Let’s look at the generations above them eh? The ones who aren’t being responsible parents, the ones who have neglected their own academic skills or who do little to pass on their skills. I have a daughter, she is the responsibility of me and her Mum, it’s our job to stretch her, challenge her and teach her, we are her parents and we have to reinforce what’s taught at school, it’s not easy sometimes, my old grey matter ain’t what it was but if it was easy then school would be too easy. I had to up my game, learn the new methods and support both my daughter and her teachers. IT’S MY JOB AS A PARENT.

I am not even a teacher but I worked in a convenience store across the street fro a high school and the number of students that couldn't even count their money astounded me. And they were graduating!!!

The fact that a certain cheeto appointment a wildly unqualified person to be Secretary of Education, who wanted to gut the public education system certainly didn’t help.

My oldest is now in 5th grade. COVID hit when she was in 1st grade, and had a hybrid year for 2nd grade. The amount of foundational knowledge that is currently lacking is staggering. All of the kids that were affected then are missing a bunch of the basics needed to be successful in these subsequent years. But instead of helping them catch up or repeat a grade, the standards have just been lowered, and they keep getting pushed along.

I wish it wasn't true. Damn. The complete end of the American era of excelling. Worse it's breeding compliant consumers with no critical thinking skills.

we have run into this issue at work with new hires. they expect us to tell them what to do in every situation, instead of logically thinking about what they should do. we've had several people try to order negative quantities on purchase orders. we've also had issues with basic computer skills- people don't know how to cut/copy & paste, they don't know how to minimize a window, they don't know how to juggle multiple open windows. it's really bad and honestly, scary.

No. I started school in 1957. My parents were illiterate and couldn't help me. BUT, our curriculum was reading, writing, and arithmetic. Discipline was stern and parents did support that. I and my classmates grew up literate and able to function. If a kid failed, that kid was held back. We had no participation trophies. Part of this gosh-awful mesh belongs to changes in the educational system, dictating time instead of letting teachers concentrate on the basics.

I created an account just to respond to this. I've been seeing this conversation more and more among high school math teachers. I've been one for 30+ years. This deficit started before covid. I don't know if it's common core or screens or what, but a huge number of kids are not developing number sense and concrete math at a young age. Several years ago, I asked an 8th grader whether he would add, subtract, multiply or divide to find the total if he had $5 in one pocket and $2 in the other. He said divide. I teach Alg2. I realize not every kid needs the skills taught in Alg2. Like it or not, it's usually a college admissions requirement, and so I get a lot of kids planning a 4yr degree. I get kids who can't distribute 2(x+3), can't solve even one or two step equations like 2x-5=7. I do example after example with them and they can't apply one problem's steps to the next. Forget combining like terms or negatives.

Idiocracy was not meant to be a documentary… -_-

I have issues with math, it's the one subject I wasn't able to excel at with practice despite my developmental disability. I can type at 120 wpm and I don't use the standard typing procedures, so that one I feel is nitpicky. Despite my issues I was still miles ahead of these kids nowadays. I got over the walls and even started teaching myself Japanese. Yet these kids can't even spell the word "window". Both parents and the school system are failing these children. I learned so much on my own from self appointed research projects, documentaries, and reading. These kids aren't being taught knowledge is important. The parents couldn't care less in these newer self-centered and lazy generations. If the parents don't know how to prioritize, how are the kids going to know? The schools are dropping the ball, teaching unnecessary things and spending more time on social causes instead of the things needed to properly function in society. I have very little faith in the future.

This is so true, and it's extremely frustrating! I'm an 11th grade English teacher. My students' reading levels range from 1st-10th grade. My students can't always use context clues or write complete sentences. Capital letters are "optional," and punctuation occurs only when the mood strikes. I just found out this week that some of them didn't know what or why a leap year was. Other things they don't know are: *that the calendar agenda I made for them with all of the assigments -that we've looked at EVERYDAY for the past 7 weeks- has all of the assignments they need to do. They are STILL asking me to tell them what they need to do. LOOK AT THE CALENDAR AGENDA I PROJECT ON THE SCREEN EVERYDAY, KIDS! It's the same one I shared with you 7 weeks ago, and it's in your Google docs. *I don't know what each student's average is. Look it up in PowerSchool. That's why you have access to it. It's absolutely exhausting. I'm going to quit next year after my daughter graduates. I need peace. 😭

I tutored a 1st grade class during the pandemic and I was surprised at how smart they all were. However, we have some of the best public schools in the country in my area so I understand that my experience is not universal. It too bad all children don't have access to a quality education that will set them up for future learning. I grew up in the same area and my high school had a 100% rate of college acceptance/attendance - I'm not sure if that's still the case or not.

