Teachers List Basic Things Students Can No Longer Do For Themselves

Teachers facing challenges in the classroom is nothing new, but now they’re dealing with a new kind of challenge that’s not about academics, but basic skills. Those who teach kids from kindergarten to college are sharing the surprising everyday things students can’t do for themselves anymore.

• "The majority of students struggle to read a clock unless it's digital."
• "Kids know they will pass no matter how unqualified, ill-equipped, and unprepared they are. They come to school with the attitude of 'I won't do the work and you can't make me.'"
• "I have fourth graders who can't write their first and last names. Granted, I spend most of my time with the kids who are failing more than one class, but it's really scary to think that a kid can get to fourth grade without anyone raising an alarm about their inability to write their full name."
• "Students are using AI to think for them, write for them, and summarize any readings for them that are more than a paragraph. We've put technology in every classroom, but kids don't understand how to use it."
• "I just retired after spending decades teaching an intro course at the university. The reason: cheating is the norm and accepted, critical thinking is out the door, and the use of ChatGPT is the only way students answer questions or write something on assigned topics."
• "Kids can’t tie their shoes anymore, not even the fifth graders!"
• "I teach high school, and the number of kids I see who cannot get through a day without some sort of chemical stimulus is unhinged. The number of kids who take sleep aids, then turn around and down two to five Monsters during school hours, and then follow it up with weed or something worse, is out of control."
• "Kindergarten teacher here. Many kids come to Kindergarten having NEVER used crayons or pencils, so they cannot, or won't try to color, trace, draw, or write."
• "I'm a high school teacher, and not only can the students not address envelopes correctly, but they also can't even fold the paper correctly to fit in the envelope. Some can't use a paper clip! It’s shocking."
• “I'm a high school art teacher, and my students cannot locate full inches on a ruler. I had to circle all the whole numbers.”