11 Complaints Teachers Have About This Generation Of Kids That Should Deeply Concern Their Parents
These issues teachers have with today's students aren't only parenting concern, but should raise societal worries as well.
MAYA LAB | Shutterstock.com Especially in our post-pandemic world, there are a myriad of issues school districts, administrators, and teachers are facing that contribute to less than favorable outcomes for students — academically, personally, and socially. From understaffed schools to under-compensated teachers, misbehaving students, and technological distractions, classrooms aren’t only about learning anymore. Both students and teachers confront a number of other issues every day they go to school.
There are certain issues Gen Alpha and Gen Z students are experiencing at a higher rate, including complaints teachers have about this generation of kids that should deeply concern their parents — not because they're their fault, but because schools and their leadership don’t know how to address and solve their unique issues.
Here are 11 complaints teachers have about this generation of kids that should deeply concern their parents
1. They struggle with reading comprehension
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Alarming research suggests that nearly two-thirds of fourth grade kids can’t read with proficiency, with elementary classrooms falling short on meeting reading comprehension goals and older students struggling in the classroom. Whether it be technological distractions, instant gratification, or less reading at home contributing to their literacy struggles, this has become one of the most popular complaints teachers have about this generation of kids that should deeply concern their parents.
While AI and new technologies seem promising for building a better classroom, a quarter of teachers argue that AI has done more harm than good for their students, according to the Pew Research Center, sabotaging their reading comprehension skills, concentration, and effort.
2. Technology has greatly affected their attention spans
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With cellphone distractions, dwindling effects of online learning, and social anxiety in the classroom, many modern students genuinely struggle to pay attention and concentrate in class. Not only does this burden their work ethic and motivation, it encourages them to be more active during class — often labeled as misbehavior when it’s truly a social and mental need.
Studies, like one published in OxJournal, even argue that screen-time for toddlers can stunt their growth and encourage struggles with focus, concentration, and hyperactivity before they’ve even started school — encouraging them to start further behind than their classmates.
They lack concentration, but in many cases also motivation — two complaints teachers have about this generation of kids that go hand in hand with each other.
3. They don’t put in effort to succeed
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Teachers congregating on forums like Reddit suggest that, despite being given the tools to succeed by their teachers, many of their students don’t put any real effort into setting themselves up for success. Due to a combination of frustration, lacking concentration, and more social isolation, students are battling emotional turmoil — keeping them from feeling motivated in regard to academic achievement.
According to research conducted by Kahoot, rising concerns and struggles with mental health are distracting students on a much larger scale today than in earlier generations, contributing to their lack of focus and effort in classrooms.
In addition to technological and social distractions, which are some of the biggest complaints teachers have about this generation of kids that should deeply concern parents, the rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness in these students also greatly impact their work ethic.
4. They lack curiosity
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According to a study from the Learning, Culture, and Social Interaction journal, many students struggle to name things they are excited to learn more about related to school, arguing that they “just do what teachers tell them to do” in “boring” classes like math and science.
While this may be a similar sentiment to those of older generations of students, experts from this study call it “alarming” — suggesting future success and curiosity for lifelong learning starts in these classrooms and it’s essential to cultivate excitement with learning to set them up for achievement later in life.
With the all-encompassing and sometimes overwhelming nature of input from technology and social media, students may simply feel less stimulated in traditional classrooms, unable to focus or concentrate without multiple forms of input or distractions.
5. Standardization isn’t encouraging them to truly learn
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Experts from the National Education Association say that standardization across classrooms is deeply harming – even “failing” — students, stunting their growth, negatively impacting their curiosity, and urging them to approach learning from a rigid and linear perspective. Not only does it inconsistently measure academic success, progress, and growth, it can cause anxiety in students who learn in non-traditional ways — disrupting their ability to pursue higher education or educational opportunities reliant on standardized testing scores.
In classrooms, the impact of standardization is complex and nuanced, especially considering many school districts receive their funding based on student performance on testing.
Burdening already understaffed and under-compensated teachers with more work at the expense of their students’ true learning, it’s not just teachers, parents, and school administrators that should be deeply concerned, but everyone who will interact with these students as they enter institutions, society, and the workplace.
6. They struggle with problem-solving skills
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As a study from the Journal of Mathematical Behavior found, many teachers consider a lack of problem-solving skills it to be one of the largest struggles in their students.
