Teachers Examine The Most Positive Trends They've Noticed In Today's Youth
It’s a fact of life that schools go through a lot of changes.
The curriculum changes, as does the way teachers are supposed to teach. The decor and building structure changes too, updating the design and generally making the school safer. The rules change, sometimes based on society, and sometimes based on that one student who did something so ridiculous, a rule was created just for that.
With all those changes happening, it stands to reason that students change as well. Kids act and react differently than they did a decade or two ago.
I remember being made fun of for “still watching cartoons” in middle school because I was obsessed with anime. I couldn't find a place to fit it until college, but now there are Anime Clubs in middle schools.
Teachers have noticed a lot of changes like these, and most of them are positive.
Curious about what those changes could be, a Redditor asked:
"Teachers of Reddit, what are some positive trends you have noticed in today's youth?"
The Popular Nerds
"Nerd/geek culture is more accepted."
– ZoiSarah
"At my school they are the ones with the largest friend groups"
– eat_crap_donkey
A For Effort
"University teacher here: My students put in way more effort than I did at their age. Granted, the system has pushed them in that direction as well, but they typically have a better idea of where they want their carreer to go and are willing to put in the effort to obtain that goal. By comparison, I and my cohort mucked about a bit more."
– Marky_Marky_Mark
A Little Kindness
"Students are not afraid to just be nice to each other. I teach elementary art and it is so nice when a kid who is pretty unskilled in art show another kid their work, and instead of getting laughed at (like when I was in school) kids are just so sweet and will say things like "Wow, I really love that!". I hear kids telling other kids "I think your work is beautiful" or "I really like your ideas!" and I just think of when I was in art kids made fun of my work. In general I really don't see kids being bullies as much as they were when I was a kid. I went to school in a really nice district too with few problems but I was bullied. Kids here have a MUCH worse home life than kids at my old school and while they could choose to take it out on others.. they don't. Kids help each other too. They know if a student is "special" and will try to help that student out. They'll offer to walk them to the bathroom, or help them with their drawing, or very politely tell them to be careful with things."
– Kighla
Safety First
"My GF is a teacher and she is amazed at how uncool drinking and driving is. Kids are like "that's stupid you will kill someone..." They literally make fun of kids who do it. In my day EVERYONE drove drunk."
"Very positive change."
– HardGayMan
Neat and Clean
"My day care kids are much more likely to wash their hands than my generation was when we were their age lol"
– Deleted User
"Kids are so much neater now, once they're about 8 or 9. They pick up after themselves, are sort of organized, and don't litter when they can help it. I've even had kids at work that couldn't reach the trash can so they'll come up to the counter and hand me their trash."
– Ninjachibi117
#AimHigher
"As a student currently in highschool, the big thing for our generation, at least in decent schools, is that failure isn't cool. Sure if you suck up to the teacher and obsess over studying you'll get made fun of a bit, but the kids getting Fs get made fun of a lot more. A lot of the 'popular' kids are actually really smart and get top grades. There's a general awareness that we all need to do well and a lot of aspiration for the future."
– Deleted User
Family Is Everything
"Kids are openly kind and loving regarding their parents. I had a tough football player day in class once, “I love my mom, she’s my best friend!” I see the old “Ugh my parents suuuuuuck!” mentality falling by the wayside recently."
– likelazarus
"Yes! My 15 year old daughter blew me a kiss and waved when I dropped her off for school today."
"I remembered when my mom dropped me off at school as a teen and if she told me she loved me after I opened the door, I wouldn't say it back. I thought about that when my daughter did that and wondered if its just because she loves me so much or was I really that embarrassed to love my mom??? Lol"
– SherlockHolmes
Evolution Of Creativity
"Taught art for a spell a while back:"
"I know that a lot of people say sh*t like “oh these children and their all-consuming technology”, but a lot of kids are so excited about learning to make things using their devices."
"A big part of the sculpture class I taught was to make a statement using a 3D printed sculpture."
"Even take something like Minecraft, I know it’s a big meme, but it’s a huge sandbox to build things. I remember being a young teen when I came out- we would get so complex with our builds."
"Kids are learning to create in an incredibly different way. It can be really irritating when they latch onto something and run it into the ground, but they love learning new things, and creating new things, in an increasingly relevant way."
