Mom complains that her first grader gets too much homework

The country is experiencing a major crisis Teacher burnout right now, and has been for a while. Clearly, COVID has only exacerbated pre-existing problems. But aside from dealing with extremely low wages, an endless list of additional responsibilities, and battling phones for attention… there’s more existential change among students This leads to teachers becoming both disillusioned with her calling, and worried about this young generation.

Recently, someone thinking about becoming a teacher asked other more experienced educators on Reddit to share something.What is the biggest difference you see in children since you started teaching in 2024?“The answers provide a raw insight into some of the challenges schools face today – but there are also some positives.

Below are some of the best answers.

1. “The level of curiosity… (is) almost non-existent today. When I started in the ’90s, there were always a handful of students in every class who wanted to know “Why?” but in recent years it’s either “Just tell me the answer” or “Who cares?”“—u/Pretend_Screen_5207

2. “I can’t show films or videos anymore because they’re bored with it all. It’s boring because they have Netflix on their phone and can watch whatever they want at any time. There’s nothing special about watching a movie.” “—u/Ferromagnetic fluid

3.”Fine motor skills appear to be severely impaired. I teach instrumental music, and children’s ability to figure out where to put their fingers and how to maneuver them has greatly diminished since COVID.”

“Children’s ability to figure out where to put their fingers and how to maneuver them has declined significantly since COVID.”Photo credit: Canva

–u/eagledog

4. “One big difference I’ve noticed is that it’s disturbingly common for parents to explicitly tell their children that they don’t have to follow school rules. Students are always so smug when they say their mom gave them permission and then they get just as angry when they still get the appropriate consequence because mom doesn’t make the rules at school. There’s no way I could have been that when I was a student, and that wasn’t the case when I started teaching. But this type of attitude is becoming more common every year.”

–u/kaelhawh

5.”Children just seem dumber overall. Might be the area where I teach, but basic math and reading skills are steadily declining here. We continue to lower the barrier for intervention because we don’t have enough places when half the school needs support in math and reading.” —u/Baidar85

6. “Grade 22 starts in July. I don’t know if I can put it into words, but little children have an aura: it’s a combination of silliness, joy, fearlessness, creativity, curiosity, imagination and sweetness. Occasionally a little.” Naughtiness creeps in, but it’s all very innocent… I’ve taught K-1 most of my career and while many young children still have all of these characteristics, it’s amazing how many children don’t. You hand them a piece of paper and they say, “I don’t know what to draw” or “I don’t like painting,” and not only do they refuse to get up, they sit there and whine, “This is BORING.” The water during science turns blue and they say “Whatever.”

“You have just…lost a large, developmentally appropriate part of your childhood. This will have long-term societal impacts.”Photo credit: Canva

I think they grow up too fast… They’re afraid of looking silly, getting dirty, or getting attention by asking a question. They’d rather talk on the phone than anything else in the world, but since they’re in school, a Chromebook will do. When asked to do something challenging or “boring,” they run to the counselor to complain about their big feelings so they can get access to a screen to “calm down.” My children are generally between 5 and 8 years old and have just…lost a large, developmentally appropriate portion of their childhood. It will have long-term societal impacts.” —u/azemilyann26

7. “I changed schools, so I will have a rare opinion: they have become much better in all possible areas. Smarter, kinder, more respectful, more confident, less demanding.”—u/swift-tom-hanks

8.”I just finished 34th grade, all in upper elementary and middle school. I used to have one or two kids in a class who didn’t give a shit and did literally nothing. Now it can be a third of the class. It’s stunning. I will have several assignments over the course of a term where less than half the class has completed and turned in the assignment. For almost every task, a few children will write their names on it and then hand in blank pieces of paper.”

—u/DerbyWearingDude

9. “I’ve been in early childhood (education) for 10 years now and was a temporary worker for about five years before that. What I’ve noticed since COVID is a profound lack of social skills. Not just a lack of curiosity or emotional dysregulation, which I’ve seen in abundance, but the inability to play, talk or collaborate with other children and they have no interest in visiting other islands learn how to play simple “ball toss” games or build a wall out of blocks together,” whereas they used to invent crazy “Calvinball” games on their own and involve everyone under 4 feet tall getting into the game without much effort. Now I might as well try to teach them physics in Klingon.

–u/the_owl_syndicate

10.”Her handwriting is… weirdly large, completely illegible, the letters aren’t formed correctly, don’t fall within the lines/margins when on loose sheets of paper – straight up it looks like it was written by a first grader. And this is middle school… Sometimes I get so frustrated that they don’t learn the incredibly basic art concepts and techniques, like copying a similar value/line/angle or whatever, and then I realize they can’t even write a letter ‘G ‘right, and it makes sense.”

“Her handwriting is…straight, looks like it was written by a first grader. And that’s middle school.”Photo credit: Canva

—u/_crassula_

11.”Since I started in 1990, the maturity level has declined by about three to four years.“—u/Felixsum

12. “As a teacher of English as a foreign language, here’s something positive: the internet/phones/tablets have made English accessible to EVERYONE.” “Even in countries like Egypt where the parents don’t speak English at all, I find that their children speak English speak.” a great basic level just from playing on their phones. It’s pretty cool! Even small children know a few things now.”

—u/Accomplished-War1971

13. “When I enter, I rarely see students reading books or drawing for fun (even in art class); they mostly use their laptops/phones to listen to videos or play games… But even more baffling are the ones who are told to put devices away (and) just sit there in complete silence, staring at the desk for the whole class. They don’t do worksheets, they don’t do homework, they don’t draw anything.“—u/Seamilk90210

14.”I have been teaching middle school for 12 years. Children are now testing lower than ever before. I would say I have about 10-15 middle school students taking grade 1-3 exams. complete class. Students also lack the ability to be resourceful and persistent. They give up as soon as something becomes too difficult.“

“They give up as soon as something becomes too difficult.”Photo credit: Canva

—u/TraditionalSteak687

15.”Early in my career, on the days before and on the day of an exam, my mornings were completely consumed by students seeking extra help. For a full hour before the first bell, I walked around answering questions. I had to set an order and group together the children who had the same questions. The last three or so years? Completely silent. A child might come in and ask me a question that they didn’t really need to ask and just wanted some reassurance.“—u/enigma7x

…and let’s end on a sweet note to remind ourselves that not everything is terrible…

16.”28 years of experience… It’s real kindness. Children are much friendlier today than they were when I started in the 90s. They are so accepting of children of different races, gender identities, and (and) intellectual differences like autism. “Accept” isn’t even a strong word. Kids who were in such different social circles in the ’90s because of peer pressure are now friends. I’m a straight white guy who was in high school in the ’80s. I wish I had been brave enough back then to be as kind as children are today. I often complain about phone addiction or the inability to multiply 5×4 without a calculator, but this is the friendliest generation of students I have ever taught.” –u/scfoothills

This article originally appeared in August.