Despite performing one of the most important jobs in the world, teachers are often very underacknowledged and heavily undervalued. And yet, even with all that, there are people who choose this profession to try and make a difference.
However, lately, it seems that their job has become even more difficult than it used to be, and, as this TikToker shared, it is all because of how terribly most of the Gen Alpha kids are raised. Many children in today’s schools are acting in rude, aggressive, disrespectful, and defiant ways. Educators are lost and are looking for ways to solve this major issue. Scroll down to read the full story!
More info: TikTok
Students of the Gen Alpha generation are wreaking havoc in schools, and teachers feel hopeless
Image credits: teresakayenewman
"Young Gen Z teachers are talking about the poor behavior of Gen Alpha students"
"And some of y'all are finally starting to believe us when it comes to how much we've missed the mark on raising these kids right. Because I have gray in my hair, and I'm 36 years old, people tend to tune me out as soon as I open my mouth when I start talking about these issues we're seeing in the classroom with our kids these days. So before I go on, why don't we review some of the evidence from some of the other creators on this app, who might be a little bit more of a relatable age."
Image credits: teresakayenewman
"This is my folder of crying teachers"
"And they are confused and frightened by the behavior of Gen Alpha. They're saying Gen Alpha is defiant, aggressive, disrespectful, and rude."
Image credits: teresakayenewman
"Having to teach and work with you guys as children has been the most traumatic experience of my life"
"They don't respect any authority. You ask them, 'Can you stand at your designated spot?' They're telling you, 'No' and 'Shut up.' They're throwing things at each other. They're throwing things at other people, other classmates. You say, 'Can everybody sit in their spot?' 'I don't want to.' 'I'm not doing that.' 'You don't get to tell me what to do.' 'You're not my mom.'"
Image credits: teresakayenewman
"I'm not even trying to be funny"
"But these kids are... I'm gonna just say this: I teach seventh grade—they are still performing on the fourth-grade level."
Image credits: teresakayenewman
"I'm a middle school teacher"
"I'm also 22 years old. And I will tell you, by far, we are doomed. These kids do not care. I have kids, all they want to do all day long is get high, like…"
Image credits: teresakayenewman
"I need to ask Millennials, why are your kids so awful?"
"And more importantly, why do you think it's so funny? Your kids cannot read, they cannot write, they're ill-mannered."
Image credits: teresakayenewman
"I've been trying to sound the alarm about Gen Alpha students and their poor behavior in their classrooms, as well as their literacy problems, since May of last year"
"But because of my age and how I look, every time I make a video about these topics, I'll get people that have never worked with kids or have never spent a day in the classroom as an educator give me lines like, 'Well, you're just old and jaded,' 'If you don't like it, and you can't handle it, quit and find another job,' [and] 'Kids have always been like this, nothing's new in 2023.'"
"And then we've got the droves of people that are trying to blame it on COVID and trying to blame it on the lockdown, us not having any sympathy or empathy for students with special needs. Even though I never talk about those types of students. And I'm always talking about general population students and the fact that this is an overarching problem with every single kid, even the high achievers, even the ones that don't need IEPs, even the ones that are highly socialized and have a lot of resources coming from home."
"Teachers that have been in this for 1, 2, 3 years are seeing it, and they are talking about it. Teachers that are veterans, like me, that have been in the classroom for over a decade, or two or three, or nearing retirement, are also saying the same thing. Your children are missing the mark on discipline, they're missing the mark on education standards, they're missing the mark on literacy, they're missing the mark on socialization."
"We can blame it on COVID, we can blame it on iPads raising our kids, we can blame it on the fact that kids don't socialize with each other enough, we can blame it on the economy and the fact that parents don't have time to help their kids learn how to read or don't have time to take their kids to the park anymore. You can blame it on all of those things, or we can blame it on none of those things. But it sounds like we're starting to get into a consensus here amongst educators that we have a real problem."
"And some of y'all need to stop making excuses. 'You're just blaming the kids.' 'You're just so mean.' No, we are not. The problem is that we have [is] this generation of parents that [don't] want to take accountability for not doing what they need to do to raise kids that are self-sufficient, that are socialized, or kind. And no, it's not the kid's fault."
Image credits: teresakayenewman
"And why does it seem like teachers are the only ones that are talking about it?"
"The people that are talking about it are the ones that work with the kids and not the ones that are raising the kids. Gen Alpha have been raised to believe that they are grown folks, that they can speak to whoever they want, however they want. That violence is the answer. Gen Alpha students are raised in a world that tells them that it's okay to be as nihilistic and individualistic as possible, that they don't have to care about anything or anyone, that they can speak to anybody however they want to speak to them, even though they're only 10, 11 or 12 years old."
"Most importantly, they are being conditioned to believe that they are immune to consequences, that there are no consequences to their poor behavior, to their rudeness, to their lack of care in completing tasks and doing well in school. They just don't care."
