHHH SHAAWTIES GOING PLACES 🔥💀💀

[@andrewgeme1859]

​@@tristantheoofer2 I was also born in 2007, I agree.

[@chemistryman1206]

Having a child is a massive responsibility. Many people don’t recognize this and aren’t ready for this responsibility. This is turning into misbehavior and a lack of respect for teachers, other children, and general authority figures. This is nothing new but it is definitely becoming much more pronounced in recent generations

[@yeetyoot4433]

There's such a huge pressure on people to get married, have kids, start a family... it's treated as a given instead of a commitment you have to actively choose. There are a lot of people that really shouldn't raise children, whether because they'd treat them like garbage or because they'd be deeply unhappy doing it. If we stop acting like these things are life milestones that MUST be completed by everyone, it'd do a great deal of help.

[@hanayuuki790]

I would like to also include it might just be the parents ideals being taught to the children. Children are like blank canvas and their biggest rolemodels are their parents. These parents might be the best parents to the kids because the kids can do whatever they want but the worst parents to others because no disciplines. They believe in freedom so much so that they let the kids walk all over them to the point it is ridiculous. They believe children are like adults hence should be given such treatments. What the parents believe and act on is a very important puzzle piece in parenting.

[@jholdstock]

I agree. I feel like so many people are having kids just to say that they have kids but don’t actually do anything to educate and raise those kids properly. It’s very concerning. If you’re not ready to be a parent, don’t be a parent!

[@Windermed]

this is why I really do not plan on having kids until I am both financially stable and mentally/emotionally to have one. I know the many flaws my parents had as they failed to acknowledge the many things I had when I was born (ADHD, etc) and instead, hid them from me until I was 9 but even so, I still didn’t get medicated until later on in high school. ever since I got medicated, I really have managed to understand and learn things that I used to struggle at. I even managed to be capable of helping others with work problems and explaining them (like a friend of mine who might have adhd iirc) that aside, I hope that the pressure to have children at an earlier age goes away. I know that Gen Z has been very stand up against the pressure and that’s really good. It’ll save more torn/stressed parents and kids who might be the product of abusive parents from this in the future.

[@Windermed]

@@hanayuuki790they don’t seem to understand the difference between being an controlling/authoritarian parent and a mentor/teacher-type of parent who, while letting their child decide their own hobbies, tastes, etc. is still going to teach their children what’s right and wrong and provide appropriate consequences on the actions they took (while using it as a learning moment rather than a opportunity to extend their power)

[@mollyk3768]

As a 20 y/o, I was reading at a 12th grade level in 7th grade, my family didn’t have a tv in the house until I was 16, and no social media until 15. I was raised by older boomers and honestly I’m glad. They instilled the importance of reading and being imaginative from a young age. Reading is essential for a functioning society. I hope we can turn this around to benefit all future generations. Tech has invaded almost every aspect of our lives.

[@kayiagaulden7710]

I’m 26 and I also was raised by older boomers! I’m honestly so happy they raised me.

[@heybarryy]

OMG SAME

[@Windermed]

as someone who’s in high school, I remember how my parents would make me instill learning as far as the age of 9. with my dad going as far as to teach me coding. now granted, i’m not a fan of his teaching methods as his way of teaching was very negative and stressful for someone my age but, I can’t deny that his introduction was essentially what may have planted the seed for my passion with programming as later on I would intergrate it with modding video games and I’m really glad I managed to pick up a skill from there. If i were to have children in the future, I would incentivize their learning rather than force it upon them. encouraging them to learn and integrating what they like into what I’d teach them myself. that way, I can hopefully encourage them to start early at a skill of their choice (even if it may not be coding!) but my overall goal is to let my future child know that their uniqueness is nothing to be ashamed of and that as their father I want to do whatever means I can to support them both emotionally, financially, etc. basically: I’ll be more involved with my child’s school and ensure they aren’t stucking to iPads and if i must give them technology, I would rather let them spend time on playing a video game that encourages them to think (this is what helped me develop my english/math skills earlier believe it or not!) with time limits set and let them have an imagination offline where they can play/read books that interest them instead.

[@BlissfulCosmicWaters]

Curious, what did you do for entertainment besides reading?

[@realskydiver777]

playing outside, painting, drawing, thinking, playing games, talking, biking, sports, baking, cooking, but there is also so so so much to read at every level of reading@@BlissfulCosmicWaters

[@BasketOfPuppies642]

The other day I played a murder mystery game with my 15 year old cousin. The first step was to read about a half page of information, setting the stage for the mystery, introducing the suspects, etc. Then she was supposed to go around and ask them questions, search locations for clues, and try to figure out who did it. Once she was done reading, it was abundantly clear that she knew nothing about what the passage said. After a bit, I stopped and asked her some basic, surface-level questions about the passage (like "what is this guy's job?" or "what happens at this location?" She couldn't answer them. It was kind of scary. I asked her if she actually read the passage, and she said yes, but she didn't think that she would have to actually remember what it said. I told her she would, that the whole game was based on remembering information. She said she didn't know how to do that.

[@Davidledonkayy]

dude the saddest thing happened yesterday the teacher said: oh you can play boardgames :D me: lets play clue! the other kids: ew tf is CLUE? me: a thinking murder mystery game! its fun! them: ew no lets play charades on our phones instead

[@mossybiscuit4226]

The parents are a huge problem. My sister has a friend who is 15, stole her fathers car, ran from the police, recorded herself running from the police and posted it on snapchat, totaled the car, and was arrested. she is facing absolutely no consequences from her parents. in fact, her parents are taking her and her friends shopping to buy her trial outfit. this parenting is disgusting

[@AquaTech225]

Depending where you like. The government may eventually be teaching her more responsibility than bar parents have. Let her keep messing up. She will learn. Just the hard way

[@anissahudson5849]

Shes lucky. In my dad's hometown a girl stole her parents car and was riding with a friend and totaled the car and they both died. That was a few money ago.

[@thetruepatriot7733]

Omfg....

[@fangirl3086]

That's not modern day parenting, that's just rich people

[@Soliye.]

Had she been injured, she would have been a “poor and unlucky” victim… ffs

[@user-uw8pd2dy4b]

I have a neighbor whose daughter's got ADHD and has been held back twice. Seeing as my whole family has ADHD, I decided to do some tutoring and help her out. Immediately I figured out where the problems were, especially in the way she's learning math. The common core methods they're using in school and constantly shuffling her through are ridiculous. She'd show me the first way they taught her to do multiplication and expressed confusion when they suddenly wanted her to learn it a different way. It's like they're trying to take into account kid's learning styles, but instead of letting them pick one, they're making them learn each style and get angry when you're unable to. And worse yet? This girl didn't know her times tables. She's a late elementary schooler and she'd never done times tables before. I was shocked and started drilling her on some, and she's picked that up quickly. And her father was even more shocked to hear that she'd never been taught those before. It's fucking crazy. Worse yet, the teachers barely know what they're teaching these guys! One of my roommates is getting a teaching degree, and she helps out in online classrooms a lot. We started talking about the state of schools here, and she told me she barely understands the math she's teaching her students, but she can't deviate because that's the mandated curriculum. They're not allowed to deviate, and it's upsetting knowing that she can't be the only teacher/future teacher who feels the same way. This system really needs a massive overhaul, as does society in general in all honesty. Holy fuck.

[@MothGuyz-]

I never understood teachers that were like “YOU HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY, AND THIS WAY ONLY”. Like I get that you want the child to recognize that the learning style exists, but don’t force the child to use it after the child masters the style.

[@frimty]

sometimes the teachers are the problem, not the kids

[@Tipman2OOO]

Amen

[@selenite3890]

@@MothGuyz- im so grateful for my current math teacher because of this. he teaches us multiple ways to do what we're learning and just says to use whichever one we think is easier

[@KateCat420]

​@@frimty Sometimes, but definitely not always.

[@rhast57]

My daughter is about to enter high school next year. The things she tells me about her friends and class mates is shocking. I won't even get into school, because this starts at home. One of her friends asked me why I talk to my daughter so much. She was LITTERALLY confused that we speak to our child like a normal person every day. And that we actually listen and consider her point of view. It's very sad

[@doctorwholover1012]

My mother in her 50s told me about how when her friends had kids and would bring them to hang out with the kids while they chatted used to get PISSED OFF at how my mum would pause the adult conversation to explain stuff to the kids if we came over asking questions. And I don't mean she'd drop everything to cater to the kids, I mean my mum would say "hold on" to her friend, then turn to whichever kid it was and go "we're talking right now, please wait a few minutes and then I'll answer you", then turn back to the friend, finish the thread of whatever they were talking about, and then thank the child for waiting, and answer them. Her friend used to get SERIOUSLY MAD at my mum for being polite with us kids - and my mum was bewildered bc she was just treating us like people. (Apparently that friend used to respond to every kid including hers trying to talk to them while they were gossiping with "Shut up and go play, that's why you're here, talk to them not us" and the kids would get upset, throw tantrums or go break something bc the question had been about something important, while my mum got quiet patient kids waiting for their turn, which apparently pissed the friend off. It never occurred to the friend to change her approach, despite that being the only real difference in the situation) Some people refuse to think I guess 🤷‍♀️

[@stillannoyedguy]

I dont think highschoolers are gen alpha

[@monbub]

@@stillannoyedguy The problem applies to all children and young people, not just gen alpha. It's just that it's even worse with gen alpha and that's more obvious to the public. But all kids in public schools are suffering.

[@stillannoyedguy]

@@monbub to be honest, anyone who cant read just has a massive skill issue. Im 14 and everyone i know can read

[@estinaviv]

This actually reminds me of back when I was in school and some bullies I had made fun of me because my mom “was so extra”… the examples they gave of her “extra-ness” was showing up to my parent teacher conferences, openly being affectionate and supportive of me (“ugh, why is her mom always saying ‘I love you’ so much?!”), showing up to my performances and events etc etc etc. Suffice to say, it really does begin in the home. It just seems like so many parents are barely present in their children’s lives and don’t advocate for their child’s success

[@DragonLandlord]

My Xennial sister took the "at X grade level" to mean my niece couldn't learn above that level. She flat out yelled at me for trying to get her to sound out a word at 9. My niece is now 24 and can't read above a 6th grade level.

[@MissMcD]

🥴🥺😔

[@Davidledonkayy]

i find it confusing how some people CANT read bc i actually TAUGHT MYSELF to read ;-; im a better reader than most of the kids in my class i have a few perspective issues though but i am always so confused when people cant read well

[@DragonLandlord]

@Bushwhack-lmao_xD I don't remember learning how to read. But then I've got 5 older brothers, so I probably overheard alot of them learning how.

[@Davidledonkayy]

@@DragonLandlord huh.

[@CrystalRaye]

The worst part is the dumbing down of our whole society isn't by accident. Some very powerful people figured out that a mindless population is far easier to control and grift than one that values education and asking questions. Anyways thank you for doing such a well researched and indepth video on the issue. Count me in as a new subscriber ❤

[@sydney6268]

Common core was implemented right when I graduated 8th grade. It was too new to be too influential in my high school classes. However, almost every single one of my middle school teachers quit within the next 4 years because of how restricted they felt by common core. Common core was the worst thing that could have been done to kids and teachers.

[@CC12398]

Yes and it started with prescription drugs for every emotion for every man woman child

[@rebeccab.463]

@@CC12398 Boom....hit the nail on the head!

[@RandomAnonymousSomeone]

literally fahrenheit 451 lmao

[@joandsarah77]

While powerful people have steered many things in society with evil intent I am quite sure of that; most parents have no one to blame but themselves for allowing their small child to be leashed to a flat screen. Granted many don't realize the danger of screens but as a responsible adult its up to you to research. The government has not forced parents to allow their 3 year old hours on that iPad, the parents allowed it. The dye is set by the time a child enters first grade. 0-6 are the crucial years and those are the years parents have the most control over. Even a good teacher has an uphill struggle teaching children whose upbringing has left them learning disabled. Without enough time spent on free play and parental interaction the child by school age will be facing underdevelopment of the neocortex and prefrontal cortex as well as lack of spatial reasoning, problem-solving, language and creativity. The teacher cannot make up for that or give that to the child. The teacher is there to teach them to read, write and do arithmetic, but these children are entering school without the brain development to be able to do that.