– rehab_baby
Reduction Of Bullying
"As someone who is a youth of today, ive literally never seen bullying where i live people are kind of d*cks sometimes but not bullies"
– ScRuBlOrD95
"I can agree. As I got older I noticed that kids don’t bully as much. They just leave the people they don’t like alone. When I was in high I didn’t notice any bullying. All my issues had to do with me willingly being around the wrong people."
"Edit: I’m not saying bullying doesn’t exist anymore, I’m just saying that it’s decreasing. I was bullied until high school so I know what the different forms of bullying can be like. I was excluded and made fun of. When I got to high school, people just left people like me and others alone."
– DabLikeWizKhalifa
Supportive Friends
"Not a teacher, but theres a group of boys in my class who befriended a boy with autism, and it's so sweet seeing him being included. He was just new to the school & it was so nice seeing them all help him out and be so kind."
– Deleted User
Too Wholesome For Words
"Being excepting of security and gender identity and mental illness"
"Real Convo I over heard in my class"
"Jock 1: hey, I think I want to be a girl"
"Jock 2: pauses"
"Me: praying for no transphobia"
"Jock 2: that's ok! When do you want me to switch pronouns?"
"Jock 1: after summer :)"
"Jock 2: what do you want your new name to be?"
– unfazed_Peacock
Enemies To Friends
"Am in HS, I have friends I used to fight in Middle school, it's probably us being more mature but when you start to think about it its truly amazing that people you 100% despised 6 years ago are now the people you sit with at lunch"
– lightning-pro19
It's Cool To Succeed
"The “popular” kids in my school all get good grades and try to be the best they can be. If a kid is failing school, other people think they’re a loser and no one would hang out with them. This pushes many kids to get good grades and accomplish their goals"
– Deleted User
Easier To Be Who You Are
"Lol I’m not a teacher but my brother is currently in middle school and it sounds like middle school kids today are way better than when I was in middle school almost 10 years ago. I was talking to him about school, and he told me about this anti-bullying PSA group project that I also remember doing when I was his age. The message that his teacher assigned his group was “It’s ok to be gay”. When I was in middle school, gay marriage wasn’t legal yet and the idea that being gay is not morally wrong was still considered an opinion. And I went to a public school, so all of our teachers were required to be politically neutral, which means that no teacher could’ve ever assigned that as a project when I was his age."
"Teachers were obviously allowed to step in if kids were getting bullied for being gay, but they couldn’t say that being gay isn’t a bad thing, so they just had to say be nice to each other. I didn’t realize it at the time because I was a kid, but in retrospect, that kind of thing teaches kids that it’s acceptable to be homophobic."
"He also told me that one of the kids in his class is gay, which I thought was awesome because it means middle school students feel safe and comfortable being openly gay in that school now. And I mean I grew up in a super liberal and educated college town, so me and most of my classmates then already believed that gay marriage should be legal by the time we were in middle school. But despite that, no one in my grade ever came out as gay while we were in middle school. And I mean, it’s no wonder, because my friends and I used to unironically say “that’s gay” as an insult. And I mean, my brother’s just a kid, so obviously I don’t know his sexuality. But he plays hockey and lacrosse, which means he’s definitely the kind of athletic white boy that would’ve been super homophobic when I was a kid lol so hearing him be nice and accepting towards other kids makes me really happy"
"When I was in middle school, the students and teachers all had a really poor understanding of gay rights. But now, it’s only been like eight years and schools are teaching “It’s OK to be gay” as a fact, not and opinion. And obviously the kid themselves are treating each other way better than when I was in middle school. So yeah, I’m really proud of him and all the other students at his school for that. I’m excited to see the world when these kids who are being raised to actually respect each other grow up."
– Iowadoesnotexist
Younger Doesn't Mean Lesser
"I work in an after care and I routinely see our older 5th graders helping, engaging, and involving the young kids, especially the kindergarteners. For example, the older kids will let the kindergarteners score a goal in soccer or allow themselves to be hit when playing dodgeball all for the sake of involving a younger kid and helping to make their experience more memorable."
– lilbigman2020
One Kid Can Make A Difference
"High school teacher here. These kids know how tough the world is becoming (political divisions, climate change, lack of privacy due to ever increasing technology, etc.) and they are still optimistic about what good they can do now to make things better."
"I don’t remember being this socially aware in high school."
– zkwalker
Growing Up Fast
"Parents are by and large sh*tty and unavailable to their children. As a result, children are becoming much more mature, much earlier. Kinda sad for their childhood but excited for their future."
