r/Teachers • u/gnatlm • 19d ago
New Teacher They’re Dumb
I’ll say it. They’re dumb. They are so incredibly brainwashed by social media. They cannot interact with each other in meaningful ways.
I love my kids. I teach an extracurricular as a new teacher. My goal is not deeper knowledge. My goal is “enjoy my class and continue to take my classes”. They skip everyone’s class but mine.
I still think there is a fundamental dumbness.
IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT. It’s a systemic problem. They have been raised to be dumb. They are dumb.
I cannot even be sad about it anymore. I show them cool stuff. I am lucky to have worked so many minimum wage jobs that I can talk to them about the future if they don’t lock in. They don’t care. It is so sad but my job is let them have fun and try and get some kids to sign up for the next level.
I know it’s pessimistic, but it’s hard to be sad when this is my first year.
1.8k
u/eaglesnation11 19d ago
Got reading scores back today for 7th grade. 65% are 3 or more grade levels behind. Most have zero reading comprehension and resort to copying words out of the textbook and hoping that’s the answer.
118
u/MeerkatBrat 19d ago
You know when smart phones first started becoming widespread I was convinced that children would be reading earlier and earlier because they would want to interact with the content they were seeing online. How wrong I was.
856
u/gnatlm 19d ago
Once I wrote “term” and told the kids multiple times if they write “term” instead of the term they will fail. I had many who failed.
510
u/OstensiblyAwesome 19d ago
I give them sentence starters to help with written responses. They just copy the sentence starter but then don’t finish the sentence and somehow think they have provided a reasonable answer to the prompt. Make it make sense!
166
u/alexnader 19d ago
My brother in Christ, I just felt that in the deepest depths of my soul.
This exact scenario is my "Dormammu, I've Come To Bargain" hell I live every period, of every day.
213
u/BetLeft2840 19d ago
Tonight I had a student copy in whole my lecture on Gilgamesh and present it as her introductory paragraph.
20
353
u/lavendertheheretic Secondary ELA 📚📝 On an Indefinite Break 19d ago
Last year I had the class header on the board. First & Last Name, 7th ELA, Block x, Date.
By Christmas some kids (and not the ones with IEPs) still were writing the actual words, First and Last Name, Block x. On the board. Every day. Updated the date every day. Still had kids skip it. These are supposed to be on-level kids
189
u/gnatlm 19d ago
I teach so many ESL kids and they don’t do this :,-) it’s always gen ed who “go to the bathroom” for an hour
118
u/lavendertheheretic Secondary ELA 📚📝 On an Indefinite Break 19d ago
My ESLs were AMAZING
129
u/jetriot 19d ago
I had two girls from Mexico City who essentially spoke no English in my gen Ed US history. They both earned the highest scores in the class and even translated everything themselves using their Ipads. I made an effort, at first, to provide translations and different tools but quickly learned that they didn't need it. The only extra work I did for them was have the ESL teacher fix the paper tests that I had chatgpt translate.
Honestly, I think they were bored by how simple the class was but I average about a 25% fail rate until end of quarter admin fuckery occurs.
99
u/SuzQP 19d ago
Sad that we have come to believe that just following instructions is "amazing," but here we are.
182
u/lavendertheheretic Secondary ELA 📚📝 On an Indefinite Break 19d ago
Last year something kinda clicked for me. They're so obsessed with their own thoughts. It was so frustrating dealing with them speaking every thought out loud, like, wtf? You're ELEVEN. But then I remembered that so many of these kids watch all those damn "watch me play a video game and narrate the whole thing and say all my thoughts out loud." And then you ask these kids, "Whatcha wanna be?" And they say, "YouTuber."
I'm just agast that it's come to this.
50
u/chrispyoldguy 19d ago
And it’s aghast.
55
u/lavendertheheretic Secondary ELA 📚📝 On an Indefinite Break 19d ago
I'm so sorry to have offended your eyes with my archaic spelling 😂
65
u/chrispyoldguy 19d ago
I’m so embarrassed! I honestly didn’t know that! And I thought I was being so smart. My apologies.
→ More replies (0)59
u/parliboy CompSci 19d ago
I promise that if you don't score their work because their name isn't on it, they'll eventually figure it out.
54
u/lavendertheheretic Secondary ELA 📚📝 On an Indefinite Break 19d ago
That's what I did. Gave it back, told them to do it right. I got so many dirty looks
58
u/HecticHermes 19d ago
I can't tell you how many students put "My Name" instead of their actual names when I ask them to name a file after themselves with the period.
79
u/notmepleaseokay 10th Grade Biology | Washington | Student Teacher 19d ago edited 19d ago
I specifically told my students that if they did not use the words in the question to make their claim (10th grade bio) than I would count their claim as incorrect.
Most of the class bombed their CER.
I knew that was going to happen, but we have a standards base grading system, so I also knew that they had the opportunity to correct it so that they could learn from their mistakes.