[@growingoaks]

The anti-intellectualism in society is staggering. Im constantly harassed and made fun of for “writing essays” that are about 2-3 sentences long with enough detail to convey my point in a coherent manner. Let that sink in. Effective communication is no longer socially acceptable and makes you a target of harassment. I cant count how many times people would debate me and tell me my proper use of grammar, spelling and punctuation makes me look stupid and they even see it as me trying to be superior…. All because I’m typing correctly. Sometimes they even take my detailed responses as me being “angry” somehow. The fact that I’ve also constantly made fun of or “cAlLeD oUt” for using words beyond a third grade level for about a decade shows me that intellectualism makes you stand out too much in a world where people are by and large, bluntly put, stupid and dumbed down. Your superior intellect is obvious and threatens them. I often make people feel stupid on accident because the average intelligence has dropped so far that normal conversation is something most people dont get. IPads arent the issue though. Its the mindless content thats an issue for both kids AND adults. I read an article of a woman who uses her iPad to entertain her kid for 20 to 35 minutes a day, but the thing is that it’s a lot of learning stuff like puzzles, numbers, and such.

[@i_am_a_toast_of_french]

the "writing essays" will often be used against you when you write too much for an answer to a question that can be answered with one or two words edit (eg "what was a leading factor that led to the civil war" can be answered with just "sectionalism" or "southern sectionalism and interests" and "what is one product of cellular respiration" can be answered with just "co2")

[@howboutno412]

This. It was the same way with me growing up.

[@mr.sniffly5297]

Bro why you write a whole essay 💀💀💀 I’m sorry, I had to do that

[@nataliakashitsyna294]

I loved your "essay". Hello from Russia! I have the same problem. But I started to experience it even at school, thirty years ago. I felt better only after changing schools and finding my own crowd. However, now, being a teacher, I often hurt my adult students by accident when I assume that they know something and it turns out they don't. General knowledge is very poor. :(

[@pixerhp]

Formality is nice, but also remember the value in conciseness and efficiency.

[@JK-mu5kw]

I wrote an essay in grade 9 (2005) about how newspapers are written at a 4th grade level because of no child left behind and funding sports, so they just pass the kid who plays well. I received an A on the essay, but the teacher also refused to post my essay. I wish I still had it honestly.

[@melissaneuman4367]

My oldest grandchild isn’t even performing at a 2 nd grade level because her parents don’t want to help her, the school doesn’t want to help her and we( grandparents) don’t see her enough to help. It’s so sad and we worry

[@ashtonstout7375]

This is up to the parents. I was born in 1983, so I’m considered an elder Millennial. My son was born in 2012, so he’s gen Alpha. I read to him every single night until he no longer wanted me to do so. He has always read above his expected reading level. He loves to read and he has a nice library in his bedroom. Many books were passed from his elder sibling’s library. They are almost 9 years apart in age. I also read to him every single night, whether I felt like it or not. It’s up to the parents. My son doesn’t have an iPad or a cell phone. I’m not cool, but I could not care less if I tried. I care about his well-being and his developing brain.

[@chalkmarkers]

W parent. I’m on the younger side of Gen Z and I got handed a real phone at 10 after my constant pestering and begging, and eventually, I did get one and I was thrilled. However, the effects of having that phone so young definitely affected me today. It will be hard to reject your child over and over again about having a phone because “everyone in school has them.” But, whenever you decide that they are mentally fit to have a cell phone, no doubt they will be grateful that you didn’t give it to them in the past.

[@hafnahaleema4765]

​@@chalkmarkers almost 12 here. I don't have a phone and probably will get one when I'm 14. I do have a tab though, and while I do watch KZbin and play games and stuff, I also read a LOT. Recently I read 3 books in one day all on my tab (400+ pages totally i think im not sure). So honestly I'm really glad I got some sort of access to the Internet, or else I would never be as big of a reader as I am today.

[@ashtonstout7375]

⁠@@chalkmarkersI’m sorry you’re still impacted by using electronics at a young age. My eldest will be 20 in March. He didn’t get a cell phone with an internet connection until he was well past 13 and neither will my 11 year old. They were both given our old phones they could play age-appropriate games on for one hour a day before 13. Electronic time has been limited, parental controls have been installed on all devices, they haven’t been allowed to have social media accounts until they were mature enough to handle them, but no younger than 14. I have never given my children something because they wouldn’t stop asking for it. If a parent actually cares about the future of their children’s lives, not just the years spent in their home, parenting will be the hardest job they will ever have. I love my children enough to make them temporarily unhappy. Is it fun? No, but it’s worth it.

[@chalkmarkers]

@@ashtonstout7375 Fabulous job, I wish my parents would follow your mindset. But whenever I get kids, I will do the exact same thing you’re doing right now 💯

[@chalkmarkers]

@@hafnahaleema4765 Good job, my brother is in 7th grade (I think the same grade as you if you’re in public school) and he has the read index of a 4th-5th grader 😭. So it raises my spirits to hear that there is hope for your generation. As a 14-year old, there are positives to phones like contacting, socializing, and connecting with your peers and family when necessary. However, just a warning whenever you do get your phone, dont get sucked in (unconsciously) to the endless scrolling platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, Snapchat Snaps, or KZbin Shorts. Mainly TikTok though. If you do find yourself doing so, try to take a step back and do something else lol.

[@zalybrainlessgenius503]

I'd also like to add: another factor is that children sleep less than we used to as children. There are many factors, social media or TV is just one of them... Today's age is too hurry-hurry, parents have high expectations and overwork their children, or the lax parents don't set a proper sleep-time for their children etc etc. Just one lacking hour of sleep is very damaging for a still growing brain, like, VERY.

[@janetwilliams3497]

Yes!!! The amount of small kids I see out and about (with parents) when I'm off work at 9 p.m. is astounding!

[@astra6137]

It's kind of insane talking to younger kids and hearing that they're in 7 or 8 extracurriculars, often as late as 9PM

[@mrlnxf8455]

@@janetwilliams3497 This! And another thing very damaging for a still developing brain is getting COVID, a disease proven to cause brain damage. Feels weird to ignore these physical possible causes whrn discussing this.

[@Popthebop]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[@Daturadatura]

I work in a school some days and most of the kids are coming in to start for 9am but they have all been awake until 3am or 4am the night before on their phones in their bedrooms on social media. They are all like zombies and it's shocking. It angers me how the parents allow this to happen. Total device addiction.

[@johnsmith3085]

“Some of y’all never spent a summer reading so you can get a personal pan pizza at the Hut. And it shows.”

[@chaotic-goodartistry3903]

Yes! I got to do a reading challenge/program with the reward of Magic Mountain tickets. That really fueled my unstoppable reading in middle school

[@skitterly]

I used to get little prizes at the library

[@wafflesthearttoad6916]

I did it for a free book that I got to KEEP even if I read it in one day lol 😂 pretty sure I read every single rainbow fairy book as a kid

[@horakhtythecreator6911]

@@chaotic-goodartistry3903 I was one of if not the fastest reader in my class in my elementary school years. I could read multiple full 3rd-5th grade chapter books in a week, sometimes finishing one in a matter of hours depending on how long or short the book was. I averaged around 20 or more books a month. I loved the school class reading competitions because I got to do what I loved and I enjoyed the thrill of being challenged to beat my reading records. My teachers used my score sheets to inspire my classmates to read more so I wasn’t the only one do the heavy lifting. We WON most of those competitions and I still read in most of my free time to this day purely because I love fiction. Contests like these incentivize casual or non-readers and are a joy for reading enthusiasts. Bring them back.

[@fangirl3086]

Or a pool party

[@PhilMante]

George Carlin nailed it when he said "There's a reason though, there's a reason education sucks, and it will never, ever ever be fixed. It's not gonna get any better, don't look for it, be happy with what you got...because the owners of this country don't want that. They want obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and file the paperwork, and dumb enough to passively accept jobs with increased hours, lower pay, and the lack of benefits. They don't want a population of well informed, well educated individuals, that doesn't help them. It's against their interests." And he said this in 2005, 20 years ago. Man was the greatest prophet of our times.

[@BelleDreamer7]

HS science teacher here. Easy four steps to vastly improve public education in the US. 1) Stop pushing kids through elementary and middle school. Retain kids who are failing. How can a kid ever succeed if they are put into the next year while not reaching their goals in that prior year. Of course the kids read below level, they never learned at 2nd, 3rd, etc because you shoved them on instead of actually making sure they learned the skills. 2) Hold parents accountable. Those kids did not ask to be born, parents brought them into this world and the job of a parent is to help their children grow into self sufficient adults. Mandatory parenting classes if your child is shown to have serious respect or self control issues. Clearly the parents must not know how to parent well if their child is feral. 3) Departments of Education should be run by people with at LEAST a decade of public school teaching experience with people from every grade level and discipline. Let’s get rid of the PhDs of Education who have never taught and or never worked in public school. 4) No more phones or personal tablets in class. School issued technology only and teaching programs that allow teachers to see every screen in the room. They exist.

[@mistermoo7602]

I was with you until your fourth point. No more excuses. It's not the phones, because their mind will just find something else to occupy it if you remove devices. As adults we need to take responsibility and recognize that if children are paying attention to things other than the lecture, they either have some heavy life stuff going on or the lecture is ineffective at capturing their attention and dolling out information. Making sure that children can no longer contact their family members during the day sets a dangerous precedent too. A teacher took my friend's diabetes pump away from him we were kids because it was a portable device. Newsflash: insulin pumps run on smartphones now. Life isn't black and white, and imposing a ban on portable devices is just a way to shift blame.

[@BelleDreamer7]

@@mistermoo7602 we had a student record other kids using the bathroom at my school. We have had five fights in my school break out this year alone because kids were texting one another and met up in the hallways to attack. I had a mother text her high anxiety daughter that her step father who raised her was in a car accident and then not respond for HOURS, step father was fine, mom had to turn off her phone. The kid ended up in the nurse’s office until mom texted back to let her know he was fine. Kid was rattled for a week. As for the diabetes pump, I have had students who use those but in my school district all teachers are given that information so stupidity like THAT is avoided. Obviously if the kid is checking blood sugar it is not going to look like a rolling TikTok or watching a KZbin video.

[@joelwarren6005]

There's a simple solution to issue 4: sequester the phones and personal electronics while still providing controlled access to them. As long as they're made readily available as children have need of them, those devices can be restricted to a secured location in the classroom, where emergency (or recreational) access can be allowed during non-institutional periods. I work in a governmental secured facility, where personal electronics are restricted by law, and my employer provides this accommodations to their employees to allow them to still have access to their personal accounts while still on company grounds. Besides, public institutions have emergency numbers available to allow parents to call administrative staff directly as needed. Parents would be wise to have those numbers within their contacts to be used in conjunction with notifying their children as well.

[@BelleDreamer7]

@@joelwarren6005 please tell parents this. Schools are trying to implement this but the problem is parents will come to schools and fight with administrators that they NEED to have immediate access to their children...

[@july9566]

Did you forget no child left behind ?

[@pryncecharming2133]

I was a teacher for 3 years. I taught second grade. Half of my students did not recognize their letters, something that should be taught in pre K. And when your entire lesson is dedicated to getting your kids on grade level and they are performing below that it is maddening... Which is why I quit. Only so much passing the buck I could take.

[@kenyonbissett3512]

Growing up in the 60s very few children in my area went to preschool. Letters were introduced in Kindergarten. Kids did fine with that. First grade cemented letters and taught words. Dick and Jane generation with phonics thrown in. What we did have was classroom helpers (parents, usually 2) who helped keep us (30+ students) on tract and moving on. The parents didn’t stay all day, they just came in during reading and math of offering the in class 1 on 1 help. Cut down on student frustration and giving up. My mom taught 1st grade in the 80s and worked closely with parents who helped in her classroom. She loved it, but many other teachers didn’t so chose to have no parents in their rooms.

[@jefft8597]

I grew up in the 60s too and by the end of the first grade we were reading and masters of sounding out words. By the end of the third grade I could read Hardy Boy mystery books, the newspaper, and comics like MAD magazine. All we had were pencils, paper and books. All the teachers had were chalkboards and chalk. And nobody worried about what teaching method was best for us. You don't need a lot of funding for the basics. BUT, it was a totally white school with based two parent families and teachers who had TOTAL control of the class. Nobody EVER talked back to the teacher. EVER! There would have been a massive overwhelming response from parents if we acted like students act today in class. I never even thought about missing a day of school and playing hooky. Reading is not rocket science. Spelling correctly is though harder.@@kenyonbissett3512

[@KS-un3pi]

I have heard many stories about this! I have experienced one of my kids not reading until after Christmas in 1st grade. Our second son has struggled up until recently in 2nd grade. We have asked for years if we had a learning disability. Everyone said, he will catch up. Come to find out the way he was taught to read in kindergarten was not productive! They were taught the cuing system to read. Our admin has argued with a reading teacher that they only needed to practice 15 mins of phonics. Let me tell you that isn't enough. May be part of the reason my youngest has struggled. If the admin is arguing with teachers who are actually doing the work...and then you have teachers using the ching system. 😡😡🤬

[@kenyonbissett3512]

@@KS-un3pi it has to do with brain development. Boys brains are ready to read at 4 or not again until they are 7/8. It’s not a disability, it’s just the difference in physiology between girls and boys. At this stage of development boys are working more on gross motor skills like running, jumping, climbing, etc. That said there are 5 ways to teach reading. Some systems are 1 way, while other combine approaches. The real problem comes in if psychologically that child is damaged because they are bullied by peers, receive anger from parents for. It trying or teacher’s frustration. Some programs are very expensive to lease and require a class of no more than 5 or 6. While others are very inexpensive and serve a many. Obviously schools go with cost. For grades 1-3, I believe there should be a reading specialist to catch those falling between the cracks and to assess the correct system for them. Due to children’s low threshold for frustration, anxiety and behavioral problems, a behavioral specialist should be assigned to work with the 1-3 teachers and students. Because reading is so fundamental to future success an emphasis needs to be placed on grades 1-3. This would save so many children from future problems. Many very intelligent individuals have delayed learning, think Albert Einstein who didn’t start reading until he was 10. There are other but I won’t drone as it’s easy to Google.