– puckbeaverton
Wear What You Want
"Not in High School and not a teacher, but my lil sis is a HS senior. One day a male student came to school in a dress. He was suspended by the principal (this is Texas). The next day, when the students learned, they walked out, refused to do their work, and actively made school officials feel like villians until the school issued an apology."
– DunmerQueen
Eradication Of Gender "Norms"
"Im 26 and not a teacher, but another remarkable thing im noticing thats not mentioned often yet, is that the categorization of male and female behaviour and activities is blurring (good thing) too. Guys can say that something is cute now, hug eachother and go to a spa to relax for example, but if you did that during my highschoolperiod you would immediately be called gay
or weird. Girls can play videogames now or do extreme sports without being called a nerd or manly, heck its even attractive now!"
"Reading all the comments, I feel like equality is the main theme going on here. The empathy, less bullying and earlier emotional maturity can all be boiled down to equality. Hierarchical sociaties and companies are getting more and more frowned upon and I love it. I think humanity as a whole will improve immensely if this trend continues through not only this generation, but also the next and the next after that. GO YOUTH!"
– Koelkastlamp
Eco-Kids
"The 8 year olds I teach really make a huge deal about plastic. We watched the Blue Planet 2 episode with them and since then they have been so mindful and really want to protect the oceans"
– Mxttjxmes
"My 11 year old asked for reusable straws for Christmas. So yeah, they are definitely more fired up about protecting the environment than we are."
– gopms
I’m beyond happy to know youth culture is evolving this way!
Do you have any trends to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
Years ago, I worked in food service and I think I'm still traumatized by it.
There's something about working for minimum wage, being denied breaks, and running around dealing with rude people all day that really gets to you.
Good thing I'm no longer in it!
These days, I'm a broke writer, and you know what, that's okay with me. It's definitely an improvement!
When I tell people about my time in food service, many respond that they don't know how I did it. I still wonder that myself.
And there are plenty of jobs out there that I won't do (or go back to).
People told us all about the crappy jobs they're avoiding like the plague after Redditor Tuesday2017 asked the online community:
"What's a job or profession you absolutely won't do?"
"Working in a call center..."
"Working in a call center is one of the most soul-destroying jobs imaginable."
ImpossibleAge4
I have thankfully never done it and I don't think I ever will.
Just the thought of working in debt collections sounds awful.
"He just couldn't stand it."
"Child welfare worker. My father did that as his third and final career and counted the days until he was eligible for retirement. He just couldn’t stand it."
"He was providing a needed service for the community, but got no love from any of the other players. Kids hated him because he was removing them from their (abusive) parents. Parents hated him because he was taking their kids, however justified."
"Lawyers were endlessly attacking him, and judges liked to crap on the social worker. It’s not as if the pay was any good either. That is a job I would never do."
SouthernSnowshoe
The system is in dire need of reform.
I know a few wonderful people in this field who are already burnt out.
"The job entails..."
"Crime scene cleaners. The job entails cleaning up blood, bodily fluids and other potentially infectious materials."
SeraphTalk
Nooope.
I don't have the stomach for it.
"I wasted so much of my life..."
"This might not quite answer the question because it's a job that I've held previously but I won't ever work in food service again under any circumstances."
"I wasted so much of my life grinding it out in restaurants. These last two years with the pandemic were the breaking point for a lot of food service workers including myself."
PreciousRoy
Former food service employee here.
No thank you.
I will not do it again.
And in this pandemic?
"I salute those brave men..."
"Cleaning septic tanks. I don't know who does it but Jesus f**k. I salute those brave men for being able to do that kind of s**t."
ProfessionalMess15
Everything about this job sounds so nasty and I just CANNOT.
"It was always a huge mystery..."
"Teach. It was always a huge mystery to me in school. Like, these adults chose to come back? Could never be me."
imcoolthankstho
Too bad education is full of so much red tape and bureaucracy.
There are wonderful teachers out there who leave the field because of that.
"I don't even understand..."
"Proctologist. I don't even understand why someone would consciously choose that path while interning unless it comes with benefits greater than other specialties somehow."
sumuji
Hey, there's always someone who can do that kind of job, and I truly salute them!
"So that."
"My pest removal guy crawled under my deck and then went in my scary basement. He was covered in spiders."
"So that. I do not want to do that job."
AbundenceofGus
And neither do I!
I cringed just reading this.