"Is this us demonizing kids for fun? No, it's not. The people that are talking about this are genuinely concerned. We are frightened for these kids. And if you're sitting back saying, 'Oh my god, poor babies,' 'I wish you would just quit talking about them because you're just being mean,' and 'It's not even helpful because kids are just kids.' You are doing absolutely a disservice to their future."
"This is not just an old people complaining about young people problem anymore. Young people in Generation Z, young teachers who are seeing the same thing I'm seeing with my two eyeballs, are talking about the same thing. You can call it an old folks complaining about young folks thing, and, 'Why are you demonizing millennial parents?' 'Why are you demonizing Gen Alpha kids?' Or you can step back and look at it from our perspective and say, 'Gee, I wonder why there's so many people talking about the same thing. I wonder why there's so many teachers that are concerned about the same thing.'"
"We cannot even begin to talk about solutions until we admit there's a problem. Most of you, [who] are parents, because y'all are the ones that matter. I don't even care about the ones who are just trolls and are sitting back, saying, 'School doesn't matter, yap, yap, yap, Mayor of Yap Ville, who cares?' I don't care about you either. I'm talking to parents. If you are not ready to admit that there's a problem here, we cannot get anywhere near even talking about the solutions. We cannot raise a generation of kids that are this tuned out, that are this rude, that are this violent to each other, to adults, to people younger than them. We just can't do it."
Check out the full TikTok video below
The woman in the video is Teresa Kaye Newman, a flutist, music educator, author, and TikTok content creator who spreads knowledge online, where she's followed by more than 98,000 people and has over 5.5 million likes. Most of her videos consist of discussing school-related issues, advice for parents and teachers, and some interesting things from her personal life or observations online.
One of Teresa's most popular posts is a video with over 7 million views, which was posted late last year. In it, the woman talks about a very real yet way-too-often-dismissed problem of severe Gen Alpha students' behavioral and academic issues, which could spiral completely out of control if action is not taken soon.
The people in the comment section were mostly in agreement with the words of this teacher. They bashed the overly gentle parenting trend and pointed out some other important things in the topic that the woman didn't mention.
Image credits: Max Fischer (not the actual photo)
The current issues are quite clear. Besides their behavioral issues, Gen Alpha is not doing well academically, and this is a cause for concern for teachers, parents, and the kids themselves—or at least it should be. But to better understand it, let's look at the whole picture.
As per Innovation & Technology Today, the members of Generation Alpha are the kids born from 2010 until the end of 2024. With around 2.5 million new Alphas being born weekly worldwide, this generation is getting bigger and bigger.
The most significant thing that separates this generation from its predecessors is the fact that these kids grew up entirely with technology at hand, whereas previous ones were introduced to it a little later on in life.
While this gives them a great advantage, setting them up to break the limits of our modern world, it also poses many never-before-encountered challenges that the current systems may not yet be ready for. They're expected to live longer, retire later, and communicate faster, which will require new skills, learning styles, and ways of socializing.
Image credits: CDC (not the actual photo)
But just as technology is useful, it is no less harmful, too. As Conrad Tan of Medium wrote, some of the Gen Alpha kids are getting their first phones at the ages of 6, 5, or even earlier. With that comes unlimited access to the internet and platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and the short-form content they receive through them has a very significant impact on their brains.
The average attention span for humans dropped from 12 to 8 seconds between 2000 and 2013, and since these results are from over 10 years ago, the current situation might be even worse. This means that kids these days find it a lot more difficult to stay focused in school, leading to poorer performance and more chaos in class.
At the same time, Alpha is the generation that was the most affected by the pandemic and the lockdowns that came with it. Being forced to learn in front of their screens from home only amplified their use of technology, and the limited physical contact with others at the age of their social and emotional development impaired their process of building social skills and growing emotionally.
In the interview with The Charger, Oxford School District's superintendent, Bradley Roberson, added that while there was an increase in individuals with anxiety, depression, and ADHD in the past couple of generations, it is likely that Gen Alpha will see no lesser, and possibly even higher, numbers of people with these issues. The cause behind this cannot be defined 100%, but the expert speculated that this is due to how little time these kids spend talking face-to-face compared to on their screens.
However, as Bradley Roberson said, one thing is clear—the current teaching styles that worked for all previous generations are no longer effective and must be adapted to suit today's kids. They might have unlimited knowledge at their fingertips, but they won't grow up to change the world and solve its problems if they are not properly directed.
And none of this can really be solved if we all try to go our own separate ways. While schools and teachers have their own part to play, this responsibility falls on the parents all the same. So, perhaps the best way to approach this is not to point fingers but to own our part and have faith that others will do the same. Because while it may not seem like that big of an issue now, remember that their future is our future, too.
What did you think about the situation with Gen Alpha kids? Do you agree with what this teacher said? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Most of the commenters agreed with the woman, saying that what we see right now is a real problem that must be solved soon
Looking at the challenges faced by educators today, it's vital to bring multiple perspectives to the table. Conversations with experienced individuals can provide unique insights into how we approach the upbringing of the Gen Alpha generation.
For example, some elder members of our communities might share valuable life lessons and wisdom that can influence how we guide our younger generations towards better behavior and success.