[@wysteriafox2977]

I would say this is definitely a multilayered issue for sure. But one thing I've noticed just from training to be a teacher these past few years is the emphasis on "free learning" is actually a detriment. It sounds like a positive thing-- let them be engaged in the things that interest them. But it actually causes a reverse effect where its only "fun" to learn about what they want to and they never gain the discipline to understand that a lot of times in life we have to do stuff we dont like etc. Another thing that's been a problem is the emphasis on making learning as "engaging and fun" as possible and the demonization of using any kind of repetitive drills to assure knowledge. Some things just need to be written or gone over multiple times to actually get it. And its just not something thats done anymore because they want to cram too much into a class curriculum.

[@-yumefroots-8244]

I was born in 2010, and I haven't been experiencing this. However as a Gen Alpha myself, I can confirm that I have many friends and classmates who perform on a grade level far lower than expected. The problem is usually because of the pandemic, and technology, perhaps. It's gotten so bad that even in the classes I do poorly in, I end up getting above average because the class average is so low. It's definitely concerning.

[@adeliaaf5649]

I’m a 2010 and I’ve been experiencing this as well. It’s crazy how the kids only blame their teachers.

[@soggy_toastedbread]

if you were born in 2010 i don’t think you’re gen alpha. if i remember correctly, 2012 was the cutoff from gen z to gen alpha. however, yes, this issue is also affecting some kids in the younger gen z range. i’ve definitely noticed some middle school kids that i’ve tutored struggle to do basic math or read short passages. it definitely scares me because some of those kids are still going to move onto the next grade. and it also hurts to see the kids that are doing fine get constantly irritated by the people around them not listening to teachers or refusing help. overall it’s just horrible and i hope that something changes.

[@ellah2411]

​@@soggy_toastedbreadYeah, the problem definitely applies to gen Z kids as well (although it seems to be even worse with gen alpha). I'm a 2005 kid currently on my last year of high school and it's absolutely WILD how short technology has made our attention spans! For example, when we have to write an essay and there's a source material that's about 1-2 pages, many people don't even properly read through it because they deem it too long... I really miss those times in elementary and middle school when we had physical copies of our textbooks instead of these damn laptops :/

[@ImMrMeeseeksLookAtMe]

you’re gen Z

[@-yumefroots-8244]

@Mxchabearr Same. I think I was lucky because I learned how when I went to my French school, then I transferred to an English school. The English kids didn't know how to read an analog clock.

[@WingedMilkMan-is5fd]

Gen Alpha here. One weird thing I’ve noticed is how it feels like most of my peers end up on the extreme ends of the spectrum. They either don’t care about doing anything other than youtube shorts or berate themselves when they aren’t able to get 100 on every test or fit 12 activities into one day. I’m personally the latter(I used to punch myself HARD in Kindergarten whenever I didn’t remember to write my name) and I knwo someone who is apart of 4 different extracirriculars and is straight A student yet hates herself and has an eating disorder(She’s 12). Also, I know bullying and rascism is far from new, so can someone older and wiser tell me wheter or not it’s normal for children to say slurs like the n-word and f-slurwhen they’re white and straight. I’m genuinely curious/concerned. Also someone once asked me how to spell window💀. Thank you for listening to crazed rant

[@CrimsonMey]

Yes. Kids swear like mofos. Kids aren't nice. You learn who you associate with and the earlier you learn to not give a damn about measuring up to your pears, the better off you'll be. Improve yourself to achieve your best self..Don't do it to measure up.

[@ramc5090]

This is why as teachers we should be allowed to move away from standardized testing and teach what our students need at a pace they can handle. There just isn’t any trust for us to do that for the kids.

[@redispink5784]

One of my issues with standardized testing is how it discourages students. I'm a college student going into my fourth semester and I almost didn't go to college. My ACT test results came back and told me my stem skills were below average and that they "recommend" I pursue the trades. This caused me a lot of grief for the rest of my high school career and a lot of stress going into college. However, I'm still happy I pursued college even after being told I was not ready. I have been getting all A's and B's and I am pursuing a degree in biomedical science. I most certainly have the knowledge and work mentality to go into a stem career and it's sad that a 5 hour test almost convinced me to not go. Also, College Board just want their money. They don't care about the students and we should really reconsider following their academic guidelines.

[@KS-un3pi]

Standardized testing is for standardized kids. I don't believe God made any of those yet.

[@Blue71974]

You know I don’t think a lot of people actually realize how intense the program is to be come a teacher, I did the program in 2014-2019 for secondary science the EDTPA test is no joke and the curriculum: all of the courses on diversity training, applicable law studies, pedagogy etc. What she said in the video about kids learning in different ways is nothing new, it’s basic teaching theory. What is killing the profession is as you said standardized testing and teaching to a test along with policies like no child left behind and of course a lack of respect for the profession from parents, students, district board members, and policy makers. It’s why even after all that work I put into becoming a teacher because I really like it I ended up taking my chemistry degree elsewhere, because for the pay and the amount of hours you have to put in to make every lesson engaging just to then have to deal with entitled parents?? Nah f that. I sometimes feel guilty because my mentor had said that she believed I would have been a positive stem field woman minority role model for students but ain’t no way I’m struggling like that. Rant over in conclusion you’re right lol.

[@waleedkhalid7486]

It is not quite the lack of trust, it is the fact that kids need to know certain things and skills by a certain age to be competitive in the global marketplace. How can we compare how kids in the US are doing compared to kids in China? A standardized exam is really the only way to do so fairly. It just so happens that kids in the US fear exams and hate learning because A)they feel like they don’t need education B) the parents don’t feel like education is important and C) the culture does not feel like education is important.

[@ramc5090]

Except it doesn’t because they are outperforming us overseas. We don’t take the same exams so there is nothing to compare. There are educational standards across the country that we teach to and no one is saying to eliminate the standards because they are an incredible guideline for lesson planning and pacing. However, the standardized testing eats up instructional time we could be using for intervention and differentiation. My kids get tested monthly and all they do is click. I could be teaching them something useful and get more accurate data with informal testing and from assignments. If we actually want growth we certainly aren’t using any reasonable scale to determine it.

[@goat1408]

Their parents don't care and neither do the kids.... dependent on technology.

[@destmichael]

It's not that simple. I am the mother of one of these kids. I don't own a smart phone. I only consume content from my tablet at home in the morning. I am Gen X. I am married and my husband is an educated professional. We struggled to get our girl reading. I had people telling me to get my 11 year old a cell phone. Like what? No. She needs books. She's okay now, but we had to make it a priority.

[@Salazarsalsa]

Did you just comment and not watch the video? Stupid comment #37 I've seen today. Thank you.

[@42seven]

⁠@@destmichael i remember at the same age as your daughter i really wanted a phone cause some of my classmates had some. i got a flip phone a year or two later (so i could go to my friends houses and didn't have to go home to ask) and then at 15 i got a iphone... bad idea. i'm planning to switch back to my flip phone next year because i just cant focus on anything anymore

[@TheDarkPeasant]

@@42seven similar thing here. My parents did cave with the iPhone after a lot of asking, but the effect was the complete opposite and I literally never (and still never) used it. Occasionally I call and text my parents with it and maybe a google search if I need a quick answer to a question, but most of the time it’s just sitting on the kitchen counter.

[@User-pw3pu]

Lol Minecraft taught my kid to spell before he even hit kindergarten. Don't blame technology cause your students can't type /give @s barrier.

[@jenniferdominguez6539]

He was not condescending. I see someone tired from not getting support from the school or parents. It's a hard pill to swallow, but it had to be said. I understand why you think it might be condescending, but it's not. You cannot sugar code stuff in education. I was told that I was going to fail a grade but my teacher pulled me aside, gave me a talk, and helped me. I think he's also tired of seeing all the resources available but no one taking it because, like you said, parents have to work in this economy. And not event that going deeper into it in NYC spending in educational resources are going down which means that kids will not be able to access the library on Sunday! This means children will most likely end up with more screen time. Sorrry I went a little overboard wanted to put my thoughts out in one comment I would love to hear everyone else!

[@wasteddemise2286]

I agreeee

[@neoqwerty]

*sugarcoat (yes I'm being the grammar police but that's because it's important for people to know what words and saying they're spelling instead of making phonetic guesses, the internet in general getting worse and worse at setting examples makes people who learn from others also become worse and worse.)

[@corymerritt9100]

Parents took away teachers ability to discipline students, but then refused to do it themselves.

[@scottfw7169]

That may well be a critical point and a very much overlooked, if not actively denied, point.

[@thequestingbunny]

I'm 37, so this happened quite a while ago, but part of me feels like there's something to learn from it. My little brother hated books, because he only associated them with work. After my parents divorced and our home life kinda fell apart, my dad had no idea how to get through to him. But... he loved watching me play video games. I have been a big reader since I was little, but that's because I loved the stories. So I played mostly games with stories. He loved watching them because the stories were engaging and the battles were fun. I was the biggest fan of Final Fantasy VII when it came out in 1997. Well, one day, I told him that instead of watching me play, I was gonna help him start a new game so he could play himself. He was SO happy. But when the text boxes popped up, he asked me to read them for him. I said "I'll help you, but I'm not gonna read it to you. You have to sound the words out." So he sounded out EVERY single word in that script, and after he made it through the words, we would talk about what the characters were saying and how it added to the story of the game. He was very into it! And by the time we made it to disc 2, he was reading a lot of it by himself. (Yes, there is light swearing in the game but who gives a flying %$#& about that?! It's not like what my dad watched on TV wasn't way worse about language!) We moved on to Final Fantasy VIII when it came out, and by then, he was reading the whole thing without help. Learning has to be fun and engaging, and not just feel like work. I taught my little brother to read with the power of video games, with stories and characters he wanted to know more about. He still credits me as teaching him how to read, and he tells people they should have their kids play games without voice acting to encourage reading. Not to mention all the math in RPGs, too. ...I use this exact technique with my kids now. They're 16, 14, and 4. Not only am I sharing classic games with them that I love, but I'm using them as a tool to teach reading, math, and critical thinking skills. They have tech up the wazoo. It's all about using it in the right way, and not just as a mindless distraction. Learning HAS to be engaging and fun. Gotta make 'em work at something that feels like play! :D

[@hanflancocopan]

This is awesome. I learned to read around 1995 from studying my Sea Monkeys manual 😂

[@melissar942]

I love this approach! Media can be a useful tool if used appropriately. I use it with my children now. Reading was always something that came easier for me. When I was in grade school my younger brothers would marvel at how “good” I was at the Zelda games and asked how I could get so far. I very plainly explained “I just read all the boxes and follow the clues.” This helped motivate them in a small way to pay more attention in English class 😅

[@thequestingbunny]

My now 16 y/o grew up learning to read from Legend of Zelda, too, and now we love to just sit and talk about game stories. That's so awesome!! You did great! Fun is the key to learning!

[@brh.1892]

This gives me the warm fuzzies! I have such fond memories of playing FFVIII with my brothers. They just don't make them like that anymore :')

[@sharksrcool22222]

good on you! you sound like a great parent.

[@lynnboartsdye1943]

I’m so glad you’ve brought up Neurodivergent students as part of this. I’m audhd and because I kept getting passed to the next grade when my brain just wasn’t understanding what was being taught my grades became worse and my ability to retain knowledge couldn’t keep up with the system’s curriculum. Was also verbally abused by a teacher early on who didn’t take my IEP seriously. We are teaching our kids that bullying is okay if a student isn’t succeeding on the traditional path. If we want these issues to stop we need to set a better example and stop being hypocrites!

