Latest news with #GenAlpha
Economic Times
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
Death of👍was highly exaggerated
Three years ago, many social commentators from socially acceptable platforms had declared that Gen Z had jettisoned some emojis they reportedly found to be insolent. Just how confident this prognosis was, can be made out in headlines like, 'Gen Z Have Cancelled the Thumbs Up Emoji and Here's Why You Should Worry'. Not only did we not need to worry, but no one worried. Because the thumbs up - considered by pundits to be considered by Zoomers to be 'rude' - and heart emojis ('also verboten') have not only survived Z ire, but have happily proliferated, even among the hyper-hieroglyphical here's a question we're parking for you today: how does one become so sure about what Gen Z or Gen Alpha - and the upcoming Gen Beta (aur Beti) - 'think'? So, here's our answer. Like Bob Dylan refusing to be tagged as 'the voice of a generation', most generations in the alphabet soup aren't one, single composite entity as if attending the same decadal Nuremberg/Taylor Swift rallies/concerts. But here's the thing: lumping demographic groups under one 'trending' behavioural category can do wonders for the morale and pay bump of market research divisions of companies. After all, who goes back to check the veracity of people who confidently stated in 2022 that the thumbs up emoji would be as dead as the typewriter in 2025? (Answer: We do.)
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Your kids will roast you (and honestly, they're not wrong)
Kylie Jenner just got absolutely demolished by her 7-year-old daughter Stormi, and honestly? It's the most relatable celebrity mom content I've seen in ages. In a viral TikTok, Stormi discovered her mom's 'King Kylie' era—you know, the mid-2010s when Jenner was cycling through wigs like they were seasonal coffee flavors. The kid took one look at a photo of her mom rocking a teal wig with a red outfit and delivered the kind of brutal honesty that only children possess: 'A blue wig with a red outfit? It's not a good combo.' Even Jenner had to agree. 'I know. It's not good.' And there it is, folks—the moment every parent dreads and secretly admires. The day your child looks at your past self and says, 'Mom, what were you thinking?' As a parent of two teens, let me tell you: this is just the beginning for Jenner. My 13-year-old daughter had the absolute audacity to critique four-year-old photos of my former side part—and that's not even totally out of style yet. There's NO WAY I'm showing her evidence from the early 2000s when I thought baby bangs, Juicy Couture knockoffs, and low-rise jeans were the height of sophistication. I'd never hear the end of it. The irony? This same child regularly raids my closet and dips into my fancy beauty products. She'll literally steal my clothes and then have the nerve to tell me my hair looks 'giving millennial.' Girl, you'd be lucky to be as cool as I am—past fashion choices and all. Related: Kylie Jenner opens up about battling 'major' postpartum depression Here's the thing about Gen Alpha: they're growing up with an aesthetic awareness that's frankly intimidating. They've been surrounded by curated Instagram feeds, TikTok beauty tutorials, and Pinterest boards since birth. They know what 'slaps' and what's 'cheugy' before they can properly tie their shoes. Unlike us, who had to figure out what looked good through trial and error (and a lot of regrettable yearbook photos), they're developing their sense of style in real-time with unlimited access to inspiration. No wonder they can spot a questionable outfit choice from 2016 and immediately know it's not it. It doesn't matter how cool you think you are—your kids will find something to roast you about. Celebrities with professional stylists? Not safe. Instagram influencers with perfectly curated feeds? Definitely not safe. Regular moms just trying to look put-together while getting everyone out the door? We never stood a chance. The beautiful thing about Stormi's reaction is how it captures something every parent experiences: the moment your child sees you as a real person who made real (questionable) choices. It's humbling and hilarious and oddly touching all at once. But here's what I love about these moments: they're actually signs of healthy development. When our kids feel comfortable enough to tease us about our fashion choices, it means they see us as human. They're not putting us on pedestals—they're relating to us as real people who sometimes make mistakes (sartorial and otherwise). Plus, let's be honest—they're usually right. That teal wig with the red outfit? Probably not Jenner's finest moment. My side part? It was definitely time for a change. Sometimes it takes a kid's unfiltered honesty to help us see what everyone else was too polite to mention. Related: Social media aficionado Kylie Jenner wants to protect daughter Stormi from media exposure So to all the parents out there dreading the day your child discovers your old Facebook photos: embrace it. Laugh with them. Admit that yes, you thought that outfit was amazing at the time, and no, you're not sure what you were thinking either. Because at the end of the day, these moments of gentle mockery are actually moments of connection. Your kid is saying, 'I see you, I know you, and I love you enough to tell you the truth—even when that truth is that your 2016 fashion choices were questionable.' And honestly? That's pretty beautiful, even if it stings a little. Just maybe hide those early 2000s photos for a few more years. There's only so much roasting a parent can take in one lifetime.
