Teachers Are Sharing The "Horrifying" Things They've Noticed With Gen Alpha Students, And My Jaw Is On The Floor
Being a teacher can be a tough job as is, but when you add in the nonchalant attitudes of some parents, some students using AI, and issues caused by some students who can't detach themselves from social media, it becomes, well, tougher. Recently, Redditor u/MineTech5000 asked the teachers of the Reddit community to share their Gen Alpha student horror stories, and ohhhh boy:
1."A high school student asked me what it means to 'put it in his own words' instead of copying and pasting."
—Outrageous_Owl_9315
2."I left teaching in 2023. I taught an earth science class with mostly sophomores. One of the questions on a test about plate tectonics said, 'What do Chile, California, Alaska, and Japan have in common?' I was looking for anything related to the Ring of Fire — or anything mentioning that those places are on a fault line or get earthquakes. Well, one student answered, 'They're all in America.'"
—Kairos385
3."We had a kid who didn't know that deserts are dry. Also, hardly any of my students know the difference between vowels and consonants."
—flowerodell
4."I asked an undergraduate student for their opinion on a text, and they pulled out their phone, typed my question into ChatGPT, and then read aloud the answer it gave."
—Asleep_Breadfruit_18
5."I'm currently studying to be a teacher. In one of my in-school placements, I had students come up to me and ask what time it was. I would always look at the clock on the wall (that they had a clear view of ) and tell them the time...because none of the kids knew how to read a clock. I even explained how to read it, but they looked at me like I had two heads."
—spookkish
6."This didn't happen in my class, but I was at a coffee shop, and two young girls didn't recognize a quarter. One asked the other, 'Is this a nickel? Wait, is a nickel only five cents?'"
—missesrobinson
7."I've taught high school for the last nine years. The scariest thing for me is that they can't THINK. Problem-solving, troubleshooting, reasoning, etc. — there are so many kids who have little processing power, and it seems to be getting rapidly worse in the last couple of years. I think it's TikTok. Kids these days don't even have time to think about the bite-sized piece of media they just consumed before the next one is up."
—UniqueUsername82D
8."Elementary PE teacher here. The number of children who bite when angry is terrifying. I have several who will chase a kid down after they've been wronged, grab their arm, and bite them like a dog. So far, they're all under seven, but I'm up to four in different classes. It's a specific problem, but I'll add that, in general, we are doomed."
—krazycatlady21
9."I work for a school transportation department, and when I'm not in the office, I'm a 'permanent substitute' who fills in for absent bus drivers. Each bus is parked in the same 'lane' at the school every single day, regardless of who's driving. Most students walk up to the bus, and if they see it isn't their regular driver, they'll look around in horror and start aimlessly wandering around. I tell them every time that their bus will always be in the same lane, yet some kids will wander around every time. It also doesn't help that many of them don't know their address, either. High school is the worst. I've done this for 11 years, and it gets worse every single year. Mind you, I drive for some of the top academic schools in the state."
—oldatheart515
10."I've spent almost a decade in education now. These kids have zero attention span — absolutely none. They need constant stimulation, nonstop engagement, and distraction after distraction shaped by far too much access to social media. It's both sad and frightening."
—CranberryBauce
11."I had a pre-K student whose speech was unintelligible. He could not communicate. I told his mom he needed to be tested for speech therapy, and she replied, 'Aw, so he won't baby-talk anymore? I'm gonna miss hearing that!'"
—Scottishdog1120
12."I teach high school math. I've encountered many students who were operating at maybe a second-grade level of math. I've encountered high school seniors who couldn't do two times three in their heads, juniors who didn't know what a square root was, juniors who didn't know how to multiply by zero or one, etc. I had one sophomore this year who couldn't wrap her mind around '20 more than' in a certain problem. I tried to explain it for a few minutes, saying, 'Let's say you and I go into a store. I'm going to buy some apples, and you plan on buying 20 more apples than I do. If I buy five apples, how many would you buy?' She answered, '20?'"
—get_your_mood_right
13."One of my fourth graders was provisionally promoted from third grade in the middle of the school year. He was reading at a first-grade level when he arrived in my class. He hit his 14-day suspension cap quickly because he was constantly fighting with other kids instead of actually trying to learn. The guidance counselor pulled him out to do a therapeutic art project one afternoon. That's how we discovered that he doesn't know his shapes, either. It was one of the worst cases of educational neglect that I've seen. Of course, the parent was upset that he kid was not on the Honor Roll and demanded to know why he was failing every subject. Oh, yeah, the regional superintendent overruled us and promoted the student to fifth grade."
—fastfood12
14."Only 27% of the incoming sixth graders at the local middle school are proficient in math skills. They also have next-to-zero problem-solving or critical thinking skills. They have a 'do it for me or I'm not doing it' mindset for schoolwork. You could turn in zero work for a class and get passed, though. We don't require motivation anymore."
—wanderingsoul420666
15."I teach high school seniors and am trying to bring back 'pen and paper schooling.' Kids don't know how to use staplers, and this is not an isolated incident. One broke my stapler trying to refill it because he didn't realize you could break/shorten the replacement staples. Many don't know which side to staple or how to line up pages. I had a student today claim that a stapler was broken because they didn't push it down hard enough until it, you know, stapled. With so many things done online, they can't do anything with paper. It's depressingly defeating at times."
—tawey
16."I've had a student use AI on fully opinion-based questions several times. Kids aren't even reading the question or the internet answer. One quiz question asked students to share their comfort level with performing CPR. A student's response was, 'As an AI, I cannot perform CPR.' Someone even used AI to rank my classroom values (things like respect, integrity, and resilience). AI is so new, and no one knows how to use it as a learning tool. It's evolving faster than we can harness."
—cumulobiscuit
17.Lastly: "I teach high school, and I have kids about to be adults who don't know the difference between left and right without making the 'L' shape with their hands. I also have kids who Google basic math calculations, like four times two."
—SwattyP
*Sigh.* If you're a teacher, what's something completely shocking or unhinged that you've witnessed or experienced with your Gen Alpha students? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your story using the form below!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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