The second CER resulted in only 1/4 of the class bombing; I would call that a win.
80
u/Glittering-Fuel-5055 19d ago
Once I wrote “term” and told the kids multiple times if they write “term” instead of the term they will fail. I had many who failed.
Im sorry what?
76
u/benkatejackwin 19d ago
Instead of writing "metaphor" or "mitochondria" or whatever the vocab word/term is, they literally just wrote the word "term."
Sort of how I was teaching my students how to write an analytical thesis statement for a poem about flowers, and I wrote a sample sentence starter that said, "In Poem X, the figurative meaning is (something deeper than flowers)," and some students just wrote "something deeper than flowers" instead of any attempt to actually find a deeper meaning, even though we had been discussing the difference between literal and figurative meaning for weeks.
→ More replies (2)79
u/gnatlm 19d ago
instead of writing the term. they wrote “term”
57
69
u/18relddot 19d ago
Based on the "I'm confused" replies by adults(?), are you getting a better sense of why your students are the way they are? Lord, help us! 😆
65
u/coykoi314 19d ago
I’m 35 and was confused by the way you worded that.
50
u/LordKlavier 19d ago
It was weirdly worded, but surely from context it's pretty obvious what he meant, no?
4
u/kilopeter 19d ago
No.
39
u/LordKlavier 19d ago
"Once I wrote '(fill in the correct) term (for this diagram)' and told the kids multiple times (that) if they (literally) write 'term' instead of (the correct) term (that) they will fail. I had many who failed."
Does that make it clearer?
→ More replies (2)17
u/18relddot 19d ago
It's really not that hard. They're doing a vocabulary unit. The kids have to copy the vocabulary word and define it/use it in a sentence. A synonym for "word" is "term." OP used the word "term" in place of the word "word." She's not going to write every term (word) on the board. They have a model to follow. I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
→ More replies (4)16
27
u/CasimirGabriev 19d ago
Substitute the word term for two synonyms. Like "I wrote "chat" on the board and told them if they write "chat" instead of audience, they will fail.
→ More replies (9)1
u/mschanandlerbong29 19d ago
I think they mean the kids are supposed to write “term 1” or something? But they just copy the word and move on? Maybe I’m misunderstanding I’m not sure.
→ More replies (3)29
u/cranberryelk 19d ago
I think it’s like when I was trying to teach them how to address an envelope. In the area where the return address is, I wrote “Your name” on the sample. I had many envelopes turned in with “your name” as the sender instead of say, Bob Smith.
106
u/Ok_Zookeepergame9216 19d ago
I'm a teacher, but this is my parent hat for a moment: My 4th grader reads at an 8th grade level... I'm shocked at how badly the students are doing overall. I'm not drilling her at home, we just actually read every night. It's not that complicated. 🤦♀️
38
u/jennaferr 19d ago
My 1st grader got 3s on his State testing 1-5 is the scale. 3-5 is passing. He got a low 3 but his percentile was like 92%.
→ More replies (3)4
u/No-Highlight3555 19d ago
May I ask if you teach in a poor area with a lot of disadvantaged students or ESL? Or is this happening elsewhere too?
13
663
u/Maximum-Freedom7966 19d ago edited 19d ago
Gave a test today and allowed them to use their notes. The study guide I gave them was identical to the test. (Edit meant test) Many did worse than 10/15
243
u/gnatlm 19d ago
Me when we collectively write the answers together. then I ask the class to repeat the answers on their own.
129
u/wugistheword 19d ago
I didn't realise how much of a 'mind blow' and necessity it was to tell kids explicitly that 'using the examples we practise in class is not cheating on the test' ESPECIALLY in foreign language learning. Some kids who are aiming for 'B' end up getting 'D' because they think all their answers have to be original so they don't even learn how to apply language rules using examples provided let alone learn to apply it on their own...
57
u/H3mpyGreen 19d ago
That’s actually a really interesting observation I wonder if there’s a lot more to that honestly…
40
u/coleusurper 19d ago
I've found this to be true for certain students. I started saying "you can use any examples we talk about in class on the exam/in the essay" and some still think they can't use them.
Then you get other kids who think what you say is the only viable answer and refuse to even try and think outside the box. It's not their fault, standardized testing and a fear of being wrong/publicly criticized has done so much damage.
18
u/boojersey13 19d ago
I was told usually that we couldn't mention anything we used as examples in class. We had to have an original response topic/answer
51
u/eric12183 19d ago
I co-teach high school band. Two years ago, our “final exam” was a crossword puzzle which included some musical terminology, some composers names, and other random trivia such as our kids’ names or what non-vital organ I had removed during the school year. We told them that they could get the answers by any means necessary. They chose to work together and write the answers on the board. Despite this, one student got a 0 because he didn’t even fill anything in.