The Advertiser
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
I love being a parent in the time of Bluey. But Duck Cake nearly broke me
Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Illawarra Mercury deputy editor Kate McIlwain. Normally, I count myself lucky to be a parent in the age of Bluey, which first screened when my eldest child was six weeks old. Over the past 6.5 years, the show about the two Heeler sisters and their parents has been a constant source of humour and solidarity as I parent my own pair of energetic sisters. Even though I've seen every episode more than once, it's still the show I'll sit down to watch with my kids when it's on. But this year, for the first time, I found myself cursing that small blue dog - or more accurately, her little sister Bingo. The reason? Duck Cake. For the uninitiated, Duck Cake - originally called Rubber Ducky - featured in the pages of the hallowed Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book, which millennials like me are now inflicting on our children because of the huge role it played in our own childhoods. (It's such a cultural phenomenon that it's just been memorialised in coin format by the Australian Mint!) It's also the title of an episode of Bluey, in which Bingo chooses the weird apricot-coloured, potato-chip-beaked, popcorn-feathered creation that no one ever used to choose, for her fifth birthday cake "because it makes my tail wag". Her dad, Bandit, is then saddled with recreating Duck Cake - "the hardest of all cakes" - while Chilli and Bingo go out. The episode unfolds with him dropping the duck's head but still producing a wonky cake that Bingo loves, and Bluey learning a lesson about helping with cleaning up and what makes her tail wag. This has catapulted Duck Cake into superstardom for many of the younger members of Gen Alpha, including my kids, and I know of plenty of parents who have now had to make Duck Cake - for real life (IYKYK). My four-year-old had been requesting it for an entire year in the lead up to her birthday, and - thinking she would forget by the time her actual birthday rolled around - I kept agreeing that of course she could have Duck Cake if that's what her heart desired. But reader, she did not forget. Which is how I found myself trying to work out how to engineer a duck from cake and icing ahead of her birthday party. Liquorice was the final straw When I told my school mum friends I was making Duck Cake, some of them just laughed. They all demanded photos of the finished product. One offered advice about using a strong buttercream and plenty of skewers. I actually love making cakes for my kids - and have even baked wedding cakes for several people over the years - but as I made this one, I began to see why Chilli and Bandit use "Duck Cake" in place of that other rhyming expletive. It was the fourth trip to the supermarket to find strap liquorice that did it. I'd made it past the Michelangelo-level cake carving of the duck's body, and managed to make a sturdy head and neck which wasn't going to do a Bandit and fall off. (The head did look a bit like ET instead of a duck, but that was okay because the 1980s alien happens to be my four-year-old's favourite character, go figure). I'd made copious amounts of yellow buttercream and spread it over the duck in the fluffy, artful style of the AWW. And then, having been unable to find suitable liquorice at Aldi and Coles, I was trying to make sure the duck's eyes didn't look deranged. I had first tried leaving off the black outline - which made it look very angry and kind of hypnotised. Then I tried drawing on the black circles with chocolate icing paint. But that quickly began melting down all over the duck's face and I had to scrape it off and start again. So off to Woolies to track down liquorice I went. And I had to buy TWO METRES of the vile stuff, even though I needed two 7cm strips to form the perfect black, wide-eyed circles around the orange smarties I used for eyes. Energy flagging, I turned my attention to a packet of crinkle-cut chips, and began sorting them into piles to see if I could select two that would work for a duck's beak. I found the perfect pair, but then broke them in half because I wasn't careful enough shoving them into the icing the first time. Argh. My daughter then wanted to "help" with the popcorn part, which meant I had to pick it off and do it all again once she got bored. Anyway, in the end, I had produced a Duck Cake that was better than Bandit's but probably not quite as good as the AWW. Success! And at my daughter's party it was total hit on two fronts. Because of the Bluey-effect the kids were delighted, and because it's just bloody difficult, the parents were super impressed too. And of course, the beatific smile on my four-year-old's face as we all sang and blew out the candles made my tail wag, maybe even enough that I'll let her choose whichever cake she likes again next year. