Our schools claim to teach sophisticated topics such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, the meaning of math, social emotional learning, and dozens of other buzzwords. Truth is, the schools hardly bother to teach even basic skills and foundational knowledge. Simultaneously, children are indulged and excused, which encourage the least desirable personal traits.
All of which explains the answers left by teachers (on an internet forum) when asked this question: what are the most appalling things about students nowadays?
• "One of the big things that disappeared over the years from teenagers is common sense. Teens would do something really stupid, such as chugging down any number of foods in vast quantities and then whine and complain that they were sick to their stomach. ‘It’s not fair!’ they moaned."
• "The number of students with abnormally-short attention spans, a difficult time ‘settling down,’ and aversion to silence increases every year."
• "I had two girls who could not read the recipe clearly, which called for one and a quarter teaspoons of cinnamon in a recipe. They put in one and a quarter CUPS instead, an amount that is 48 times greater than what the recipe called for. The lack of common sense meant that they emptied our industrial-sized canister of cinnamon, and they didn’t see any problem with this."
• "Students today will wait until the day before then try to find a way to cheat, fail miserably and throw some random sh*t together in two hours and then complain because ‘It’s impossible to get good grades from you!’"
• "How about the student who didn’t know how to peel a carrot? I showed her how to hold the peeler correctly against the carrot and work her way around the carrot to remove the outer layer. What I didn’t point out to her was to stop when she got all the way around. She kept on peeling until the entire carrot disappeared into the sink. I am not making this up."
• "I taught 7th grade science and (a couple years of) 8th grade science/history. What I found most appalling was the lack of basic knowledge in the students who entered my 7th grade classes. The worst part was they were just realizing that they didn’t know anything. When they figured out that they were not prepared for the level of rigor in the 7th grade classes at the junior high where I taught, it was actually heartbreaking to watch."
• "The students think they are entitled to an education without doing homework, studying for tests, or paying attention in class. 25% get an education and the rest waste their time and money. Truly pathetic young people."
• "I don’t think students realize how much of their lives they are wasting on their smartphones. Compared to the students I taught even 15 years ago, they are oblivious of the sky, of flowers or trees, or of any nature; they struggle with concentrated reading, group work, or even conversation. Change oil? Start a fire? Forget it. Students on the street looked at me like I was MacGyver when my bicycle’s chain fell off and I threaded it back on."
• "What I find distressing about many US students that I encounter is their lack of knowledge — and curiosity about — the world and history….They can tell me where all the bars are in town, but can’t find Norway, Pakistan, Chile, or South Korea on a map…with hints."
"I teach high school. Some students lie like the rest of us breathe. It is second nature. As a result I think that most teachers end up being very cynical whenever a student tells • them anything. Me: John, stop poking Timmy. John (continuing to poke Timmy with his pen while I look right at him): I’m not!"
• "I would say it is their lack of respect towards the teachers and fellow students that is the most appalling thing. Respect is a quality seriously lacking in today’s society! There once was a time…. we respected our teachers by our words and actions."
• "…it is clear that students’ attention spans have shortened over my 25 years of teaching. With notable exceptions, most students’ boredom threshold is lower nowadays."
• "I worked at the Los Angeles inner-city middle school about 10 years ago, and some thing that struck me as absurd was that virtually none of the students met grade level standards but still received A’s, B’s, and C’s!! The fact that almost nobody could do grade-level work was very embarrassing for the school and the school district; so for the politically expedient motive of wanting to make it look as though profound learning was taking place, there was extreme grade inflation."
• "They are surprised that the world doesn’t revolve around them! I am amazed how many kids have never been told "No!"
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• "Speaking of students higher than middle school I think their most appalling trait in general is lack of basic cultural/historical knowledge.…I retired after teaching decades of ‘X’ers' who continued to be less and less prepared for college and more and more overly confident about their abilities. I think us ‘boomers’ did a disservice when we gave ‘everybody a trophy.’ In an effort to want the next generation to feel special, they become overly confident and difficult to teach."
• "They’re unable to make change using simple arithmetic."
The situation is getting worse
The situation is getting worse, if anything. The obvious solution is to back up 75 years and start doing school correctly.Teach basic skills. Teach foundational knowledge. Just as important, teach responsibility and self-discipline. To improve the schools, we need to get rid of the people now in charge, them and their phony ideas. Give children the proper education they are surely entitled to.
For contrast, consider "the strictest school in the UK." Students are treated like recruits in basic training. But they seem to thrive.
Bruce Deitrick Price has more than 1900 answers on Quora.
Our schools claim to teach sophisticated topics such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, the meaning of math, social emotional learning, and dozens of other buzzwords. Truth is, the schools hardly bother to teach even basic skills and foundational knowledge. Simultaneously, children are indulged and excused, which encourage the least desirable personal traits.
All of which explains the answers left by teachers (on an internet forum) when asked this question: what are the most appalling things about students nowadays?
• "One of the big things that disappeared over the years from teenagers is common sense. Teens would do something really stupid, such as chugging down any number of foods in vast quantities and then whine and complain that they were sick to their stomach. ‘It’s not fair!’ they moaned."
• "The number of students with abnormally-short attention spans, a difficult time ‘settling down,’ and aversion to silence increases every year."