No child left behind act Everybody wins Everybody passes Nobody struggles " No, not my kid mindset... Parents have to be parents... I was raised my immigrants, being taught the mother language and cultural was part of life... I thought my parents not being " American parents" was a burden... honestly now that I'm much older... its been the greatest honor...

During the pandemic the kids I teach (Gr 5) were in Grade 1 and had alternate week schooling. They can't even tell the difference between lower case b and d. This is common in Grade 1, but by Grade 5 they should know. Their second language skills are non-existent. Two teachers had to give the classes easier papers because their marks were so bad. Our education department demands that we pass most of the kids. So every year the papers just get easier and easier. It's partly the fault of the Department but society has also changed and parents and kids don't prioritize learning. They all think they can be sports stars or influencers when they grow up so they won't need to know basic Maths or language skills. And I don't know how we're going to get things back on track.

Parents seem to often take no responsibility, expecting the state to do everything. For those of us who don't, it becomes painfully obvious that state provided education is awful if you have a bright kid that routinely learns things at home. It isn't as much a problem with being in a class with struggling students, it's a syllabus and teaching philosophy that holds back progress in an attempt to get people to the same level. Trying to make kids 'learn' something they already completely understand, and have for some time, is not going to, it's going to make them bored and disengaged, and then they will get told off and labelled as naughty, which then further disengages them. The system in the UK needs a complete rethink.

This can't be explained by COVID. That can be only a small part of the problem. Most of the items listed by the teacher are learned in elementary school (ages 5-12), and COVID should only have affected them for one year. Not to name shapes? Not to know how to write basic punctuation? In HIGH SCHOOL?! As far as sounding at words, SOME SCHOOLS DON'T TEACH THAT. They "teach" reading using the think method, like how students learned instruments in The Music Man. There is a very, very good podcast out there about it called "Sold a Story". It's honestly heartbreaking. (And it explains why so many customer service people can't even make a guess how to pronounce my name, though it's pronounced exactly how it's spelled.)

School systems were struggling before the concept of no child left behind was introduced.

Their heads would explode if they had to diagram a sentence.

Depends on where you live. Not all students are this stupid

the thing about inquiry based learning in primary schools especially is so real, my brothers generation isnt learning basics or skills he can use to succeed intellectually. they push the really conceptual stuff too early i think

In 2001, I gave up on school when I found the physics and chemistry professors, at my local community College ,couldn't teach me anything I hadn't learned already from independent study at my then high school library. I asked a question about Burnelli's principal the third day in physics class and got a blank stare for a reply, then later that week I asked the chemistry professor about thermal loss in a combustion event and was told that the subject was FAR too advanced for a second year College course. How can we expect teachers to teach when most of them didn't receive the education they should have before being placed in a position to pass on knowledge?

When I was a sophomore in high school nearly twenty years ago, I wrote an essay in a creative writing class complaining about No Child Left Behind. My main complaint was that in mixed classes (with both honors students and regular students) many of my classmates were such slow readers or needed so much additional help from the teachers to understand basic concepts that I often sat there doing nothing for half of the class period or longer while the teachers helped others. If it was that bad nearly twenty years ago, I can well believe how bad it is now. Add on top of No Child Left Behind the profound lack of respect for knowledge and the pride many people feel for being ignorant. When I was growing up parents could opt their kids out of learning about evolution or reading "controversial" books. Things have only eroded further since then.

I think that education is not a priority, in our country and in students homes. Many families are worried about how they are going to put food on the table, not if their students homework gets finished. At the other end of the spectrum, some families are putting more emphasis on sports than schooling. I teach first grade, when students are supposed to learn to read, pretty important if you ask me. I have had only 5 days all school year when all of my students have been at school. I have three students who have never attended a full week. I cannot get my first graders proficient in anything if they don't come to school, read at home and most importantly have a supportive/stable family structure.

So just exactly who, dear teacher, are you blaming this on? Parents send kids to school depending on the teachers to teach! We, everyone in each city & town, pay the taxes which fund the Boards of Education in each town. My specific towns budget, 60% goes to the BOE. 60%! Heaven forbid we have 3 snow days then the schools are complaining about going into the summer vacation. I see students having pajama days, movie days, dress up like your favorite Frozen character, and kids talk about how teachers are on their Iphones all day. When there were wildfires last year, pick a state, teachers rolled in televisions and turned them on. Told the students "you are all amateur journalists today" had them watch the wildfire news coverage all day long. That went on for over a week. I don't know. How about instead of writing a column like this, contact your superintendent, your teachers union, local government, media? My comments will not be popular, try teaching. Start at 1st grade

It's called NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND they really screwed us! I came from an era of failing a class meaning summer school or retaking the year. Now they can't even read a clock if it's not digital, can't even sign their names anymore. This world is sad!