[@troysbuilds.3896]

You are having the same situation as me Catra, the EXACT situation essentially.

[@LettuceGayming]

I had the opposite situation. Early grades were pathetically easy then middle school hit and I had no work ethic/habits

[@milkqt666]

IEP doesn’t help either. Your parents need to get a proper tutor.

[@Feedmeyoubastard_00]

AUGHHHA SAME, even though I only failed 1-2 classes, I still feel guilty for being passed to the next grade :/

[@meisterfrau99]

I have ASD and despite severely struggling with basic math, I kept getting passed on. Now I'm 21 and can't do elementary level multiplication or division.

[@rui6122]

Hi Ashley! I’m not American, I’m European, but I see this extremely disturbing education crisis in my country as well. I have a bachelor’s degree in education, which is not enough to be a teacher here, not even in kindergarten. So for now I’m working in a kindergarten but as a support educator, not a teacher. The teachers here are so much older and they can’t grasp how dire the situation is. They don’t want to overwork themselves in a desperate attempt to save these kids from serious learning issues they’ll encounter. They just wanna retire… And us, younger professionals on the other hand, we don’t get hired easily, because we now have a trillion educational requirements to meet (none of which the 40-50 years old teachers had to meet back in their days…), but I digress. The point is… for as little time I’m allowed to work, I realised that these children… they just don’t know manners. No “thank you”, “please”, not even a “bye bye”… They’ve ALL been brought up to be EXTREMELY individualistic and self-sufficient in a… creepy way……… How come 5 years old boys disrespect female teachers in a misogynistic way?! Oh yeah, just like the dance teacher in your video said……. The songs they hear…….. what they see on the internet………. Extremely sick……… Thank you for your video, though. I love finding smart women, fellow young people with critical thinking skills, from all over the world to keep on having hope…. Hope that all the energy I put into criticising these unjust social structures is not in vain, because we’re not alone! Greetings from Europe! Have a merry holiday time! Sincerely, Chiara

[@norosyndrome]

Even in Australia! It's not just The US and Europe, even we on the southern hemisphere have this problem.

[@rui6122]

@@norosyndrome It truly is a worldwide crisis then…

[@mizzmayhem3685]

@@rui6122 I would be shocked if this were a problem in Japan or South Korea. And no, I'm not trying to romanticize Asian countries; I sincerely wouldn't think this would be an issue of the same magnitude in countries where education is valued and teachers are still respected on a cultural level. Now I am curious about the global trends on this.

[@minoozolala]

Europe covers a large area and consists of many countries. All have different educational systems. You can’t speak about one country’s situation and generalize it. You could be in Russia, Croatia or Portugal. Huge differences.

[@rui6122]

@@minoozolala Of course, I said my issues with employment is related to my Country, not to Europe. I said I’m European meaning that I’m not American basically… I’m Italian. Moving on from that particular issue with the italian school system, this cultural and educational crisis can be found anywhere in Europe in varying degrees… Ask youngsters all over Europe what they think the priority in teaching children these days is and the vast majority will reply “gender”, for example… Yeah, even in Russia I bet. Or Northern Macedonia. Literally everywhere. Unfortunately gen z internalised all of the worst sides of globalisation (no critical thinking, blindly following postmodern social diktats in the name of progress…)

[@no_where_land9947]

I’m so glad this is bringing brought up. My friend is going into being a teacher and the stories I hear from her alone are wild. My grandma was also a teachers assistant for yearrrrrsss (until her 70’s) and she eventually quit, not bc of getting older, but bc she said the kids going into first grade classes were becoming more and more insensitive and abrasive that she just couldn’t take it anymore- and that the parents were doing nothing to stop all the inappropriate behaviors! Usually instead enforcing it. When a child is controlling You as the adult, there’s a hugggge problem

[@yuckyfairy]

if you “don’t have the time” to pay attention to your kid for 30 min then you shouldn’t have had kids.

[@Nikki_the_G]

Right because nothing in life ever changes once you have a kid. No one gets laid off, or sick, and the economy is exactly the same as the day they were born forever. Come on.

[@lunadark6666]

People don’t have time because the cost of living is incredibly high, these kids either get 30 minutes with their parent or food, if they would like to keep living in a house then the parent doesn’t have an extra 30 minutes, kids are expensive and some people don’t realise that, if teachers got over themselves and teach kids properly then there would be a lot less issues, and don’t crack a fit about me blaming teachers because I’ve seen it, I’ve experienced it first hand teachers refuse to do their basic job

[@yuckyfairy]

@@Nikki_the_G 30 min…

[@yuckyfairy]

@@lunadark6666 30 min…

[@lunadark6666]

@@yuckyfairy 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there, are we counting 30 minutes as a whole or is it 30 minutes per child, because if a teacher failed to teach the whole work in an hour then what’s an unqualified parent going to do. 30 minutes seems so small when that’s all you look at but that’s not what’s happening, kids normally sleep for 10-12 hours thats already 7am if that’s the time they wake up to go to school, they are then at school for 7-8 hours depending on the school, that’s already over half the day gone now the child has to come home, shower which could be 10-30 minutes, eat dinner which is another 30-60 minutes and let’s say they get home from school at 3pm that’s already brought the time to roughly 5pm that’s not counting any travel time so let’s add another hour thats 6pm now let’s say the kid goes to bed at 8pm thats 2 hours for the kid to sit down and relax but no let’s throw 30 minutes of more schoolwork with the parent oh look we are at 1 1/2 hours now let’s say the kid spends another 30 minutes on the rest of the homework for every subject they have that’s 1 hour. 1 hour in an entire day, this is only the child’s time this isn’t factoring the parents who have to cook the food, clean up after dinner, do any work they might have, do laundry, and literally anything else. So tell me again how it’s “just 30 minutes”

[@sorcerousfang]

Honestly, as a teacher, the biggest issues I see are the anti-intellectual movement, the shortening of attention spans, and a lack of empathy / rise in apathy. It's so hard to combat. I want to be a good teacher, and I try to make things as interesting and engaging as possible, but it's so hard to compete with our current culture and their interests. My students like me, but they like their interests more, and for some, they have this attitude that they're the main character in everyone else's story.

[@kylespevak6781]

Lack of empathy? Everything has been controlled by emotional people feeling bad for others for years now, what are you on about? Kids know if they play victim they can get whatever they want, despite correctness

[@olaf-chan-728]

​@@kylespevak6781it is victimization and segregation, not empathy

[@alissanelson1156]

I was pouring out my best passionate teaching and the kids said "you should have a tik tok for your content." That was the biggest compliment and yet the saddest thing I ever heard because they don't understand the "world." The internet has taught them that the world is not a good place and is keeping them out of it. To the point that they want to bring anything good to the online world and keep it there.

[@autocorrectly764]

@@alissanelson1156 Welp, im on my path to being a failure.

[@gothicsloth4552]

I actually noticed the empathy thing. I recently finished high school and so many of my classmates and other students just didn't seem to care. I used to hold doors open for people for all the time. And yes I did get thank yous but no one else did anything remotely polite like that from what I can remember. Hopefully this doesn't make me come off as stuck up or rude but I appreciate that someone else noticed it aswell

[@seungminslays7]

hi, as an older gen alpha who reads at level, this is mainly due to covid. My parents used to work in the blue collar industry and had to enter homes to complete repairs during covid. (Natural gas workers, if anyone’s curious.) While entering homes, my parents saw how kids in remote learning basically screwed off the entire day, just googling answers for their lessons or watching tv while they were supposed to be doing coursework. Schools didn’t really know this was going on and just assumed “yeah, everything is totally fine.” This isn’t the kids fault, it’s the parents and the school districts. The districts need to understand that young kids and teen CANNOT READ and we are in a highkey media literacy crisis. Schools really, very, desperately need to sort their kids into appropriate levels. I go to remote/online school and we are sorted by our skill level, allowing each class of students to get adequate education. TLDR; The schools need to properly sort and educate their students.

[@aynDRAWS]

Very true. My mom worked full time during Covid, while my little sister had to do schooling online. She already struggled with reading (we're pretty sure she's dyslexic), and being told she was completely responsible for her own education at the age of eight crippled her

[@range685]

I can also confirm this is true. Luckily, I'm still doing well in school, but the COVID-19 pandemic felt like a gap in my schooling. I did the work, but I probably didn't get the same value from it as I would've if in school those same years.

[@floaque]

I'm Gen Z but I noticed this as well. My younger cousins who are older Gen Alpha have been struggling since COVID. My cousins are smart however they perform below the grade level because they never learned during the quarantine. As a college student I've noticed this in myself as well, I'm struggling with units I never used to struggle with before.

[@forrest6939]

omg my covid grades were the worst of any year

[@nikkospelledlikethat8140]

Mid gen z here, I was a junior in high school during online school and that was probably the worst year of my life then, I could barely finish the year. It was hard enough doing school online with teachers who didn’t know how to do it, I can only imagine how it would be a kid having to learn the fundamentals through Covid.

[@khensk]

This is happening all over the world. This was on national news here in South Africa as children in grade 4 can't read for comprehension or understanding.

[@Peter-mj6lz]

I think to raise your kids without iPads or limit time on them, parents also kind of have to limit there time on tech. I’m not an expert but imagine saying you would limit your child’s tech use whilst you are always in your phone, the child would follow your actions or at least not take the I limitation seriously.

[@electricpurple4112]

There's actually zero basis to the idea of "not letting your kids use ipads", by the way. It's just some parroted nonsense at this point. Tech can advance your kid's knowledge at a rapid pace, likely the pandemic is more of the issue.

[@mynameisreallycool1]

​@@electricpurple4112 I think it's both. People are ignoring the fact that a whole year and a half of online school is inevitably going to leave your kids falling behind, especially when it's a new thing that teachers and parents alike were not prepared to deal with. I think people are ignoring it because every generation loves to take every chance they get to pull up the tiring, "It's because kids are spoiled and get to do whatever they want!" or the, "Kids are getting dumber and dumber!" excuses to make themselves feel superior. As for iPads, I think it depends. I agree that it can help kids if used correctly and there are boundaries set. Some kids are watching YTK for hours on end because the parents don't want to interact with their kids, which can cause a lot of issues, but watching a couple of DECENT shows on an iPad or playing a game that can enhance your problem solving skills (which I think is most games) in some way. Everything is fine when done in moderation. I also think that neglecting kids has become more and more normalized, and it's because we've been holding parents accountable less and less. Parents have too much power, and the school districts and the media coddle parents. Teachers can insult the kids to their faces, but they can't tell the parents that those kids have any issues, because saying that the child is struggling at something is seen as an attack against their own parenting, implying that they are doing something wrong as parents, and a lot of parents don't like that. You can't even give advice online or spread awareness about a certain way of parenting that can hurt kids without some Karen crying, "Who are you to judge us as parents and tell us how to parent our kids! I'm tired of this mommy shaming! It's stressing me out!" As if their own egos are more important than their child's well-being.

[@earthstar7534]

​@@electricpurple4112I see we found the iPad mom.

[@TheDarkPeasant]

@@electricpurple4112 When used correctly. I’d say it’s less iPads that are the problem and more parents letting their kids on the internet and social media from a very young age. I don’t know ANY kid that benefited from skibidi toilet and elsa and spider man pregnancy videos

[@mizzmayhem3685]

@@electricpurple4112 I think most people are blaming the blanet "iPads" because it's easier to say than "parents who hand their kid whatever is readily available so they'll shut up and not require actual attention when it's not inconvenient for the parent at that very moment."

[@Asigedge]

1. Stop pushing kids to the next grade. 2. Make it a law that if a child can act correct in school, the parent will have to attend parenting classes for a certain amount of time AND the child will be put on a behavioral plan. None of these teachers should be going through this. Its the parents and the students.

[@flamingpaxtsc]

Wait, why would the parent have to attend parenting classes if the child acts the correct way?

[@mr.sniffly5297]

@@flamingpaxtsci was gonna say that, they likely meant can’t

[@07Flash11MRC]

"Stop pushing kids to the next grade.": You do realize that teachers' hands are tied in this regard. We could be sued by the parents for not letting their kids pass, because we'd be breaking the law.

[@mr.sniffly5297]

@@07Flash11MRC he never said it was on the teachers to try and do that

[@tovarishchfeixiao]

@@07Flash11MRC It's actually crazy, to hear how american schools are basicly becoming a daycare. When anywhere else in the world any teacher will hold the student back if the kid fails a certain amount of classes (or above that amount).

[@novaerose]

This is honestly so sad to see. I'm early Gen-Z (Late 90's) and I remember getting in trouble a LOT for sneaking a book under my desk to read during class. We would always be pulled out in the hallway to complete reading assessments as well so teachers could find out who was struggling. Nowadays, parents aren't even taking responsibility for their kids education and are not trying to foster growth at home.