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Illawarra Mercury deputy editor Kate McIlwain. Normally, I count myself lucky to be a parent in the age of Bluey, which first screened when my eldest child was six weeks old. Over the past 6.5 years, the show about the two Heeler sisters and their parents has been a constant source of humour and solidarity as I parent my own pair of energetic sisters. Even though I've seen every episode more than once, it's still the show I'll sit down to watch with my kids when it's on. But this year, for the first time, I found myself cursing that small blue dog - or more accurately, her little sister Bingo. The reason? Duck Cake. For the uninitiated, Duck Cake - originally called Rubber Ducky - featured in the pages of the hallowed Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book, which millennials like me are now inflicting on our children because of the huge role it played in our own childhoods. (It's such a cultural phenomenon that it's just been memorialised in coin format by the Australian Mint!) It's also the title of an episode of Bluey, in which Bingo chooses the weird apricot-coloured, potato-chip-beaked, popcorn-feathered creation that no one ever used to choose, for her fifth birthday cake "because it makes my tail wag". Her dad, Bandit, is then saddled with recreating Duck Cake - "the hardest of all cakes" - while Chilli and Bingo go out. The episode unfolds with him dropping the duck's head but still producing a wonky cake that Bingo loves, and Bluey learning a lesson about helping with cleaning up and what makes her tail wag. This has catapulted Duck Cake into superstardom for many of the younger members of Gen Alpha, including my kids, and I know of plenty of parents who have now had to make Duck Cake - for real life (IYKYK). My four-year-old had been requesting it for an entire year in the lead up to her birthday, and - thinking she would forget by the time her actual birthday rolled around - I kept agreeing that of course she could have Duck Cake if that's what her heart desired. But reader, she did not forget. Which is how I found myself trying to work out how to engineer a duck from cake and icing ahead of her birthday party. Liquorice was the final straw When I told my school mum friends I was making Duck Cake, some of them just laughed. They all demanded photos of the finished product. One offered advice about using a strong buttercream and plenty of skewers. I actually love making cakes for my kids - and have even baked wedding cakes for several people over the years - but as I made this one, I began to see why Chilli and Bandit use "Duck Cake" in place of that other rhyming expletive. It was the fourth trip to the supermarket to find strap liquorice that did it. I'd made it past the Michelangelo-level cake carving of the duck's body, and managed to make a sturdy head and neck which wasn't going to do a Bandit and fall off. (The head did look a bit like ET instead of a duck, but that was okay because the 1980s alien happens to be my four-year-old's favourite character, go figure). I'd made copious amounts of yellow buttercream and spread it over the duck in the fluffy, artful style of the AWW. And then, having been unable to find suitable liquorice at Aldi and Coles, I was trying to make sure the duck's eyes didn't look deranged. I had first tried leaving off the black outline - which made it look very angry and kind of hypnotised. Then I tried drawing on the black circles with chocolate icing paint. But that quickly began melting down all over the duck's face and I had to scrape it off and start again. So off to Woolies to track down liquorice I went. And I had to buy TWO METRES of the vile stuff, even though I needed two 7cm strips to form the perfect black, wide-eyed circles around the orange smarties I used for eyes. Energy flagging, I turned my attention to a packet of crinkle-cut chips, and began sorting them into piles to see if I could select two that would work for a duck's beak. I found the perfect pair, but then broke them in half because I wasn't careful enough shoving them into the icing the first time. Argh. My daughter then wanted to "help" with the popcorn part, which meant I had to pick it off and do it all again once she got bored. Anyway, in the end, I had produced a Duck Cake that was better than Bandit's but probably not quite as good as the AWW. Success! And at my daughter's party it was total hit on two fronts. Because of the Bluey-effect the kids were delighted, and because it's just bloody difficult, the parents were super impressed too. And of course, the beatific smile on my four-year-old's face as we all sang and blew out the candles made my tail wag, maybe even enough that I'll let her choose whichever cake she likes again next year. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Illawarra Mercury deputy editor Kate McIlwain. Normally, I count myself lucky to be a parent in the age of Bluey, which first screened when my eldest child was six weeks old. Over the past 6.5 years, the show about the two Heeler sisters and their parents has been a constant source of humour and solidarity as I parent my own pair of energetic sisters. Even though I've seen every episode more than once, it's still the show I'll sit down to watch with my kids when it's on. But this year, for the first time, I found myself cursing that small blue dog - or more accurately, her little sister Bingo. The reason? Duck Cake. For the uninitiated, Duck Cake - originally called Rubber Ducky - featured in the pages of the hallowed Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book, which millennials like me are now inflicting on our children because of the huge role it played in our own childhoods. (It's such a cultural phenomenon that it's just been memorialised in coin format by the Australian Mint!) It's also the title of an episode of Bluey, in which Bingo chooses the weird apricot-coloured, potato-chip-beaked, popcorn-feathered creation that no one ever used to choose, for her fifth birthday cake "because it makes my tail wag". Her dad, Bandit, is then saddled with recreating Duck Cake - "the hardest of all cakes" - while Chilli and Bingo go out. The episode unfolds with him dropping the duck's head but still producing a wonky cake that Bingo loves, and Bluey learning a lesson about helping with cleaning up and what makes her tail wag. This has catapulted Duck Cake into superstardom for many of the younger members of Gen Alpha, including my kids, and I know of plenty of parents who have now had to make Duck Cake - for real life (IYKYK). My four-year-old had been requesting it for an entire year in the lead up to her birthday, and - thinking she would forget by the time her actual birthday rolled around - I kept agreeing that of course she could have Duck Cake if that's what her heart desired. But reader, she did not forget. Which is how I found myself trying to work out how to engineer a duck from cake and icing ahead of her birthday party. Liquorice was the final straw When I told my school mum friends I was making Duck Cake, some of them just laughed. They all demanded photos of the finished product. One offered advice about using a strong buttercream and plenty of skewers. I actually love making cakes for my kids - and have even baked wedding cakes for several people over the years - but as I made this one, I began to see why Chilli and Bandit use "Duck Cake" in place of that other rhyming expletive. It was the fourth trip to the supermarket to find strap liquorice that did it. I'd made it past the Michelangelo-level cake carving of the duck's body, and managed to make a sturdy head and neck which wasn't going to do a Bandit and fall off. (The head did look a bit like ET instead of a duck, but that was okay because the 1980s alien happens to be my four-year-old's favourite character, go figure). I'd made copious amounts of yellow buttercream and spread it over the duck in the fluffy, artful style of the AWW. And then, having been unable to find suitable liquorice at Aldi and Coles, I was trying to make sure the duck's eyes didn't look deranged. I had first tried leaving off the black outline - which made it look very angry and kind of hypnotised. Then I tried drawing on the black circles with chocolate icing paint. But that quickly began melting down all over the duck's face and I had to scrape it off and start again. So off to Woolies to track down liquorice I went. And I had to buy TWO METRES of the vile stuff, even though I needed two 7cm strips to form the perfect black, wide-eyed circles around the orange smarties I used for eyes. Energy flagging, I turned my attention to a packet of crinkle-cut chips, and began sorting them into piles to see if I could select two that would work for a duck's beak. I found the perfect pair, but then broke them in half because I wasn't careful enough shoving them into the icing the first time. Argh. My daughter then wanted to "help" with the popcorn part, which meant I had to pick it off and do it all again once she got bored. Anyway, in the end, I had produced a Duck Cake that was better than Bandit's but probably not quite as good as the AWW. Success! And at my daughter's party it was total hit on two fronts. Because of the Bluey-effect the kids were delighted, and because it's just bloody difficult, the parents were super impressed too. And of course, the beatific smile on my four-year-old's face as we all sang and blew out the candles made my tail wag, maybe even enough that I'll let her choose whichever cake she likes again next year. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Illawarra Mercury deputy editor Kate McIlwain. Normally, I count myself lucky to be a parent in the age of Bluey, which first screened when my eldest child was six weeks old. Over the past 6.5 years, the show about the two Heeler sisters and their parents has been a constant source of humour and solidarity as I parent my own pair of energetic sisters. Even though I've seen every episode more than once, it's still the show I'll sit down to watch with my kids when it's on. But this year, for the first time, I found myself cursing that small blue dog - or more accurately, her little sister Bingo. The reason? Duck Cake. For the uninitiated, Duck Cake - originally called Rubber Ducky - featured in the pages of the hallowed Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book, which millennials like me are now inflicting on our children because of the huge role it played in our own childhoods. (It's such a cultural phenomenon that it's just been memorialised in coin format by the Australian Mint!) It's also the title of