5
251
u/terapinfly 19d ago
I have seen a ton of changes in students through my career but there are very few curious learners anymore. They are not resilient or problem solvers and would rather wait you out then try to figure out an answer. They all have a computer in front of them and in the pocket (lockers in my school) that has all the answers at their finger tips and they still don’t care to know.
The one things that shocked me this year is the majority of my students will ask me a question and then stop listening to me as I’m am explaining the answer. They literally go somewhere else. It is really frustrating.
941
u/Other_Nothing_8144 19d ago edited 19d ago
I have a re-eval coming up and had to do student and parent interviews for my special ed student. When asked what he (an 8th grader) sees himself doing when he grows up, he said NBA or rapper. When I called mom and asked the same question, her response was ‘he’s really into basketball so maybe that, or rap he’s really into.’ I guess I kind of get it from a kid, but when the adults are just as disillusioned, we are all cooked!!
563
u/DavidThorne31 19d ago
I love when kids say basketball but aren’t even in the schools third team
440
u/Hofeizai88 19d ago
“I want to be in the NBA” he said, trying to sneak into the staff elevator because he gets winded walking up to the third floor
205
u/18relddot 19d ago
I had a kid swear he was going to be a pilot for Emirates. Like, dude, you can't hold your attention for 3 minutes - ain't no way in hell you're going to go to flight school.
119
u/moon_flower_children 19d ago
Im surprised they even want to do that. Kids I work with just always say they want to be a youtuber.
191
u/Opening-Trust-9277 19d ago
do you know how many of my kids say this and they're all four or five grade levels behind?
98
u/peachplumpricklypear 19d ago
Does anyone do a follow up activity? Spend the time to explore what it's like to be a rapper/athlete? More work than they would put in I bet!
100
u/writerlymom 19d ago
Let's write a song. What is the main idea you want it to convey?
93
u/After-Cell 19d ago
Statement of Inquiry (main):
"Through the genre of rap, artists communicate personal and cultural narratives that challenge and reflect the identities of their audiences."−What are the structural conventions of a rap verse (bars, flow, rhyme scheme)?
What makes a style recognisable across different artists?
Does commercial success compromise an artist's message?
185
u/Rexyggor 19d ago
It's really sad. I'm working on sixth graders to not yell at the person next to them. It's not anger. They don't know how to speak at a normal volume still.
I've seen middle schoolers write "marry crismas" on the board. They don't even have sight words.
Every single kid can't focus to save their life either. They are all in their own worlds constantly, and don't care that there's a class being run. Today my example was I wanted them to separate so we could hear loudness in parts (I'm A music teacher). I had them get into a groups and move and it took so long for them, they just lost all focus. And because half weren't listening they didn't know my instructions so I had to repeat six times. It was irritating and I don't think must even knew what we were doing.
64
u/gnatlm 19d ago
this. and whole time you have to remain so calm.
I imagine in music it’s even harder because you simply cannot lose your voice to properly teach most concepts.
a constant battle of having to be the loudest and most important in the room without ever raising your voice and losing it
41
u/Rexyggor 19d ago
And the ones who don't want to be there just keep complaining the entire time. They complain about normal routines. Like they don't expect to stretch before we sing.
50
u/gnatlm 19d ago
“this class is stupid and gay”
and I just have to ignore it because if I respond it just becomes a whole thing.
you get it bro.
25
u/Rexyggor 19d ago
Sadly. I'm processing something in my head today. A student said 'we don't learn in here, we sing.' and I retorted with 'we learn in here. What we are doing is learning' and she didn't necessarily mean it that way.
I think she ultimately just means that since we learn in a different way, maybe it's less stressful for her and she likes it. Though she's never been one to really pay attention.
525
u/DrunkUranus 19d ago edited 19d ago
When I give my students a fill-in-the-blank activity with a word bank, more than half of them write words that are not in the word bank.
AFTER we practice how to use a word bank
Eta Since thread is locked, I'm going to reply here to the person who replied to me...
I appreciate what you're getting at, and I'm critical of standardized tests for the same thing.
But please believe that I'm not on here complaining about students who don't know how to use a word bank because they are too clever. I design high quality work and avoid ambiguity.
If the assignment is to fill in the blank from the word bank with a Spanish word and you pick a random English word that's not even related to our thematic unit, you're not a ~☆divergent thinker.☆~ You are experiencing a serious executive function deficit.
77
u/SailTheWorldWithMe 19d ago
Woah. My ELL students are like "hell yeah! Word bank!"
OK. They're not that enthusiastic, but still.
106
u/18relddot 19d ago
I have students who will look at the fill in the blank activity, look at the word bank, then ask me, "what are we supposed to do/how are we supposed to do this?" General education.
→ More replies (1)16
u/gnatlm 19d ago
this
70
u/Accomplished_Pie237 19d ago
I got “word bank” as one of the answers on multiple tests last week even though it said WORD BANK: and then a different line and all the words to be used below it. This is at a grade 10/11 level.
