No one expects teachers to, well, teach our kids everything there is to know about life. Simple life lessons, and things like tying shoes or learning what their address is are facts that kids could and should be taught at home.
Don’t ask me how, because I’m still working on all of the above with my kids, but one teacher on TikTok is imploring parents to “go back to the basics” and help her out.
I think we can all agree that teachers do plenty for kids on a day to day basis.
If they aren’t working on the actual lessons, they might be giving out advice, or counseling them at a minor level. The last thing any of us parents need to do is ask even more of teachers, but according to the teacher on TikTok, things that kids might have known once upon a time have gone out the window.
Do we blame it all on technology? Probably. But parents should probably also be willing to do a little more work at home to lighten the load at school.
@mommy_n_zachy What’s happening to our kids? I need answers!! #teachertok #elementaryteacher #teacherproblemsboredteachers #teacher ♬ original sound – mommy_n_zachy
The Teacher is asking parents to “go back to basics.”
In her TikTok, the teacher lists out things that kids no longer know how to do. And, without outright placing all the blame on parents and caregivers at home, the subtext is there. She names using a dictionary, learning their address and phone number, and reading a clock as some of the lessons she believes kids no longer know, but did once upon a time. You know, the pioneer days, in the 90’s.
“They don’t know their parents’ names,” she also says in her video. “I’ll ask them, ‘what is your mom’s name?’ They’ll be like, ‘I don’t know.’ You don’t know your parents’ names? They don’t know where their parents are from? Like, do you speak to your parents at all? I don’t know what’s happening.”
Alright, so maybe some older elementary school-aged kids spend a bit too much time on their tablets or on a gaming system.
But to not know your parents’ names is a wild one.
The teacher ends her video by saying that she sees students “come into the classroom lacking the basics.” She also asks for “a little extra help at home.”
I mean, that’s fair, given everything that teachers already do. And some users, some parents and some not, agreed with the teacher in the comments under her video.
“The dumbing down of America,” one user commented. A little harsh, but OK.
Another user wrote, “We should cut back on screen time and focus more on quality moments with our children.” That’s not a bad idea. As someone whose home doesn’t have any hard and fast rules about screentime, I have seen firsthand the benefits of cutting back and bringing out actual board games. I’m telling ya’ll, kids still love those things.
Someone else commented to throw some shade at the younger generation of Gen Alpha kids with, “This is why I don’t want to hear about the new generation being more advanced and smarter than us. Knowing how to post on social media doesn’t mean anything.”