an episode of Bluey, in which Bingo chooses the weird apricot-coloured, potato-chip-beaked, popcorn-feathered creation that no one ever used to choose, for her fifth birthday cake "because it makes my tail wag". Her dad, Bandit, is then saddled with recreating Duck Cake - "the hardest of all cakes" - while Chilli and Bingo go out. The episode unfolds with him dropping the duck's head but still producing a wonky cake that Bingo loves, and Bluey learning a lesson about helping with cleaning up and what makes her tail wag. This has catapulted Duck Cake into superstardom for many of the younger members of Gen Alpha, including my kids, and I know of plenty of parents who have now had to make Duck Cake - for real life (IYKYK). My four-year-old had been requesting it for an entire year in the lead up to her birthday, and - thinking she would forget by the time her actual birthday rolled around - I kept agreeing that of course she could have Duck Cake if that's what her heart desired. But reader, she did not forget. Which is how I found myself trying to work out how to engineer a duck from cake and icing ahead of her birthday party. Liquorice was the final straw When I told my school mum friends I was making Duck Cake, some of them just laughed. They all demanded photos of the finished product. One offered advice about using a strong buttercream and plenty of skewers. I actually love making cakes for my kids - and have even baked wedding cakes for several people over the years - but as I made this one, I began to see why Chilli and Bandit use "Duck Cake" in place of that other rhyming expletive. It was the fourth trip to the supermarket to find strap liquorice that did it. I'd made it past the Michelangelo-level cake carving of the duck's body, and managed to make a sturdy head and neck which wasn't going to do a Bandit and fall off. (The head did look a bit like ET instead of a duck, but that was okay because the 1980s alien happens to be my four-year-old's favourite character, go figure). I'd made copious amounts of yellow buttercream and spread it over the duck in the fluffy, artful style of the AWW. And then, having been unable to find suitable liquorice at Aldi and Coles, I was trying to make sure the duck's eyes didn't look deranged. I had first tried leaving off the black outline - which made it look very angry and kind of hypnotised. Then I tried drawing on the black circles with chocolate icing paint. But that quickly began melting down all over the duck's face and I had to scrape it off and start again. So off to Woolies to track down liquorice I went. And I had to buy TWO METRES of the vile stuff, even though I needed two 7cm strips to form the perfect black, wide-eyed circles around the orange smarties I used for eyes. Energy flagging, I turned my attention to a packet of crinkle-cut chips, and began sorting them into piles to see if I could select two that would work for a duck's beak. I found the perfect pair, but then broke them in half because I wasn't careful enough shoving them into the icing the first time. Argh. My daughter then wanted to "help" with the popcorn part, which meant I had to pick it off and do it all again once she got bored. Anyway, in the end, I had produced a Duck Cake that was better than Bandit's but probably not quite as good as the AWW. Success! And at my daughter's party it was total hit on two fronts. Because of the Bluey-effect the kids were delighted, and because it's just bloody difficult, the parents were super impressed too. And of course, the beatific smile on my four-year-old's face as we all sang and blew out the candles made my tail wag, maybe even enough that I'll let her choose whichever cake she likes again next year.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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 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 "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.
Buzz Feed
2 days ago
- Buzz Feed
17 Horror Stories Teachers Have About Gen Alpha
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: "A high school student asked me what it means to 'put it in his own words' instead of copying and pasting." —Outrageous_Owl_9315 "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.'" "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." "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." "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 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 "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?'" "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." "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." "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 "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." "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!'" "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 "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." "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." "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." "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 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." *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!