[@thoughtlesskills]

More households than ever with two working parents and many of them still barely making it. The blame goes to us as a society as a whole. This is a complex issue with many contributing factors. We keep letting the 1% strip us of our time and resources while blaming the 'other' political party even though we agree on 90% of issues.

[@harrierjet1967]

I'm a late Gen Z (2008) and i'm glad my parents didn't use technology as a crutch to raise me.

[@LarryTheTugaGamer1511]

​@@harrierjet1967Same, I'm from around your time and I'm glad my parents only gave me my first phone when I was in 5th or 6th grade. It really shows which parents care for their children and which don't.

[@wrenithilduincats]

@@LarryTheTugaGamer1511I’m a ‘09 kid, I didn’t get my first phone until this year, and while I do watch lots of KZbin, I have a couple of library apps on my phone and I started learning Dutch through my phone recently. Technology is both a blessing and a curse because it can help kids who actually want to learn, but it distracts kids who don’t care away from learning.

[@LarryTheTugaGamer1511]

@@wrenithilduincats Exactly. There should be balance. Unfortunately, today's kids and teens don't care about that. I watch a lot of KZbin and play a lot of games, but I still educate myself with the resources I have. I even taught myself how to fluently speak English at 11 using only my phone. I guess it just comes down to one's responsability to manage what you use technologies for.

[@calidaodiom4761]

Honestly, i think the main reason newer generations are regressing is because there is nothing to look forward to. The cost of living increases every year while wages remain the same. A few decades ago, a man could own a home and support his wife and kid on the wage of a mailman, now people working 2 jobs can barely make rent for a studio apartment. It's not just drug addicts or the unemployed going to food banks anymore, grocery prices are becoming unaffordable for the working class. In order to make good money, you have to either start out well-off or have a degree, and no one can afford to go to college now. Even if you work your a$$ off in high school, those scholarships won't cover everything. Theres no reason to work towards goals anymore because even doing our best, we will still be barely scraping by.

[@The_Jerkinator]

Hey- GenZ here with a gen alpha sis and was also a school tutor 👋 What I have noticed is that kids DO want to learn... however... school makes learning not about actually learning. "School" is all about number boards and protocols. If a school even rails slightly off track with the the admin want to do, that school will be gone before you could blink. Teachers will loose their jobs, and kids' education is threatened. In short The education system needs a reboot. Kids want to learn, they WANT friends, they NEED attention and interaction and hands on (fun) activities. They want to be heard. But children aren't treated like children. Even by their own parents. Children have always been treated as a guilt tripping object and most definitely like a 3rd class citizen. Kids were never an actual priority unkess they can be used to make people feel bad Edit: i also forgot to mention I dont think Gen Alpha will ever be the same after COVID. The grades COVID washed away for them were the grades MADE to be the foundation of their learning (reading, writing, maths, etc). I still feel aftershocks from COVID myself (and that was for my HS years) I cant imagine being put from kindergarten to 5th grade overnight and being expected to know how to be AT level or higher when most of your foundational education was completely obliterated

[@writerbyday]

Yes. 100% yes. This is what I feel and want to say every time I see a video or article about how gen alpha are illiterate and uneducated - the pandemic did a terrible number on education for all, but there was issues in the education system before that. Gen z was called illiterate themselves literally as they were going into middle school - because the education fell apart to test scores and money. Gen alpha is interested to learn but their curriculum is geared toward boredom and extremely outdated. My children’s teachers try, but when helping with homework I saw what they’re working on and it’s not even to the interest level of a 9-10 year old. They were reading a story about a 1950s penny auction (!?) and I was bored to tears myself.

[@mnemosynthe]

My kid was born 2020 and I worry about it. I worry about this for his peers, because even if I do the best for my kid, it's going to suck when their friends don't get the same support. It isn't just about success of the individual but everyone together. I hope to do what my parents did for me, bring my friends with me on learning trips. My generation was mostly friends who were first generation Americans. Navigating this country is hard and just gets more complex each year.

[@amazinggrapes3045]

This should be getting thousands of likes

[@HypatiaK]

Here is a suggestion, assuming that a parent can read easily. Tell your child that you will read to them for about 15 minutes, from a biography that you have chosen. If the child is not interested in your choice, take them to the library & let the child choose what you will read. When you read, sit side-by-side so the child can see the text. You might want to adjust the time slightly if you are near to a chapter break. Even after work, you can find 15 minutes to be with your child. If you have several kids, you can adjust by alternating days or reading to those of similar age together. I still remember sitting in a big chair beside my Mother while she read to me.

[@fairywingsonroses]

I read to my kid every day. She hates reading and school so much that I had to quit my job to deal with the violent fights and meltdowns. There is so much going on here besides parents not reading to their kids.

[@AlfredKriman]

When I was five or six, my mother (working at the time, with a 30-40 min commute each way) taught me to read by reading with me. She would read aloud and pause to let me read the easier words. More words became easy and we started to do alternate sentences, and then I was reading solo. The notion of children not being eager to learn to read seems hard to understand. But when I was in sixth grade, there were kids in my class whom it was painful to hear struggle with the most basic vocabulary. And I know a divorced mom with three kids, and the youngest, in third grade, started kindergarten at home in front of a screen. She's helping as much as she can, and she has a supportive family (not the dad), but her kid is struggling. One thing that would help a lot is if the school would give her guidance on what is being taught when; it's information that's especially hard to get now that everything is on chromebooks that stay at school.

[@jellyt8767]

My 11 y/o son is in the spectrum. He started reading before he turned 3. I was so worried when he was diagnosed, I started teaching him basic math, addition & subtraction, reading time on an analog clock. He’s doing well in math but reading comprehension is one of his weakness. I give him vocabulary and reading comprehension worksheets cause he doesn’t want to go to a tutor. This is why my husband and I are firm to only have one child. It takes so much work to have kids.

[@User-pw3pu]

That's a pretty normal shake up. Your kid is doing fine, be sure to get that IEP and all that. I think kids on spec (diagnosed) are usually going to fair better because they end up with more school than non spec kids (Tutoring, Aba, extra services, etc)

[@User-pw3pu]

My younger kid on spec just started Kindergarten, she was doing K level work all summer in Aba, so she says school is super easy

[@chelscara]

From a teacher/child of a teacher, thank you for doing so much for your son! He’s going to appreciate it so much! (if he doesn’t already but I know it took me awhile to appreciate my mom’s before school multiples and squares 😅😂)

[@GayToBeHere]

Good luck to your kid, I'm sure he'll succeed ❤ I'm on the spectrum too and I have a degree now! :)

[@tristantheoofer2]

im neurodivergent too and my comprehension is complete ass even tho my actual vocabulary is really good so i feel i relate to this a bit :P i think we legit might be the same with the reading too as since the age of 3 ive been able to read stuff. my math cracked tho honestly i feel like if you really need to, get the guy an iep. he may need that

[@amelialoyselle2123]

As someone who willingly went into a school in a predominately black district because it was an arts school, I will say terrible funding can be overcome with student interest. I know for a fact that most of us STUDENTS were at that crappily maintained school where our visual art building was literally sinking because we were passionate about our art of choice. All kids, black, white, latino, asian-we tended to pass our art classes with flying colors. We got invited to perform at Disney, we won awards for the state. But as that ballet teacher said... there isn't a lot of that drive in students anymore, largely it seems because of the terrible place we're in as a world. When the students doomscroll and are told we're all careening towards a dystopian future, what is there to be passionate about? I wish all these kids the best because even being traumatized by 9/11 I had hope in the future. But we're living in an age where they see that every day on their social media... and I can't fathom what it'd do to my mind if I was a teen right now.

[@aubreymorgan9763]

i think there also grants a school can qualify for if their students have a certain GPA average? I kinda remember that but i haven't been in school in a long while.

[@kenyonbissett3512]

@@aubreymorgan9763true but you have to have the personnel to apply and most are to overworked to take on this role also.

[@howboutno412]

Exactly.

[@VelvetCondoms]

Most of these kids probably weren't even alive when 9/11 happened. They've just known the dysfunction afterward.

[@melisaco79]

My Gen Z son has always been in online school even before the pandemic. He is a voracious reader, writes eloquently and is also highly intelligent. Kids consume what parents put in front of them. Our home is filled with books and conversations about literature, culture, world events and politics. I work full time, run my own business and I am a single parent. I MAKE TIME FOR MY SON. Parents can do it, but they choose to do other things like doom-scrolling, social media and yakking on the phone with other people to avoid talking to their kids. I see it every day. This is definitely a conversation that my Gen Z kids & myself have about the struggles that their friends have. It blew their friends’ minds that I actually talk to my kids about deep subjects.

[@rebeccahwharton9940]

Yep. My 6 year old heard something about radiation one day and asked what it was so we watched a video on what it is and what it does to your body, she was fascinated.

[@mondiramaji791]

I hope to be qualified parent like you someday! ❤

[@emmeth2453]

when I was younger my dad would teach me biochemistry, and practice with me the lessons he gave to his students. they were college students, I was in elementary school, but he explained it well enough that I understood a lot anyway. he would also help me practice math.

[@ripleyinskates]

One of my students (12 year old) came in last week reading a National Geographic magazine and i was actually shocked and so glad!

[@PhilMante]

"When I hear the sounds of boots coming, I think it's my uncle Ed comin' to catch me reading my national geographic...you know, with the african pictures?" - Radar O'Rielly

[@Kiwilover177]

I’m a gen alpha kid (late middle school), I’m one of the people who are smart, but so many people just dumb, some can’t read very well, but also, in band class so many people just play games or watch KZbin when there’s a sub no matter what. They all just wanna play video games and watch KZbin. The school blocked so many games but it still doesn’t help. People are in their phones like 30% of the time. It sucks

[@777moon4]

you articulated this issue so much better than the common consensus which is “parents are lazy”. this is what happens when every structure of support is being whittled away!! a society’s success is measured by their children, and it sucks what society has deemed enough for students now

[@SunFlower-jr2qh]

💯 💯 💯 💯

[@thewhitefalcon8539]

@@kellyjacobs4114 Nobody. It either happens or it doesn't.

[@Ad1nfernum]

To build on this, the mentality of selfishness is permeating through all the generations alive right now, including those who are old enough to know better. A not-insignificant factor in millennials not having children is that their own parents decided to say "eff them kids" and refuse to provide childcare - but they were perfectly happy to pawn us millennials off on Grandma and Grandpa when the need arose. So now the cost of childcare is skyrocketing and if you want a village to raise your child, you have to be able to pay for that too. It's madness.

[@theethicalostrich1388]

The biggest issues are cultural. If kids don't see school as important and learning as a way to have a better future, why would they try? In many lower income families, the kids are low performers because they do not understand/believe that education and learning will improve their lives. Therefore, they don't try. There is no reason in their mind to do so since they don't believe it will benefit them. Here is a good example: My friend had a 1.8 GPA for his first 3 semesters in high school. Then he decided he wanted to play football his Jr year, That required a minimum of a 2.0 GPA. Therefore, my friend tried a little harder and got a 2.2 GPA so he could play. He maintained that GPA to stay eligible. Then, our senior year, the school implemented a new policy. You could eat lunch off campus IF you were a Sr and had a GPA of 3.0 or higher (they gave you a stamp on your ID card as proof) the previous semester. The thing was, you could still leave for lunch, it just took a 5 minute detour to go around the check point. My friend brought his GPA up to a 3.2 just to avoid that 5 minute walk for when we wanted to leave during lunch. As a coach, I see it all the time. Many of my athletes only graduate high school because they know they need to maintain a 2.0 GPA to play football. We, as parents, as communities need to change our cultural attitude towards learning and education. If the kids actually believe that learning and education will give them a better life, then their performance will skyrocket. All other factors are minor in comparison. A kid who believes that education matters will perform far better, even if they have no parental help and attend a terrible school, than a kid who just doesn't see the point.

[@thomgrlisdebra]

This is a stellar comment!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!