"I'm too bossy."
"Therapist or any sort of mental health. I’m not cut out to listen to people and help them work through things, I’m too bossy. I want to tell them how to fix it and have them do it, not deconstruct their feelings and help them work their way to their own solution."
ValhallaMama
At least you're aware of this, and it's good that you know.
There are plenty of capable people out there who can do the heavy lifting.
"Everyone deserves a fair trial..."
"Defense attorney. Everyone deserves a fair trial but by god some people and their actions are horrific. Massive props to the guys who do it."
EverestKid
I met a brilliant public defender years ago who had so much insight to share.
I still don't know how she kept it up.
Bravo to people like her!
Okay, I wouldn't do any of these, just so we're clear, so it seems like I'd get along with all the people here. Can you imagine all the great stories they'd tell over drinks?
Have some opinions of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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So listen, we don't expect teachers to have a master-level grasp of everything they teach. Nobody expects you to be a marine biologist with a specialization in cetaceans to teach a third grader about dolphins.
You should at least know they aren't fish.
As an educator, I'm not here for expecting teachers to know everything all the time with no mistakes.
Humans don't human that way, so the way that the original poster framed the question gave me pause...
Reddit user A_Purple_Pengiuns asked:
"What is the moment you realized 'my teacher is an idiot.' "
But the answers absolutely convinced me that this needed sharing. Most of the responses weren't about the teacher not knowing something, more about the teacher's attitude.
A willingness to argue with and/or mock small children is a pretty solid indicator that you're not cut out to be a teacher.
Look at some of these responses.
Lava
Lava Thumbs Up GIFGiphy"2nd grade teacher had our class naming the hottest things we could think of."
"A few kids already said the most obvious, like sun and fire so the third thing I could think of off the top of my head was lava."
"Turns out lava isn't real; the teacher had the whole class laugh at me for believing it was."
"She made me feel stupid as hell for years until I learned that lava IS real, and my teacher was a d*ck."
- Morpheus11011
Lettoochay?
Hannibal Buress Diet GIF by Adult SwimGiphy"When my ENGLISH teacher (I’m from Italy so we have English as a second language) said 'lettoochay' instead of 'lettuce.' "
"She was also one of the worst teachers and ended up getting replaced."
-Kriumpus
"I may start calling lettuce 'lettoochay.' Sounds so fancy."
-iamamuttonhead
What Makes An Animal
Disney Pixar Ocean GIF by DisneyGiphy"I remember the time my 4th grade teacher tried educating us on what makes an animal. One of the criterion she came up with was all animals have brains."
"I asked, 'What about jellyfish? They don’t have brains.' ”
"To which she replied, 'Well then they aren’t alive, are they?' ”
-cakeman936
A Unit Of Measurement
Confused Gary Coleman GIFGiphy"In primary school, I asked my teacher what an ounce was."
"She hushed me, told me it wasn't real and to never ask that again. As though as a nine year old I was asking about an ounce of weed and not the unit of measurement."
-elfbro
" 'not here kid, meet me in the parking lot after class.' "
- Disposable591
"Probably was on weed if that was what they immediately thought you were talking about."
- ADABISCUIT
Thanks, Mom
Mothers Day Eyes GIFGiphy"My 2nd grade teacher wanted to hold me back because of my math grade."
"Her evidence? She did these things called mad minutes where you had to try and solve as many problems as possible."
"I don't perform well under that kind of pressure. My anxiety doesn't allow it."
"My mom laughed in the teacher's face when she explained her reasoning for wanting to hold me back. The teacher tried to put my mom in her place by saying that only a professional educator can make these kinds of assessments."
"My mom had a master's in education. I didn't get held back."
-IntentionalTexan
How Projectors Work
Music Video Colors GIF by Polyvinyl RecordsGiphy"My biology teacher in high school asked me a question, the answer to which was projected onto the whiteboard via an overhead projector."
"I looked at the whiteboard, and she quickly placed her left hand over the part that had the answer to try and hide it."
"Except instead of covering what was on the projector, she covered the whiteboard it was projecting onto. I pointed out that everything was still projected onto her hand ... cause it's a projector. So I could still see the answer."
"She was visibly upset, kind of panicked, and then she slapped her right hand on top of her left hand as if that was going to cover it. It didn't, of course, cause projectors just keep projecting onto whatever surface."
"I bursted out with laughter. She kicked me out and called my parents."