From solving basic conflicts with peers to emotionally regulating their own discomfort to accepting challenges in the face of difficult struggles, many teachers argue that this generation of kids' problem-solving struggles are something that should deeply concern parents and administrators alike.
Especially when they rely on their teachers to simply fix their problems for them, rather try to find their way themselves through challenges, teachers argue students are only being set up to fail later in life — both personally and professionally — when they will have to problem-solve for themselves.
7. Chronic absenteeism is affecting their educational success
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According to data collected by educational economist Thomas Dee, nearly a quarter of students were chronically absent from school during the 2022-2023 school year, missing nearly 10% of their classes. Missing school for a variety of reasons, from mental health struggles to illness, household financial insecurity, and even a lack transportation, many kids are lacking enough formative time in classrooms necessary for their success.
Teachers argue that chronic absenteeism has grown more significant post-pandemic, as kids face social, communication, and mental health struggles at much higher rates, making it difficult for them to feel welcomed, safe, and secure at school.
Not only does this cause students to fall behind academically, it stunts their social and interpersonal growth connecting with their peers — sabotaging the social benefits like community and belonging that school settings can foster.
8. Their students expect instant gratification
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Hindering their ability to challenge themselves and work through challenges, students’ need for instant gratification is sabotaging their success at school and has become one of the largest complaints teachers have about this generation of kids that should deeply concern their parents.
Discouraging kids from putting in the effort to learn, explore their curiosities, and challenge themselves to grow, expectations of instant gratification, often fueled by technological distractions releasing instant dopamine and serotonin in kids, can lead to feelings of entitlement in students.
Not only do they expect others to do the hard work for them, actively avoiding challenge and discomfort, they often misbehave and become more emotionally unregulated at any sign of anxiety or difficulty — cultivating a hostile environment for true learning in modern day classrooms.
9. Instability at home
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Especially for students with unstable home lives, school can be a place of stability and peace for many kids, but only if they are provided with a welcoming classroom, sufficient resources, and administrators who are committed to protecting their well-being. With schools being understaffed, teachers being under-compensated, and school districts struggling with losing funding, these most vulnerable students are at risk — unable to reap the benefits of programs like free school meals or financial assistance for small school expenses.
As a Housing Matters report from the Urban Institute argues, issues like poor housing, struggling parents, and food insecurity can be detrimental to a student’s ability to learn and succeed in school. Without resources from schools or teachers to help, as many professionals argue are dwindling in recent years, these students can be left behind.
Like many of the other complaints teachers have about this generation of kids that should deeply concern their parents, most of these problems can be solved or mediated with institutional changes. It’s not a child’s fault they are growing up in an educational context that can’t properly support them and provide resources to help with their evolving needs, technology, and mental health struggles.
10. They don’t have emotional regulation skills
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While combating misbehavior in traditional classroom settings typically looks like encouraging students to be calm, quiet, and reserved, experts from the Spark & Stitch Institute argue that helping kids to truly and effectively emotionally regulate themselves looks entirely different.
It’s important to give students an authentic space to speak their mind and express their emotions, even when it’s unproductive to the curriculum or standardized testing.
The problem with many schools today is that they don’t have the resources to make flexing that emotionally intelligent muscle in their students a reality. Not only do they often not have a school counselor trained or educated in helping students with their mental health or emotional regulation, they don’t have the resources or space to take them out of class, help them mediate their problems, or connect them with the help they need — contributing to more misbehavior and emotional outbursts in the classroom that teachers are then responsible for mediating.
11. They are distracted by technology in the classroom
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While school cellphone bans have been proven to lead to higher rates of happiness, less anxiety, and more focus in the classroom, there’s also research, such as a study commissioned by BBC, that shows teenagers often experience more anxiety when separated from their cellphones. Not only is it a balance of committed teachers, healthy classroom dynamics, and less technological distraction, success in a classroom is about resources.
Do teachers feel empowered to cultivate “cellphone-free classrooms?” Are parents encouraging their students to leave their phones at home or are they calling during class?
Especially with lacking pay and administrative support in many school districts, distractions have become almost unbearable for teachers to mediate in their classrooms. Coupled with rising rates of misbehavior amongst students and setbacks in student success with educational curriculum, their entire jobs can become distraction-oriented if they’re not properly supported.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.