[@DoritoBot9000]

Its also understandable when in a country higher education is not economically accessible without large sums of money or huge debt

[@MyNamesHunter75]

One issue though is in the instance of higher education it's often for profit so you set kids up to deal with massive amounts of debt in early to late adulthood which is a big problem within north America. I don't think school is the most important thing but I do think every person should be able to read and write at, at least a 12th grade level. Parents should also try and gauge what their children are naturally curious about and let their kid explore that or even help them explore it. Especially now and days education isn't as valued but skills are and continue to be. So I'd say at the very least get your kids learning a skill that they are interested in because when learning any skill you start to improve all other aspects of your life and grow more curious about improving others. But a lot of parents don't let their kids explore what they are naturally curious about or have them throw it aside to focus on school and getting into a good college/university. Parents also should try and teach their kids along with helping them which sadly a lot do not anymore, a lot of parents don't read to their kids but every bookworm I know and have met has said their parents would read to them when they were younger which is how they got into reading for themselves and seeing as their parents had a lot of books got their entertainment through reading. Education especially within the US more so in the last decade has actually caused a lot of people more harm than good you end up with massive debt and cannot get a job after spending multiple years in school for a degree because you require 2 - 4 year experience for an entry level position and it's not even a matter of degree just the standards of the job market that make it extremely hard to get into unless you wanna work for no pay as an intern for how ever long you need to in order to actually have that experience which means you can't pay your debt without a second job. A lot of people with degrees are forced to work in dead end jobs because their job market is so hyper competitive or is getting outsourced. Along with you not being able to even own a house. If you get a job out of college it's still not a livable wage because you are paying off hundreds or thousands in debt each month on top of general living expenses so you are left with effectively nothing. I agree kids and really everyone should be focused on trying to learn but I wouldn't say traditionally education is really the best it's slower and unless the job you are going for requires it you don't really need it. At most get your grade 12 and focus on learning by yourself which is a skill in of itself but knowing how to learn is crazy important and it's something schools do not teach given schools are mainly just memory and recall you often do not learn much or retain the information and will forget it once school is over. I feel parents should really try and drive self fulfillment more on their kids over just pure education as you simply will not learn and remember something you find no joy in you have to have fun and love what you are learning in order to actually learn and excel at it which is something school doesn't really teach you. Loads of people who do go to college end up scared of the adult world as well. I got a friend who is doing her masters simply because she doesn't want to experience adulthood yet and she's 23 this isn't even super uncommon either it's quite common. Life is a long journey about self discovery and learning but most of what you learn isn't in school beyond the basics. It's in life and is through what you are passionate about and enjoy and is also what helps set you up for actually enjoying life.

[@theethicalostrich1388]

@@MyNamesHunter75 I can get behind a lot of the things you are saying. There was just one quick correction I wanted to point out. The vast majority of colleges and universities within the United Stated are non profit organizations. That doesn't mean they aren't expensive, wasteful, and out to charge as much money as possible. It just means that when revenues exceed expenses, that money stays within the university instead of being paid out to the owners, investors, and or shareholders of the company. There are a few of "for profit" colleges. Those should absolutely be avoided at almost any cost. They are typically very expensive, provide a questionable education, and prey on those who were unable to get into normal universities. In addition, federal grants and student loans are usually unavailable to those who attend these universities.

[@lindatisue733]

In countries such as Finland,Singapore, S, Korea and Japan, sports teams are not a part of school. The school heroes are the smart hardworking kids, not the jocks. The governments of those countries spend significantly more on education than sports stadiums and coaches.

[@scottwaldo]

I’m a late gen z(2009) and I didn’t even get my first electronic device until I was 13. My sister is gen alpha and she got her first device at 7. It’s crazy how fast times have changed

[@PraveenSrJ01]

I’m an older millennial and almost a generation X.

[@Bowtiethesilly2023]

I'm also late gen z born in 2009 I thought I was gen A but seems like I found this comments makes it feel better read a book about the long march in the school library

[@SuperGibaLogan]

i got my first device (its a laptop) when i was maybe 8? idk, but thank god it wasent a phone (my mom is planning to buy me a phone when i turn 15)

[@leoleonvids]

I was born in 2005 and had my own PC since I was at least 6, and I honestly think it was the best decision my parents could've ever made, since it's how I got basically all my skills

[@peyton_0826]

EXACTLY! I was born in 2008 and I got my first phone in sixth grade. My sister got her first phone at SIX!

[@ShootingStarStudio]

My little brother is a week younger than the iPhone. It’s a mindfuck. But the story that comes to mind for me? Let’s take a walk. Last year, as a freshman in college needing money, I was doing after school care for one of the families in town. They had a 6 y/o and a 9 y/o. Both kids cussed at their parents-the first time I heard the 9 y/o drop an f-bomb at her mother (I heard her from across the house), I looked over at her dad and I asked “did she say what I think she just said?” His response was “F-U-C-K? Yep.” He said it like it was a regular occurrence. The 6 y/o would throw a tantrum when I told him he couldn’t play Xbox, which he knew full well his mother wouldn’t allow while I was there. This kid was playing Halo and Call of Duty at SIX. The parents wouldn’t let the kids get away with treating me like crap, but there were more than a few instances where they let the kids walk all over them. I lasted two months before I decided that I was done being steamrolled by a six year old.

[@Davidledonkayy]

my cousins TRY to be the gen alpha kids but my aunt does NOT put up with it she runs a military grade household yes video games exist no you have homework to do you cant play it "BUT I WAAANNNNAAAA" NO. WE ARE DOING HOMEWORK.

[@iheartme--]

As someone who is in a grade (7th) with some of the people who cannot read/write/do math, I think we should take it back a little and not move everyone at the same level. There are a few kids who are learning in grade level math (which they STILL cannot do properly), while the rest are in “advanced” classes. I’m someone in one of these advanced classes, let me tell you, these kids should be in the grade level stuff. Half of the problems they cannot comprehend and the other half they cannot solve. I (and many others) understand everything going on in the class so it’s not a problem of the teaching. Don’t get me started on reading. They just cannot do it. I sat at a table with 2 kids who didn’t start reading the book until we had to have had it finished. It’s a question of whether or not they would rather spend their time on TikTok or spend 30 minutes reading a little everyday. I’ve observed how kids do in class and I think I found the problem; the now 7th graders were in 3rd grade when the pandemic started. Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade are (mostly) there to teach you basic skills, like reading, writing and math, whereas 3rd was (again mostly) the foundation for *comprehension*. That’s what these kids lack, they cannot comprehend anything handed to them. My best idea for a solution would be study groups which promote learning in a fun way for kids to learn, and taking it back a notch on learning in general. For smaller kids I don’t know honestly because I’ve never really payed attention to them. (Sorry for the super long comment and if half of this didn’t make sense…)

[@tristantheoofer2]

dude this comment made perfect sense. and honestly? i agree. so many students got fucked by the pandemic so we will literally have an entire 1/2 of gen alpha that cant comprehend for shit

[@weirdperson0100]

I also agree with this! What's worse is that during the pandemic, my brother started 2nd grade and his teacher didn't bother to help him. He had issues with spelling (still does) and his teacher knew this, and CRITICIZED him instead of helping him! It still makes me upset. I was the one who helped him how to spell some words, meanwhile the teacher kept repeating the criticism.

[@hafnahaleema4765]

This. I'm almost 12 and so many of my classmates can barely read and spell words with 6+ letters. The pandemic really messed things up for most of us (including me, though it mostly messed up my productivity). I love reading so much but now most of my class don't read simply because it's too hard for them and they see it as a chore.

[@ohhhhdear]

born in 2007, and something i noticed today is that i’m scared to show off my interest in what i’m learning. it’s become such a taboo thing to enjoy learning because if you’re in easier level classes (which i am), they are filled with people who don’t have any interest in learning. it hurts most especially in history and english, and more specifically my environmental systems class where we learn about issues with our environment and populations. it’s scary to see people’s lack in learning turn into a distain for those who enjoy and value it. it’s gotten to the point where if i declare interest in what we are learning about, it feels like i’m the one being cast out and confessing a sin, or fessing up to being a teachers pet. i think another thing that goes along with it is HOW people are being taught. if we are being taught by dull, unenthusiastic teachers we probably aren’t going to enjoy the content. and with the strain put on teachers and with the lack of them, it’s unsurprising to find dull, burnt out teachers (which is really sad!). compared to my classmates, i’m doing EXCEPTIONALLY well in basic level classes. it’s impressive to do well on quizzes and tests and somehow i end up feeling like the black sheep for enjoying my work. i love learning, but the schooling system drains all the love for it out. instead of the focus on bettering yourself and creating a stronger, more educated community, it’s about numbers and grades and stress and tests. it makes sense why people behave the way they do, but it’s sad to see and uncomfortable and odd to enjoy school and enjoy learning.

[@SakuraSylv]

“i love learning but the school system drains all the love for it out.” i couldn’t have said it better. also we’re the same age lol (well probably, my birthday’s in december)

[@ohhhhdear]

@@SakuraSylv happy late birthday!

[@SakuraSylv]

@@ohhhhdear thank you!

[@hiccup7457]

YES. last year in my math class, i had no interest at all, i couldnt pay attention, and the way the teacher explained everything made no sense at all. This year, I moved to highschool and math might be my easiest subject now, the teacher explains everything perfectly and helps students step by step if they raise their hand, people in that class are the type that also express no interest in the class and talk with their friends, but the teacher makes sure to talk with them after the lesson so they know how to do the materials, its amazing. and honestly, i hate school, but not learning, i hate school for the reason that i can walk into a classroom and one of my teachers will be reading off a power point she didnt even make, or also that another might not have any lesson plans to even show us half the time. why would i come to school just to sit at my desk all tired and on my phone?? it sucks with those kinds of teachers.

[@ohhhhdear]

@@hiccup7457 i know exactly what you mean dude, it’s really frustrating. i also had a similar thing happen, where before high school i was awful at math, but as soon as i got there it just clicked. my teacher sucked but he was a nice guy, you just had to force him to help you lol

[@lowhplowhp]

As an older sibling, seeing how the pandemic affected kids 4-6 years old was depressing. Getting your grip with the world while the world is collapsing puts those children at a severe educational and social disadvantage. The level of caution in the pandemic causes this horrible paranoia where they never know if something is safe or not. Luckily, my younger sibling is working so hard to catch up, but there’s still a long way to go.

[@Tipman2OOO]

Interesting point. If you know anything about developmental psychology that is actually a crucial time for the development of the Mind so it makes sense that that would mess you up going through that, at that age.

[@jayb8934]

I'm about to begin my 18th year of teaching. This video is a very comprehensive yet concise analysis of current problems. Well Done! Most people don't go beyond blaming the pandemic and technology, but you really hit the nail on the head discussing hyper-capitalist culture, and racial and socioeconomic disparities, as well as parents just blaming teachers and not taking responsibility for their own child's habits and behaviors. And yes, there are bad teachers too. I can't deny that. But it's all so much more than any one factor. These are systemic and cultural problems that need to be addressed. These kids are going to be running our society and taking care of us all when we're elderly. We are in deep trouble if they never learn how to properly read, think, and be held accountable.

[@reshramlove1547]

Im so thankful my mom took my little sisters education seriously. When quarantine happened, lil sis' reading skills went down the toilet. So she got my grandma (a retired reading tutor) to tutor lil sis for the summer, and now she loves to read and is very good at it. It absolutely breaks my heart how so many kids dont get this privilege, no, necessity. Reading and comprehension are so important, and not enough parents understand that. Im praying that the next generation of kids and parents do better.

[@Izanuela22]

I work in a library. A couple of years ago I would help newly registered customers to find the books they need. Now most of the new customers register, get their library cards and when I ask them if they need help with researching books they look at me like I am a total weirdo and say things like: „Books?? Why would I want books??“ …because…this is a library…??

[@flygrrrrl3753]

Well, what do they do with the library cards?

[@Izanuela22]

⁠@@flygrrrrl3753they just need the table and our wifi. They still do learn, but without books.

[@greeneghost44]

@@flygrrrrl3753probably use the computers, printers, copiers, etc… some libraries also have streaming services you can use a card for or you can get passes to museums and whatnot for free. But it differs depending on the state and county!

[@TheSilverscuba22]

@@flygrrrrl3753 get on the internet on the free computers, or checkout ipads and use those to get on the free internet.

[@rindrr]

@@flygrrrrl3753 Most libraries have computers/online recourses, they are most likely using those to either game or search things online.

[@melissacole1821]

This whole thing has been by design. My daughter's are gen Z and I started reading to them the day I brought them home from the hospital. We went to the library every week, PLAYED outside as much as possible, going on nature hikes, camping, fishing, swimming, biking and we took family vacations where there were no electronics or distractions , but plenty of peace, quality time and physical activity. Everything we did as a family was a learning experience and an adventure for all of us. I was so pissed when they got IPads for school and we had to bring the Internet into our home. After the iPads, there were no more work books to read with our kids so we could help with homework. Both our girls graduated with honors but I certainly can't give the school system much credit for that because their REAL education began at home with their parents and that's where they learned respect, integrity, ethics and over all ,moral character. I can see a huge difference in them and their peers but social media has still had an influence on them and I can only pray they'll use wisdom as they keep growing up in this warped and twisted world that keeps spiraling into more chaos and wickedness.