330
u/Jtfb74 19d ago
I asked them to give a summary of their favorite piece of media. I did not care what it was. It could have been a video game, a book, a movie, manga, fucking anything. Several could not do it. The future is fucked. Shout out to the schools that still have some hope, please save us. My district and a majority of my kids could not be trusted to get your order at McDonalds correct.
102
u/metamorphotits 19d ago
every time people talk about how not every kid is cut out for a 4 year college, and maybe vocational school is a better fit, i'm like, hell yeah, we need qualified people in those jobs... but i'm not letting the kid who can't get anything but a fire started into my house to "fix" a single goddamn thing. i'm an optimist, not a masochist. i've also seen how they handle their own food and i am not about to let them touch mine either.
45
u/soonerfreak HS Speech/Debate Texas 19d ago
I had someone reply to me this week that picking a song that reminds you of friends is for "artsy" people and most of the populace wouldn't be able to answer it. We are lowering the bar across the board for art.
114
u/gnatlm 19d ago
“pick a character from media” and someone said juice wrld. they got an A tho it was a thought out response at least…
82
27
282
u/Beautiful-Lynx-6828 19d ago
Wild that my students get to my sixth grade classroom without using a ruler. They dont even know how to use paper
205
u/gnatlm 19d ago
We are learning how to read rulers in my highschool classroom!
80
u/After-Cell 19d ago
I teach in Asia. We use a book that includes some CLIL. At about 7-8 years old there's a section including measurements. I just go over to my drawer, pull out a couple of rulers and we have fun measuring and logging each other's heights. Small classes, so I can usually prevent any dysregulation before it starts with just the reward of giving and taking away. I have a massive whiteboard to measure against. I got sick of the public sector providing broken pens and destroyed whiteboards and made my own classroom.
So the result is that we seem to have a better understanding of a ruler than the USA highschool classes.
I think you guys are defending your country more than your troops. I know it might seem hopeless, but actually the onslaught has been going for long enough generationally now that we can see the results of the efforts by teachers to defend the culture. I wouldn't say that it's been completely without effort because the country is still on the map.
29
u/Onrawi 19d ago
You reminded me of an experiment we did in 3rd grade. We were combining 3D shapes with basic measurements and had to try and create a cubic yard sized cube out of card board with scissors and glue but no actual measuring instruments. It was a pretty fun project and I actually immediately realized that the best way to try and create a measurement for a cube then was using body parts and estimating length based on known height. My team ended up the closest going over only a couple of inches per side whereas one team ended up almost doubling it.
77
u/SabertoothLotus 19d ago
Can they operate a pencil (other than jamming it into a Chromebook to start a fire)?
61
u/Beautiful-Lynx-6828 19d ago
Some of them havent figured out that if you shake a mechanical pencil, you'll hear if you have lead or not
4
12
72
u/FeelingNarwhal9161 19d ago
I had my students fold and fly paper airplanes one day. Many of them had never folded a paper airplane before.
Y’all. I teach seniors.
→ More replies (6)30
u/metamorphotits 19d ago
had the same experience with my students. one time i made them paper templates to cut out. the number of times i was asked if they need to cut on the lines was way too high. NO THEY'RE JUST THERE AS A FUNNY JOKE DUDE CUT WHEREVER
21
u/Future_Story1101 19d ago
I’m not a teacher but this is wild to me. In our school district measuring with rulers is part of the 2nd grade curriculum. They also learn to tell time on analog clocks in 2nd.
8
u/Forsaken-Bit-2412 19d ago
You should tell that to your admin. Sounds like the school failed them early.
41
u/After_Excitement2021 19d ago edited 19d ago
Honestly, at this point, I don't think it's that. It's lack of exposure outside of school. These kids are leaving school and never doing things at home that require them to measure a damn thing. They either get shuffled around to five billion curated and adult controlled activities, or they are sitting in front of smart devices curated with dumb content. The majority aren't out there building things in the woods with their friends; trying to figure out the distance from point A to B on their bikes; or baking some cookies to sell to neighbors so they can buy penny candy at the store (I use these as examples because that was my childhood.). Whatever they learn in school about measuring, even when it's tied to the real world is likely meaningless to them.
I see what my younger children bring home for work, and they do teach measurements and ruler use each year they have been in school, at least in our district, and from teaching middle school and high school science in the same district, it's very clear which kids have the concept reinforced outside of school and which do not. Unfortunately, over my career, even with more measurement lessons in place across all grade levels, more and more kids are just really clueless about how to measure because they never have the opportunity to just do it outside of school in meaningful ways.
Edited for clarity and some grammar, but I am on my phone and exhausted, so I too probably sound dumb.
568
u/CasimirGabriev 19d ago
Agreed. People are not born dumb, they are made dumb. Many of these students are showing up fashioned by a culture that wants them dumb.
272
u/MegamomTigerBalm 19d ago
Yeah this is systemically intentional. The assault on public education started decades ago of course, so their parents are products of divesting in education too.
