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Alright, buckle up! We asked teachers what’s really going on with Gen Alpha and their reading, writing, and math skills. Spoiler: It’s a rollercoaster of good, bad, and downright head-scratching moments. Let’s dive into these juicy classroom stories!
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One teacher went from a low-income school where kids were 2-3 grades behind to a fancy private school where 6th graders are crushing high school-level reading and writing. Their secret? Parental support and access to fun stuff. Spoiler: It’s not magic, just life being fairer for some.
High school English teacher here - and yes, it's rough. From cheating essays to kids shouting “We don’t care about your books!” this teacher's classroom is basically a battlefield. Phones are glued to hands, few care to read, and some kids even reported the teacher for being honest. Yikes.
This teacher had it both ways: a decade at a tough, low-income school with kids who barely read, then five years at a fancy school with high performers. Conclusion? The real culprit is poverty, not the kids or their gadgets. Spoiler: Tax cuts and fewer resources made things way harder for some kids.
A librarian noticed that while some kids can read words, they’re totally lost when it comes to real-life stuff like filling out forms or remembering their own address. Basically, they can say the words but not use them like grown-ups do. Wild, right?
In Sweden, it’s not looking great either. The kids glued to phones? They’re not performing as well as those who actually pick up a book. Parents, please put the phones down!
Hiring teachers who barely finished school? Check. Parents who think their kid’s perfect no matter what? Check. Kids hitting and biting? Also check. Our schools have turned into daycares, and this principal is absolutely ready for summer and a much-needed break.
Someone who’s not a teacher but close enough noticed middle schoolers listen to audiobooks instead of reading. Hmmm... Isn’t reading the point? Just saying.
A physics teacher breaks down the student groups: the top are still mostly crushing it, the middle group is kinda meh and less motivated, but the bottom? Yikes. They struggle with basic math, reading, and the attention spans are super short. And this is at a 'good' school!
Not a teacher, but working with kids, they’ve seen 12 year olds handing over phones to pay for stuff, teens who can't count their money, and even a kid who forgot how to spell his own name. Yep, it’s that bad.
Library worker shares a hilarious convo: teens don’t read but watch a fantasy show 20 times. When asked if they like fantasy, they have no clue what that means. Wait – you just binged it, how do you NOT know?
Kids depend on autocorrect so much their spelling is a mess. Handwriting? Chicken scratch. Some Californian schools are ditching screens and going back to good old pen and paper to save education. Brave move!
A pre-K teacher is worried. One kid asked, “How do I imagine?” when told to imagine making a craft. Plus, many kids don’t know how to play alone or handle boredom. It’s not just books; it’s emotional survival 101.
Kids have the internet in their hands but when told to Google something, they ask, 'How do I do that?' Technology doesn’t always mean knowing how to use it. Plot twist!
Self-entitled kids, stressed parents, scared school admins, and politicians making a mess. This teacher sees the madness and says it’s full-blown existential crisis time. Also, real talk: teachers don’t just chill on summer break - they’re hustling too!
A teacher recalls when a junior gave a presentation and stumbled on the word “thought.” Oof, that’s gotta sting.
Teachers report kids don’t get right or wrong and literally don’t understand why they have to put phones away or listen. Parent-teacher alliances? Nonexistent. It's like authority just evaporated overnight.
College kid raised their hand and didn’t get that 50% is just 1/2. Math skills, where you at?
Same chem exam from 2015 to 2023 saw scores crash from 73% to 35%. Students even ask for help before glancing at the worksheet. Help us, please!
Teacher pleads: Forget worksheets, just read to your kids and chat with them. Real conversations beat busywork any day!
Kindergarten kid guessing words wrong? Turns out they weren’t being taught phonics - just memorizing sight words. After some expert advice, phonics got back on the menu and kiddo zoomed from below to above grade level. Parents win!
Colleges added remedial courses that didn’t exist before because many incoming students don’t meet math requirements. Back in the day, those students got rejected. Now they get a “remedial year.” Ouch.
13 years teaching middle school reading and language arts, and here’s the scoop: attention spans are shot, parents check out, standards are pushed into impossible expectations, and lots of kids are still stuck on basics by high school. Summer pool time sounds way better.
People just buying stuff hit a new low: a cashier can’t figure out change and had to ask a coworker which coins to give back. Math, where you at?
High school teacher says kids can’t follow directions, can’t read more than two paragraphs, and have zero spatial skills. Designing a swinging pendulum or a ramp? Two-hour struggle time. The brain-fried generation is real.
Not a teacher but sees student posts and says the handwriting is “absolutely atrocious.” Also sentences like “I like dogs bcause they are dogs.” Need I say more?
In math class: kids don’t know their multiplication tables, can’t add or subtract basic numbers, and have trouble with fractions and division. Some parents are too busy scrolling to help. But one 6th grader still gives hope!
Attention span crisis level: kids can’t even survive a movie day without losing focus. It’s that bad.
Heard from the grapevine: many parents just aren’t teaching their little ones how to read or do anything basic. Oops.
Grade inflation, passing kids who shouldn’t, fudged numbers - it’s like the education system is playing hide and seek with the truth. A homeschool parent was shocked that public school kids read way less than his kids did.
Teachers say it’s not just literacy. Many kids have no clue how to treat people or understand authority. Reading is just one part of the jungle gym.
Quick story: high schoolers hired at a bookstore can’t count their change, even when a computer tells them how much to give back. Math skills, begone!
Kids confuse ‘‘here’’ and ‘‘hear’’ like it’s rocket science. It used to be simpler (your/you’re, there/their/they’re), but now it’s a mess. Language, where’d you go?
A tutor says high schoolers just can’t understand poetry or figurative language. Critical thinking? Not in this vocabulary.
Prof says only 15% of students can multiply 17 by 3 in their heads. One student thought dividing by decimals doesn’t make numbers bigger and asked, ‘What’s right-click?’ Wait, what?
Teacher wanted kids to write about their favorite book. Problem: kids didn’t know any books or films. After some soul searching, best TV show became the topic - with a kid honestly starting with "the news." Reality check!
A Gen Z-er admits they had a whole class period in high school learning to tell time because most kids didn’t know. Has it gotten worse? We hope not!
Parent of a Gen Alpha kid points out the curriculum is all over the place: no focus on memorizing basics, and too many subjects mixed together. Teachers pressured to pass kids? Yep. Sometimes it’s more about keeping kids interested than teaching.
Para says kids have regressed big time and don’t want to learn. Parents don’t hold them accountable and phones/social media are brain rot. Covid didn’t help either. Oof.
After 27 years, this middle school teacher says many kids can’t tell time, don’t know coin values, and need to write out 20-18 subtraction problems. The percentage of helpless is way up.
Forget typing, some 13-year-olds with fancy laptops don’t know how to save files, drag-and-drop, or transfer stuff. Touchscreen doesn’t mean computer-genius.
Students failing because they can’t read or write, asking what “reverse” means, mixing up words like 'hyperbowl,' and taking weeks to write a paragraph. Parents, please help these poor teachers!
Step-son never cracked open a single book, thanks to no assigned readings and group projects doing the writing. Meanwhile, his sister breezed through Harry Potter by age 8. Lazy parenting plus weak school support? It’s a problem.
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