[@EluxeM]

Dead on, this is by design! No Child Left Behind and political correctness ('math is racist') is destroying the educational system

[@hiccup7457]

oh me and my sister are also gen z and we were raised like this, but my parents had one ipad for my dad, sister, and i we all had to be on it at the same time, that was when i was like ten years old though. we move a lot since its a military family, and one of the schools i was in had ipads. im not joking when i say the behavior of everyone there was horrible and they even bragged about having bad grades.. anyways, all i can say is i hope to have a parenting style like this someday 🙏 quality time will always be the best.

[@WarpedKarma6471]

I’ve got a 4yo brother at home and with his limit on screen time (one show a day or so, if he’s behaving with a good attitude) and he’s already able to write his name and write simple sentences, and is significantly ahead of any of his preschool classmates. Then again, he’s got two parents and a college age sister who’s studied childhood psychology and development, so there is definitely some bias in the stats, but he’s energetic and curious and independent and *throughly* loved.

[@Elliarts54]

@WarpedKarma6471 Similar here, I found out that it doesn’t matter at what age you give a kid electronics. It matters that you still attend to the kid and don’t give electronics to the kid just to keep him away and not “bothering” you. When a parent gets their kid a phone or ipad solely to distract them and the parent doesn’t give them any attention, that’s when it truly becomes a problem. Since I myself had a mobile device early on to be able to call my parents when I’m out (in my country it’s the normal for kids to start going home alone even at second grade or so), just so my parents aren’t worried😅

[@scootergirl3662]

I mean, it’s good that you are so invested in your kids, well-being and education - but it’s also unrealistic to try to shield them from the Internet. The Internet is a huge important tool for modern life. It’s how we use it as to whether it is good or bad. Not to mention, a lot of books are available for free online which I don’t see a whole lot of people mentioning

[@The_Odd_Beetle]

As a gen alpha my classmate couldn’t spell or read the word ‘stick. I AM A MIDDLE SCHOOLER This seventh grader couldn’t read stick, he is neurotypical and is completely able to see

[@ReignHinman]

that’s because parents think that social media is hooked on phonics.. they forget that 50% of vocabulary on the internet is simplified for text and not actually spelled the way it’s actually spelled lol

[@karnagekarnival5127]

Also, the words people use online are generally very basic and not put together well. Those kids CAN'T read. They can recognize words they see a lot. Like a dog with a command. That's not reading 💀

[@sudokuacrobatics]

*Laughing Out Loud

[@newmoonwithface]

the issue is alot deeper than slang words, slang has existed ever since language has, plus there are generations that grew up with the same internet access and social media and turned out fine, its not the internets fault its because the schools don't punish kids and they let kids pass no matter what

[@karnagekarnival5127]

@newmoonwithface i dont think anyone would claim slang is the issue, just that parents might be fooled into thinking the kid can read if they're on social media all the time, but it's actually pattern recognition. Also, literacy has been going to shit since the 90s. it's bigger than even that, though i agree it does have an effect. I just watched a video called "Children in late stage capitalism" or something like that, and it really covers all the bases. No one has the time or energy for them. Currently, the world is more hostile to children than ever before. Kids need attention, but every adult in their life is too tired and exploited to give it.

[@ReignHinman]

its a joke @@newmoonwithface

[@Tejroe]

I was in the airport at TSA a few days ago, just waiting in that long line to get through security. In front of me was a man in his 20s, and in front of him was a woman with what appeared to be a 5-year-old. The 5-year-old was glued to his iPad, not looking up for anything. Every time the line was supposed to move up, the kid stood completely still, so the man in front of me looks down and says “Hey, little man, can you move forward please?” His mom gave the man a dirty look and directed her son forward. Then, after about a minute of the kid still not moving, the man said “Hey, buddy, can you move forward a little more?” Then, the mom had the audacity to look at the man and go “Why are you talking to my son? Mind your own damn business white boy.” The man didn’t respond to her, which I think pissed her off even more because she started complaining more and more until other people in line, including me, said something. Gen Alpha is screwed, and it’s 100% because of technology and entitled parents thinking their kids are saints.

[@mondiramaji791]

People forget their children aren’t to be treated like pets or eternal babies to spoil, they have to members of society someday, you can’t protect them forever or think they never have to be responsible for their actions.

[@ayidas]

😭😭 embarrassing and disastrous

[@anissahudson5849]

"why are you talking to my son" lol "why is your son in my way?"

[@NocturnalNagatoro]

​@@anissahudson5849no, let's not be dense and forget social norms because we don't like the lady or how she handled the situation. It -is- weird to do that, maybe not the first time but multiple times yes. You talk to a small kids parents. When it comes to strangers, you don't start telling a kid what to do in front of their parents, yes even if theyre not moving in line and yes even if you're nice. It is just a little weird. Ask them together or direct it to the parent. I don't even have a kid and like, am aware of the sort of social etiquette around it. "Fuck that, fuck you, fuck kids! The world doesnt revolve around them!" Yeah I don't think it does but she's not wrong, it's a bit weird. They're not wrong, that kid needed to move their ass.

[@OutsiderLabs]

​@@NocturnalNagatoroBeing racist to someone for asking your kid to move up is an insane take.

[@ArheIy]

It's crazy that we, as zoomers or millenials born in 90s-2000s, thought that *we were bad at reading.* Because we're used to finding info in the net, watching more than reading - all these things. And here we are, observing people who maybe even haven't seen a real book *IN THEIR ENTIRE LIFE...* P.s. Oh sh*t, I suppose I've started a war in the comments..

[@WiseWorld12]

That's literally not true. Every single child who has been in the American public school system has read at least one book. Stop over exaggerating.

[@MaoRatto]

@@WiseWorld12 ._. The generation doesn't read due to not having the same necessity as previous generations and second of all. The content objectively is much worse. Schools pleaded for me to read fiction, but the fiction books they had were absolutely trash, but took a Japanese light novel for me to love reading and manga. I am now a dictionary collector thanks to that. It's about the content, what is useful, what isn't useful, men and women read different things. Most books are more tailored towards emotional dramas and well that isn't as action packed as a manga. The American public education system is absolute garbage compared to their international peers due to work ethic wise or simply parents not raising them for it. I love non-fiction or informative content and didn't blow my money on dictionaries from international regions. Curiosity and necessities dictate reading time to time.

[@MaoRatto]

@@WiseWorld12 If give the right materials, some will actually read. One of my gen Z coworkers wanted to learn German, and wasn't the best reader... Is now teaching themselves the vocab of german and will eventually get the grammar for it. It's about reading materials and providing sometimes. Curiosity is a necessity.

[@WiseWorld12]

@@MaoRatto gen z and gen alpha have plenty necessity to read. Reading is a part of school and life. I love reading fiction because either gives me a chance to escape the trashy world around me and go to a fantastical perfect place. Generations before us see us as lazy and annoying because we don't have the same motivations as them. We are different than the other generations but that isn't a problem. Stop telling us we are the problem. We haven't done anything wrong but use the tools we have been given.

[@tfkdandsvkc]

​@@MaoRatto but gen alpha don't have foundations to study or read!! They don't open a book to read whether it's a novel or a textbook this is truly tragic

[@thestandardrlc]

Parents don't have time but they also DON'T WANT to do anything with their kids.

[@jenniferthomas394]

I am a millennial parent to a Gen Alpha 6 year old boy. I work full time, my husband works full time. I refuse to allow this to happen to my child. Honestly, it can be difficult but you HAVE to set boundaries for your child. We don't allow him to watch his tablet during the week. He plays with toys, he plays with friends, he plays outside. We do not and will not allow him to have a television in his bedroom for the foreseeable future. We do not allow him to watch TV or tablet during dinner time, save for a few special occasions. We read to him every single night! Right now, I am reading him Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We just finished Charlotte's Web 2 weeks ago. I also have him read age appropriate books to me at night too. I have a feeling he will buck us in the future, but I do not care. I want him to be smart, successful, and kind!!

[@zephsmith3499]

You give me hope.

[@jenniferthomas394]

@@zephsmith3499 thank you! 🙂 I'm doing my best

[@paintbrush3554]

Thank you. Also its crazy how people act like its "hard" to not give youf child an addiction to tablets. They're babies. You had to be the one to give it to them in the first place.

[@kittimcconnell2633]

Good on you!! This is heartening to hear.

[@jenniferthomas394]

@@kittimcconnell2633 thank you 🥰🥰

[@finnsalsa9304]

Thank you for talking about this! I'm a librarian myself and part of my job is to teach source criticism for 10 year olds. It has been worrying to see how some kids aren't able to understand even the basic exercises we have created for them - even after simplifying them countless times. Luckily most kids of that age still borrow books and read so I hope this is just due to the pandemic and in the future kids are able to perform on a better level than they do now.

[@Nuclei_Breaddo4]

I'm 12 (born in 2011) and can read / write perfectly. I switched schools back in 2021, and I've seen that my old classmates can't read, write or preform properly. I am disappointed. Edit: I've seen the slacky 7th graders at my school and they are literally failing. They don't do homework, they get the worst grades and they don't have the studying supplies.

[@tristantheoofer2]

ok just wow. that edit text is smth ive seen happen in my school too. ppl just... dont care. one of my classmates literally has a 14 in global bc of it lmao

[@fuzzyleafwarrior9956]

Some of my peers straight up NEVER read books in their spare time... it's horrifying.

[@ericaallisonc]

To be fair, I’m almost 30 and kids where just as stupid when I was in grade school. :/

[@aLitttleLoloBird]

⁠@@ericaallisoncThat’s what I was going to say. This problem has been occurring for years, probably ever since students believed the idea that being smart made you a “nerd” and (apparently) lame. I had a family member telling me that, in their senior year of high school, there were students that had a sixth grade reading level. With this lack of education being ignored during the early 2000s, it’s no wonder it’s a huge issue now.

[@piotralex5]

Damn, when I was 12 I wasn't even thinking in such terms if my classmates were reading or not. I focued on playing MMOs and GameBoy

[@greyscaleadaven]

Growing up, I moved around a lot of schools due to my disability and also our living situation. It was almost every year, and I definitely got quite the smorgasbord of school environments from predominantly white and non white to city schools and smalltown schools. Because I was well accommodated as a kid, I thrived in education at that time. We did lessons in the summer, and I was reading and writing at a 5th grade level in 2nd grade. But as my family went through turmoil right about when I went to a lower income public school, I saw my results drop dramatically. I went from being told I was a genius as a kid to being a good A to B student but not on that level anymore as a teen. My parents were separated through divorce and working so much that I barely saw either of them really. I busied myself with extracurriculars and found other passions where I was like learning how to pass as neurotypical socially, games, writing, or music, but I had to fatigue myself immensely to keep up with that schedule and stay self-motivated due to my autism. It changed my brain chemistry entirely. I went from being this smart kid that everyone thought was going to be an engineer to someone invested only in creative fields that couldn’t tell you half the things they teach in calculus or chemistry. I wouldn’t trade my experience in life for anything because I feel like I turned out better for it, but undeniably my education warped entirely around my environment. I was only able to stay afloat because of some very strong fundamentals that carried me through school until I got to college. If I didn’t have that early learning advantage I would be in a much worse place as an adult. Finances and daily support are so crucial to child education, glad this was talked about earnestly instead of it being something black and white like “gen alpha and Millenials are ruining the education system!!1!1!” because I think that take is missing the forest for the trees. We’re in a time of economic crisis, it’s no wonder kids and parents are struggling to keep up. I see more homeless people out on the street every day, it’s a hard time financially for everyone right now. It’s important to consider that even if the parents aren’t doing their job as a parent to the best of their abilities. People make the most mistakes when they’re under the most duress. It’s easy to look at it as people who maybe don’t struggle in that way and assume they’re just being negligent. Parents are people too, let’s not forget that.

[@95021105]

I felt so much for that ballet teacher.

[@bscott9141]

Same, you can hear the passion in her voice .