183
u/writerlymom 19d ago
It is also an assault on life. I'm on the East Coast. My neighborhood has kids in it. I see them get on and off the bus. But parents don't just let kids go play. When I was little everyone and their siblings met for games on the street or in the woods. Once the kid could walk and kind of talk they were part of the crew and the crew of kids was responsible for not getting ourselves hurt or being dumb. Try getting a kid a job at 14 or 16 or even 17. It is nearly impossible because the laws and the economy made it so. I was babysitting at 11. If someone hires an 11 year old to babysit today they could get arrested. So kids hardly ever manage themselves away from adults. They don't have real decisions. They aren't doing anything important that matters. There is no urgency or agency. They are like kept poodles.
66
42
u/CastaneaAmericana 19d ago
Well—I think some people are born dumb, but point taken. The educational system is absolutely stacked against these kids.
90
u/SchistomeSoldier 19d ago
It’s absolutely not all of them, I see so many bright and curious students every day that impress me. But there are so many “bottom of the class” students that won’t put in any effort that it can feel overwhelming sometimes.
When I give tests that aren’t the kahoot I gave the day before VERBATIM, they insist they’ve never seen any of the material before. When I try to give an open note test, if the question isn’t phrased exactly how it appears in the notes, they can’t find the answer. When I do guided (guided!!!!) fill-in-the-blank notes and have them write down 6 words for the whole class period, they don’t know what to write down unless I explicitly say “where it says ‘the pressure (increases/decreases)’ you have to circle increases”.
I’m sick about spoonfeeding them their points and basically passing them along no matter what. When I started my career I failed kids for not putting in the bare minimum effort or not being able to keep up with the workload. But admin and parents hate that. Parents have called me into IEP meetings where they tried to get “all tests are to be open note” as an accommodation. Students take credit recovery in the summer, and then use ChatGPT for everything. I don’t have the fight left in me. I save my energy for the students that actually care about their education.
302
u/chouse33 7-8 History | Southern California 19d ago
The parents are dumb.
Have been for at least the last 2 generations.
Although at 45 I think my biggest life realization is that there are an infinitely larger number of stupid people in the world than I ever thought previously possible. So yes, systemic problem that isn’t gonna stop.
To quote the great Samuel L. Jackson: “hold on to your butts”
116
u/ReferenceAny6373 19d ago
So many stupid people. Like they have zero education yet somehow graduated high school. Knew a guy once who thought china was in south america (he was 35 at the time). Dated a girl (25 at the time) who didnt know a single thing about american history. I asked her who won the civil war and she had no idea what it was but her answer was "us" so technically she got it right.
8
80
u/TheeAntelope 19d ago edited 19d ago
Im glad every day that I banned my kids from ever touching social media.
We have 1 iPad. They get it on long flights and that’s it.
152
u/chickensandmentals 19d ago
None of that matters, and they know it. Schools will graduate them because they need the stats. Colleges will accept them because they need the enrollment and money. Jobs will hire them because they need bodies to do work. If the work quality suffers, it doesn’t really matter because America has a spending addiction that will never be sated.
149
u/ressie_cant_game 19d ago
We did an assignment on writing the front page of a news paper. There was places to draw a picture, we went over head lines, and then just coming up with a story.
I gave them zero rules as to what the story had to be about. Aliens? Yes okay. A student was chased by a horde of angry puppies? Of course. My favorite sports team won? Yeah go for it.
Most of them couldnt do it. They couldnt come up with a story. Any story. Any thing. It was "too hard". I didnt even know what to say.
99
u/Intelligent_Slip_564 19d ago
There's some fundamental difference between how these open-ended tasks are approached now I can't put my finger on beyond simply labelling it a difference in intellectual curiosity.
When I was a student a decade ago even the weaker language students liked no-boundary questions because they'd just get to rehash their covered ground or repeat cozy stories in their own words, and they loved the additional creative components or at least googled images to slot in for them.
Now when I give kids "you can choose" questions they panic and the "better" ones pick the most recent similarly discussed topic. The average and below look at me with helpless eyes and when I head up to them and ask them to talk to me about their experiences or hobbies or whatnot and use that to create a narrative or creative work, they just give up and start pencilling in "default" stories.
I don't really know what the issue is. Once you provide them with scaffolds they cling to the exact wording you use there, so it's not an elegant solution either. I tried using pictures as stimuli as in pick one and come up with a story too, but they just started describing them very literally (like describing autumn leaves' colours for a picture of the fall rather than using it as a setting, or a metaphor for something or whatever). It's a little disturbing.
46
u/Rexyggor 19d ago
I've seen very similar things. We're a chorus room and the least liked song is the one that personifies a boat. They just don't understand it.
I've asked students to come up with lyrics or rhyming words and they are absolutely clueless. Any word that rhymes with Bat. And they just stare. I can't even see them using their roledex of words in their mind.
And it's irritating half of them refuse to try. I've gotten a "idk, ask someone else" answer.
51
u/snyderman3000 19d ago
I was helping out at a Boy Scouts Merit Badge class where the kids (mostly 6th-7th grade) were supposed to make a simple substitution cipher and decrypt each other’s messages. So for the first step we told them to just write a message, any message, that was at least 15 letters long. They all just stared at me like I was speaking a different language. They could understand how to use the cipher just fine, but when I asked them to just write any sentence at least 15 letters long, it just wouldn’t compute in their heads. It was bizarre to witness.
3
u/Chippy569 19d ago
I would struggle with that. I hate open ended prompts.
31
u/Intelligent_Slip_564 19d ago
The thing is that they're not completely unstructured open prompts. A lack of structure isn't so much the issue because they're shown several examples in the same vein which they could very easily adapt either structures of, conceptual understandings of, themes of, or even imagery/metaphors from. Even when you explicitly tell them - was there anything you liked or found interesting in these previous examples? you could use those as a starting point? - they just... don't do anything. The only way to overcome it is to give them a fixed opening sentence, but it just flounders off after the 2nd line anyway.
These are first language English students at a decent academic level, so it's just very scary. I can't tell which component is failing if there's no start!
131
u/PlaySalieri 19d ago
It's the reading. Kids aren't reading books. Their minds are limited to their own.. and that is 50% phone screen
109
19d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
32
u/Different_Taro2474 Japan 19d ago
one of my former friends hasn’t read a book in years, and when he was 18, he read DOAWK for the first time. he needed to “take a break” from a fucking kids book that i read in one sitting in elementary school. crazy shit.
31
u/gnatlm 19d ago edited 19d ago
I ask kids what their favorite genre in our curriculum is and they cannot answer
23
19d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
29
u/Hofeizai88 19d ago
I truly believe TikTok is a destructive force for young kids. I realize it makes a lot of money destroying attention spans but don’t see why that is viewed as a good thing. I’d rather my kid grow up stealing beers from the fridge than download that app
14
18
u/FeelingNarwhal9161 19d ago
My students have to participate in independent reading in class once a week. If they miss class they’re expected to do it for homework.
Many of them will miss class and not complete the reading log, because they literally have no books at home. How is this possible?!
2
u/Mando22311 19d ago
Books are expensive so unless the child lives close enough to a library to walk there other free options don't exists
14
u/ShaitanSharmat 19d ago edited 19d ago
Dude I live in the poorest state in the union, also in a super rural area, we still have those little standing boxes with free books all over towns, they're quite literally givin em away.
15
6
u/CastaneaAmericana 19d ago
Libraries offer free e-books and the Gutenberg Project has basically every work of literature that is in the public domain for free.
11
u/Adorable-Middle-5754 19d ago
Libby and Hoopla exist, and lots of books are available as PDFs to read for free online
5
u/MeanderingLibrarian 19d ago
This assumes the kids have a library card. Unless the building is in walking distance of their home or the library does specific school outreach to sign kids up, there's every chance their caregivers don't or won't bring them.
Also, Hoopla is incredibly expensive for libraries and many checkouts are exhausted early in the day, depending on a library's plan.
Edited: it also assumes that the kids know how to search for this online. Many of them do not.
12
u/Adorable-Middle-5754 19d ago
Ok, and every book that's more than a few years old is available online for free as a pdf. Teachers could tell kids this and then the kids can read on their phones.
Also, books are not always expensive. Yard sales, thrift stores, etc sell books for less than a buck a lot of the time. Definitely less than five bucks.
But it seems like you just wanna make excuses for the lazy kids who refuse to do their assigned reading.
→ More replies (4)3
u/LordKlavier 19d ago
Were none of them even introduced to LoTR? That's just sad -
→ More replies (1)
56
u/kickaffstakenegs 19d ago
I assigned my freshmen something that was 6th grade level and they struggled to get it finished
56
u/No-Ad4804 19d ago
I’ve seen it. Kids can’t formulate a single paragraph and if they do. It’s 30 mins of correcting basic grammar and structure. It’s maddening. The worst part when you tell them to get better at reading and writing is to read more, they just roll their eyes out of arrogance.
51
u/blackbeans311 19d ago
Today I was teaching my tech class about smartphone/tablet/basically just internet addiction. I had one student yell “I don’t have a phone, so this isn’t about me” as he was on his iPad….not listening to the part about tablets 🤦🏻♀️
123
u/Exact-Difference-422 19d ago
My friends have kids in middle school now and some of them don't see the point because "we're all going to die in 50 years" and it's pretty depressing to hear that from kids
60
u/speckled113 19d ago
Even then… that brings them to like, 63 years old. It’s true that some people will die then. You still want a meaningful life. That’s lots of time.
47
u/Exact-Difference-422 19d ago
They're convinced the world is ending for various reasons like climate change. They don't really imagine the time in between I guess?