[@BunsBooks]

One of the main reasons I hope to homeschool my future kids. The lack of resources for students with issues and the bullying. I was homeschooled my whole life, and I’m very thankful for it. I was reading and writing at college level by age 15, both my parents are readers and instilled a love for reading in me. I also have a learning disability called dyscalculia, I am diagnosed at the third grade level for math comprehension. But mom still made me do a 4th grade math textbook every year even though I could never finish it. I would have failed out of public school if I was ever enrolled passed 3rd grade because I physically cannot comprehend math beyond that point. The intraparietal sulcus in my brain is deficient, I was born that way. No amount of extra work or tutoring is ever going to make me able to do algebra, just as no amount of therapy is going to improve my spacial reasoning and motor skills, cause my brain physiologically different. I started university at 17 and even a well funded institution didn’t know what to do with me cause I was winning scholarships and grants for my writing and research but I was failing my developmental math classes even while clocking in 10+ hours of tutoring sessions, with 3 different tutors, on campus per week. Our standardized education system cannot handle people like me, people who learn differently, and can’t learn certain things at all. I’m worried my kids will be different as well, but I’m just glad that my brother is a math wiz so he can teach them algebra if they’re capable of learning it

[@Crow-xm5dx]

I'm a 13 year old African American (almost 14) and I i agree with everything in this video. Perosnally, I don't struggle in school and pass with mostly A's and little B's. I have friends that are okay barely passing with low D's. An issue that I don't recall you mentioning is how people online are supposedly acting gangster and such, influencing children in this generation to be like them. I don't live in the projects or the hood, but I see kids in my school talking about doing drugs and even being high DURING SCHOOL. I don't think people realize how influential they are to teens my age. I also get to see first hand what being in the hood or projects does to a child. My cousin (one year younger than me) lives in the hood and he's not doing well in school. I don't know what his grades are but I often hear that he's doing bad. (Keep in mind we're both black.) He doesn't do drugs at all even though people around him do. (I won't go into detail but my two uncles does.) But kids in my school (dominantly white) are seen and caught smoking weed, vaping, etc because they want to be cool (their own words) or relate to cool people.

[@newmoonwithface]

kids doing drugs has been going on for decades, we are just recently seeing a massive drop in grade averages, the cause is probably forced online schooling, schools not punishing kids and schools making classes easier and easier so more kids pass and the state gives them more money

[@Crow-xm5dx]

@@newmoonwithface I know, but with the rise of social media and stuff, it's become easier to not only get access to drugs, but also see other people do drugs which can influence people to do or try them

[@newmoonwithface]

@@Crow-xm5dx yeah but drug use in schools hasn't really changed that much, its something else causing the problem

[@newmoonwithface]

@@Crow-xm5dx plus 90% of drugs used by kids is fairly light stuff like weed or vapes that is legal as a adult

[@Crow-xm5dx]

@@newmoonwithface Its legal as an adult in some states. The state I reside in, weed is illegal. Also like you said, it's legal as an adult, not as a 13 year old

[@sabrinastratton1991]

Covid struck when my youngest was in kindergarten just starting reading. When it went remote I struggled because i myself have dyslexia and struggle with reading and writing to the point i often use speech to text. I didnt know how to help him i did my best. He went back to school after remote ended and id get reading results but be told "its fine hes like everyone else just needs to catch up cause of covid" through grades 1, 2 and 3. I continued trying to help best of my own ability but didnt know if I was helping or impeding him with my own disability. Finally, at the end of the 2023 school year, i take him to the local Catholic school, they do an assessment of his learning. I did this mainly cause i was concerned with his acedemics despite being bright and it turned out he was nearly illiterate. 3rd grade at a maybe lower 1st grade level. The principal allowed his enrollment as long as he did the Lexia program over summer. And then he did an hour of reading help an hour after school everyday 4 days a week plus Lexia at home. By the end of last year he was at lower 4th grade level. He began 5th grade at the same Catholoc school this year I was so impressed. I hope he continues to flourish. He went from a class of 40 kids at his public school to 28. Which was a big improvement in itself. When kids have the proper support thry flourish. I supported him despite my disability.

[@Melina_Shadow]

You did a great job discussing this! We live in a world with so much access to information, and people reject it. Parents need to be involved. Teachers and parents used to work together. My son is 12, he's a wonderful reader, and he is wonderful at math. I grew up with parents who were not involved. I was always told I was stupid and didn't have support at home. Still, as an adult, I'm not the best at math and reading. BUT... I have made sure I educate my son, and I use the resources available to me to make sure he's learning and he doesn't struggle like I have. My husband helps as well. Now, at 12, my son is better at math than me, and he is a good reader. You don't have to be the smartest person or good at something to make sure you're educating your child. With Google and KZbin, there is so much help to teach what you may struggle with.

[@kenyonbissett3512]

You are 100% correct. Most books are in audio form at libraries. Using the book and following along with audio version still allows parents to read with their children. It shows them how important you the parent think reading is. So many resources now.

[@johnjamele]

I'm 60 years old and have been teaching at the same school for 29 years. I have never seen the level of outright HATE for anyone who doesn't belong to my students' particular social group (race, ethnicity, sex) as I do this year. The kids LOATH blacks and gays and are try to outdo each other in expressing this. It's depressing and pushing me to retire.

[@jodame3925]

😢 them hating blacks is just pure systemic the gay part really doesn't matter anymore

[@livingdeadgirl8463]

Sadly, I've begun to notice this too. I'm 26 and I remember back when I was in high school and almost everyone was against racism, sexism, homophobia etc. and I really had a lot of hope for the next generations of kids. But now, I feel like ever since the rise of Andrew Tate, Sneako, and other "alpha male" influencers all of that has completely gone out the window and it's a scary thing to think about.

[@panickedshears]

I was an openly queer-trans person in highschool from 2021-2023. And yeah, you’re right. It’s… awful. The stigmatisation against transgender and queer individuals has gotten a lot worse within the past few years, because they’ve started using them as punching bags again in politics. That trickles down to every day life, into schools. Into the lives of those 14 year old queer kids who get bullied into a suicide attempt by their peers. Then you have black students. Now, I went to school in a primarily white school (I believe it was about 98% white. We had 421 students, and only like 5 black students. There was 2 Asian students, one half Chinese and the other Filipino. Not a lot of minority representation I’ll tell you that much…) Man, the treatment some of those kids got… it was brutal. If I had a jar of pennies that got another penny every time I heard a white guy say the n-word, i would’ve been a millionaire within the first month.

[@michellebaker6302]

Probably because kids are tired of being told they're the problem for being NOT those things just because they aren't. White kids are subjected to racism every single day because kids are taught that they are oppressors even if those particular kids are the most anti-racist kids there could be. And with gender ideology being shoved down their throats, girls told they are transphobic if they don't want boys in their lockers rooms etc., of course they are against them.

[@designateddoser7651]

This is also a symptom of these groups (black, trans) having the spotlight 24/7 and the behavior of these individuals being constantly excused. I've been pushed to tears being sexually harassed and touched by black men and nothing would be done because they were black. I've been followed and sexually harassed and aggressively pursued by a trans guy dressed as a girl, nothing could be done because he was too valuable of an asset for diversity. There are no standards for their behavior. And that has an effect. I have a hard time trusting those groups now, not because I want to think badly or think they're lesser because they're not inherently, but because it's been proven that the consequences for trusting them can be much worse because they don't have to live by the same rules. Kids can sniff that out, and they'll hate those groups for it.

[@allieniner675]

My parents are both in Australian primary education, and WOW! The crap that literal CHILDREN are able to get away with because of the line “you can’t tell me what to do, you’re not my mum/dad” is disgusting! I have Gen Alpha family members and the attitude they have disgusts me to my core! There were extremely rare occasions where I sassed or disrespected my teacher, when my parents found out 👏🏻 I 👏🏻 WAS 👏🏻 PUNISHED 👏🏻 I had real difficulties in school (I was only diagnosed with ADHD and ASD in my 20s) but even then I was able to read at my age level… Hearing videos like this makes me second guess having children…

[@zephsmith3499]

I hope you don't have to give up on having kids. It IS a big commitment, and parents who expect devices + schools to raise their kids are failing that. I don't think I'd have kids today unless I was in a stable marriage and we were willing and able to home school if necessary. I know that's a big responsibility, but in some places there is good support. Then you don't find yourself captive to a failing school district with no alternative.

[@blackfootelite2800]

The most inspirational and impactful people in my life have been my teachers. My high school teachers, save a few but that’s another story, my violin teacher, my acting teachers, one is now my mentor and all the other instructors in my life have helped me become the person am today. I have been told that I too should go into education as well. My reservation lacks proper music teachers. But to all the educators, thank you.

[@saranohmusic57]

I feel for the 5 yr old ballet teacher. I'm a music teacher for infant-5. Parents and teachers are literally not expecting these kids to follow ANY direction. It's hurting them.

[@irishcajun85]

My mom had me reading by two. A love of learning is *taught*. If you don’t have that, you’re building your foundation on sand.

[@Because-rt8qs]

The school should be able to teach a kid to read without the parents involvement, because a child with illiterate parents can still be taught and not be stuck in an illiterate caste. The school knows the correct methods and has years to do it correctly, with or without the parents.

[@mysterygirl6305]

The education system is broken. Plain and simple. We need classes like financial studies, home cooking, sewing, wood class etc, mechanic. Classes that actually help students prepare the real world and just your basic math, science, history and health/p.e. thats what kids need, more hands on learning that makes them want to put their phones down.

[@S5S5066]

We need way more history and science to be taught the amount of ignorance is insane and with the world is like his it is. and math needs to be taught because of 2nd education like college you can’t have college kids not understanding geometry

[@AbbysalWarrior72756]

Im really offended that i literally agree with this! I feel like this what all school should do if they want us to be fully prepared in life or else we wouldn’t survive if lets say a disaster happens or like if we went out in the wilderness

[@doofuscawt]

Sewing is not a necessity but I agree with the rest

[@mysterygirl6305]

@doofuscawt sewing can be necessary. Say u have a rip on a favorite shirt or pants and u don't wanna spend money on new ones or can't afford too. Sewing can help that.

[@doofuscawt]

Sewing wouldnt be the biggest necessity out of all those though, in fact probably the least. There are also a lot more things a school can do with that money or they could just add a different class@@mysterygirl6305

[@TheRealEleventhDoctor]

hi! I'm turning 14 in about two weeks and I completely agree, I grew up reading constantly and still do basically whenever I can. I did grow up on technology but not to a level these kids did, basically my mom would lend me her phone for an hour whenever I was hanging out with my best friend so we could play Minecraft together or something like that. I thank my mom so much for that, I got my first proper phone when I turned 12 starting seventh grade because I had to start taking public transport. My parents agreed I should have something to communicate with them in case something happened, I am definitely trying to cut down on how much I use my phone since I used to be outside whenever I can. It's definitely hard but I'm making pretty good progress, this year in school I experienced a lot of the kids in my class having low reading levels and being extremely un empathetic. I agree with all the teachers here, keep your kids off devices unless it's actual educational content :)

[@Sweet_Wild_Life_Art]

Keep in mind not every teacher is good either! I remember back in highschool I had some teachers that I still couldn't believe were qualified and allowed to be around kids. Some were vague with their instrusctions, some were incredibly impatient, and some had unrealistic expectations.

[@indigopines]

I second this! I'm an adult now, but I still remember sitting at my desk wondering why this teacher chose their career, when they so clearly disliked children and the material they were teaching.

[@ttintagel]

"High school" is two words.

[@BH-2023]

*THIS!* I won't name the university, but I will say it is a Kansas state university renowned for their teaching program, even having a teacher's hall of fame. I can tell you with 100% percent certainty that their reputation is 100% horsesh*t. When a university teaching program has to hammer into their students' heads in every required course that it is illegal to sleep with their students, you know you're not getting served the cream of the crop. And don't get me started on the fact that I have tutored many of the recipients of that degree during their tenure at that university and can say that ChatGPT (and other tech of its ilk) should have been awarded the degree, not them.

[@sita9071]

This video was very well-done. Regarding Carmel High School, I actually went there from 2017-2018 and can confirm that it is better funded in a lot of areas. However, there’s some areas of the school that are noticeably less well-maintained than others (ex. The science classrooms in comparison to the gyms). The social culture there also sucked when I was there: very cliquey (though they pretend that it’s not), ableist, transphobic, pro-abstinence, and pretty discriminatory to religions that weren’t Christianity (ppl actually protested when a mosque was built in Carmel and I’ve dealt with prejudice from, mainly white, kids because I’m Hindu).

[@nikkidesu9236]

Can confirm, I live in the area and taught kids in the Carmel area. It's a heavy conservative area that is very discriminatory.

[@heather957]

I live here in Carmel. It's an Indiana problem. They don't like anyone who isn't from here, and this is coming from a conservative white person. But God forbid I'm a native Texan and not a Hoosier.

[@arielgalles2107]

I'm from Kokomo and it's literally a joke to make fun of Carmel for being rich, white, and racist.

[@jasonlin5460]

​@@arielgalles2107 I remember Kokomo from the Ryan White autobiography, so it's funny that they have a town to punch up to, since the entire country punched down on Kokomo for harassing White.

[@arielgalles2107]

@@jasonlin5460 It's well warranted to trash on Kokomo tbh. Kokomo has a pretty glaring history of bigotry but I'd say we've come pretty far whereas Carmel hasn't.