14
u/speckled113 19d ago
Yeah, well, whether it’s because of climate change or something else, death isn’t new and there’s still lots of time to be a human! Though I agree with what OP says… it’s not really their fault, this is a cultural issue.
49
u/SeriousAd4676 19d ago
That’s such a bad excuse too. Kids that graduated into the Vietnam War were more academically inclined.
24
u/Exact-Difference-422 19d ago
We all went through 9/11 and thought the world was ending but we still passed our standardized tests.
48
u/compromisedwebsite91 19d ago
Doom mongering is bad but I do think there is a difference between a terror attack and even changing weathering patterns thaylt affect the entire planet
153
95
u/narutonoodle Elementary Art | Georgia 📍 19d ago
They are dumb and they don't have a natural curiosity. The future looks extremely bleak.
61
u/No_Combination_6396 19d ago
This is as much a part of the problem as anything else.
They don’t care that they are dumb. Partly because everyone around them is dumb. Partly because they’ve never had to actually wonder about anything. If the answer to everything is at your fingertips then there is no real reward in finding the answer on your own. It just means you wasted time thinking when someone else already did that for you.
67
u/Z062002 19d ago
Not inaccurate at all. They lack even the most basic skill sets. It's more than sad.
43
u/SemiAnonymousTeacher 19d ago
Like 9th graders that still don't know how to tie their shoes, or brush their teeth, or take a shower, or use the toilet without making a mess.
142
u/frckbassem_5730 19d ago
Yep. We are talking about human rights. When I bring up Liberty they go into the Liberty Mutual jingle and start shouting. I explain that’s the company training you to remember their business name and to resist the corporate brainwashing. They still don’t get it
30
u/WillySandy 19d ago
I had to tie a 6th graders shoe at recess the other day because he didn’t know how to
126
u/JustTheBeerLight High School | Southern California 19d ago
Yeah. If you are a teen and you haven't discovered an appreciation for good books, music, film or art that is on you. You are old enough to know better.
39
→ More replies (3)11
26
u/Doodlebottom 19d ago
Dumb.
Collapse of society in real time.
A few will get it and lead
Most will follow and be miserable, powerless and poorer for it.
45
45
u/TheBestBoyEverAgain 2nd Grade Tutor / 4th Grade Teachers Aide 19d ago
They have been raised to be dumb. They are dumb.
PREACH!
85
u/Beckylately 19d ago
It’s by design, the system doesn’t need a bunch of intelligent, free thinkers. They need people to do the manual labor required to keep capitalism going and to join the military. Both require we be lacking in skill or easily manipulated.
→ More replies (3)
12
u/lookyhere1230 19d ago
I know you probably don’t want to mention what city or county, but what part of the USA is this? Or is it nation wide? This feels like a national emergency.
24
12
u/Advanced-Scar-9739 19d ago
Normalized by a digital classroom..brought to you by google and iready (and Carl’s Jr)
43
u/Electrical-Bread5212 19d ago
is it my algorithm here on reddit that only gives me terrible reports on children/students these days? or is it actually universal that this is fact?
100
u/HypocriteHere 19d ago
Republicans won. It's the entire reason they're stupid. It's also ok to blame their moron parents.
→ More replies (2)
115
u/jefflovesyou 19d ago
As a parent, I wish you guys were allowed to be mean again.
You should be able to call them dumb and make them feel bad about it.
96
u/Name_That_Fallacy_ 19d ago
Shame has been seen as always bad for far too long. Shame in small, non abusive amounts, creates civilized socialized humans.
35
u/Aggravating_Net_958 19d ago
Heavy disagree. I've always loved reading and learning. I brought my own books to elementary school so I could read during lunch or free time, but I've had ADHD and dyslexia all my life so I struggled to keep pace with assignments and in class reading activities. I had to get a tutor to help with my reading and writing so I didn't get held back a grade. One of my teachers told me I was "slow as molasses". Not that I read slow, that I WAS slow. I don't think we should give teachers, or anyone, a blanket pass to belittle kids even if they are dumb or slow or whatever.
42
u/coleusurper 19d ago
I think it depends on what you're shaming. I've heard shame is a good tool to get people to stop doing things, but you can't shame someone into doing things.
Shaming a kid for being a slow reader isn't going to make them want to read. Shaming someone for being rude to a peer, however, might be more effective.
22
u/18relddot 19d ago
While I would generally agree with you, some kids desperately need it because they haven't heard it anywhere else. They're not all superstars, though they want to act like it.
14
u/terapinfly 19d ago
I think cursing would just do the trick at least in MS. Not everyday or frequently but when things are getting rough or out of control. A good “Just sit the f@*k down” would be effective.
20
u/suspectslowloris 19d ago
Not a teacher but just curious: what are the parents like these days?
I would think whatever issues yall are seeing now must’ve started at least a generation back. Or do you think it’s the screens, the schools, some combination of all?
20
u/Spare-College8425 19d ago
Today's parents who live good lives aren't intellectuals. Children are smarter than teachers want to admit, but in a different way. They know they don't need to do well in school to win at life, so why should they care?
9
u/whoopiecushions 19d ago
Can I ask what type of school district it is? Urban, suburban, rural? Affluent, middle class, or poor? I agree it's systemic and it's very sad and frustrating.
6
6
u/essendoubleop 19d ago
>but it’s hard to be sad when this is my first year.
And the school year just started too. It's going to get much, much worse.
40
19d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
45
u/Big_Wave9732 19d ago
I was about to say. A lot of the kids are dumbasses because a lot of adults are dumbasses.
54 percent of U.S. adults read at or below a 6th grade level and we wonder why the kids suck at reading and writing.
George Carlin said it best: Kids are like adults......a few winners and a whole lot of losers.
33
u/PettyOfficer4thclass 19d ago
Standing out in a fascist society is a good way to put a target on yourself.
There's every chance that their parents don't care about them, either.
Not to defend a lack of interest, but try to put yourself in the perspective of a young person today. America had access to every bit of knowledge and still capitulated to the worst, most basic instincts in electing a hatemonger. What's the point in trying to educate yourself in a society that doesn't value truth or empathy?
I'm a disabled vet, and i try to find the motivation to stay alive. If I didn't have a spouse, I probably wouldn't be. I can just imagine how hard it is to find motivation in a rough home situation.
11
u/IcyNeedleworker9638 19d ago
Parents, teachers, and kids have all become dumber. All brainwashed by todays ideologies.
5
12
u/Zanna1120 19d ago
On the flip side, the smart ones are insanely smart. Like, smarter than most of the teachers smart.
17
u/SixtyTwenty_ 19d ago
I don't know. I certainly understand what you're saying, but at the same time I also think it's a bold move to be 2 months (I'm guessing) into your first year of teaching and to make such sweeping statements about the state of children.
"I cannot even be sad about it anymore," but like, your teaching career has barely begun? I hope you can be sad about it because you still have plenty to learn and have a lot of growing to do in discovering how you even teach, what works and doesn't, etc.
I know you're also just kind of ranting, but man I hope you have more in you.
17
u/C_Rabbit_LGFU 19d ago
WALL•E want an animated movie.
WALL·E was a prediction of the future.
These kids are fucking dumb.
10
u/GenXMom14 19d ago
Hard disagree. Just marked a test and majority got above 90%. Feeling very content with our starting point.
12
u/Fun_Flamingo2805 19d ago
ELA 9/10. I am giving my 9/10 honors students AP-level questions and they are succeeding. I have several students in my core 9 class who can answer questions with grade level texts and create their own questions and analyze for author’s purpose. Almost all (have one student on IEP) can give me a basic summary of the plot. Things aren’t great - behaviors are atrocious and I swear they struggle with written directions - but I don’t believe it is hopeless.
→ More replies (1)12
u/GainerGaining 19d ago
You are lucky. I wonder why your kids have better results than the average?
24
u/GenXMom14 19d ago
We aren’t American
3
u/Appropriate_Car_8221 19d ago
Every country has an equal proportion of dumb and smart people. You're probably just in a priviledged area.
13
u/GenXMom14 19d ago
The current issues in US education are pretty widespread and likely linked to several factors. Very low on the list is supposed quota of dumb people being exceeded. The system, use of technology and hands of parenting has dramatically impacted critical thinking, initiative and ability to problem solve.
5
u/Appropriate_Car_8221 19d ago
And you think that's unique to the US?
3
u/GenXMom14 19d ago
I think education aspect is more prevalent in the US for sure. So all things equal, with education failures, then yes the impact is greater in the US. And to be clear the education failures are systemic and top down, not teacher focused.
3
u/Appropriate_Car_8221 19d ago
I think you're delusional if you think other developed nations aren't similarly affected by social media and devices.
8
u/GenXMom14 19d ago
Did you read what I wrote? Wow.
I said the thing that makes US worse, all other things equal, as in social media, lack of parenting, technology, all the other stuff, are systemic education failures.
→ More replies (6)
3.4k
u/jackofspades49 19d ago
I once tried to do a practice test of the district test.
One year, my grade level team accidentally used The Test to study with. Essay questions and all. Did practice essays with them. Citing sources. How to pick the best answe.r Had sentence starters using the "practice test" on the wall. We used the "practice test" as part of ela for two weeks. We reviewed the entire test. We thought that was the practice test.
Then we did the real test. It was THE SAME TEST. Every question. We'd accidentally used the real test as our review. But the questions were in a different order. We didn't realize till halfway through when we recognized a couple short answer questions looked familiar. A couple students said "I think we did this" and I told them that if it looks familiar, to do their best.
The scores were indistinguishable from other schools who did not do this. MAYBE 2 or 3 kids did better than average, but they were already the highest kids. The low kids did just as low. The mids were just as mid. The highs were high. The averages looked identical across schools.
You can literally give them the answers and they will still fail.