-ok-ox
Possibly Senile?
What The Wtf GIF by Fluffy FriendsGiphy"When my grade 2 teacher tried to hold me back a year, only to discover that she thought I was my older sibling (3 years my senior) whom she had also taught in the 2nd grade."
"To be fair, she was way too old to still be teaching. She may have been legitimately senile?"
"I had good grades for a 7-year-old, whereas my sibling (though not a dullard) didn’t. So I came home with an excellent report card ... along with a letter to my parents that I was going to be held back due to poor grades."
"Wtf?"
" My parents sorted it out and I didn’t get held back, but it was definitely a big deal. This was in 1980 and teachers could in fact fail kids like this back then, and did so often. Or at least this one teacher did."
"I guess it was an accepted practice at that place and time. I'm glad they don't do it like this anymore."
- CrieDeCoeur
Ocean Life
the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy dolphin GIFGiphy"She thought dolphins were fish. No amount of arguing by third grade me was enough to convince her otherwise".
" 'They live in the ocean, they're fish.' "
-AssociationJumpy
"Should have asked her about seaweed, or sponges."
-ReallyHadToFixThat
People Explain Which Movie Never Fails To Make Them Cry
People Explain Which Movie Never Fails To Make Them Cry People talk about their go-to films for when they need to let some emotions loose.Native Speakers v. Peggy Hill
I Agree Episode 2 GIF by P-ValleyGiphy"My mom went to take a university class in Greek. She’s a native speaker, so she was hoping for an easy A and to maybe just read some new literature."
"The professor was Peggy Hill-ing it hard and my mom tried to correct her pronunciation. This woman really told my mom that she was wrong about how to pronounce it!"
"Then another native speaker in the class spoke up and confirmed my mother was right."
"She never called on either of them in class again lol"
-Is_Bob_Costas_Real
Since You're Not Checking...
surprised gerry dee GIF by CBCGiphy"College professor has us reading a handout; at one point the essay mentions 'Acmeism' and the professor stops to ask the class if anyone knows what that means."
"Silence. 'Darn, I was really hoping someone would be able to tell me.' "
"A quick spotlight search showed to me that this was essentially a genre of Russian poetry, but what was really revealed is that she was too lazy to search an unfamiliar term before teaching with it and therefore she wouldn't be searching anything in my essays either."
"I started making up terms and schools of though, just stringing words together like 'Post-Counter Bifuturism.' I got A after A."
-JewcyBoy
Just Teach Us About Enzymes
jesus GIFGiphy"When a substitute biology teacher spent the whole class telling us evolution wasn’t real and we should rip those pages out our textbooks."
"He also felt it was vital for us to know that Jesus was a vegetarian (pretty sure there was a whole lot in the Bible about Jesus and fish, though) and if we weren’t vegetarians we were going to die of cancer like his brother did."
"We were meant to be learning about enzymes."
- TechnicalZucchini6
Because Plants Can't Scream
Food Salad GIF by NickelodeonGiphy"My high school biology teacher somehow found out I was a vegetarian and took the time from one of our lessons to say this, standing in front of my desk, slightly pointing at me with her fingers:"
“ 'I know some people believe they are different because they don’t eat meat, but you’re still just as cruel as anyone else. Plants have feelings too, you just don’t care about them because they can’t scream.' ”
"I signed up for another biology class, but she kept talking sh*t about me to my classmates in the other class just because I decided not to eat meat. I'd never even spoken to her about it!"
- Impossible_Past_7225
Yaks Are Extinct?
Giphy"My sister's teacher in grade 2 thought saying 'yeah' was wrong somehow."
"She also thought it was the sound that yaks make."
"And that yaks are extinct."
"So if you said 'yeah' to her she'd just say 'is there an extinct animal in here?' until you said yes."
"Imagine all those little kids growing up arguing about yaks being extinct and eventually finding out they're still around and quite common."
- WaterChestnutII
The White Man's Burden
Season 19 Episode 10 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"9th grade global history. It's an overview survey style class at best, nothing too deep - except the teacher."
"Teacher is a self proclaimed tough guy; but he failed out of state trooper programs, local police program, and was cut from every team he tried out for in high school, and college."
"Finally he ended up a teacher in a small town that doesn't have a good reputation. Maybe that explains his attitude?"
"Anyway, he gets up in front of the class and tells everyone when we do an overview of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. He doesn't stop there, though."
"He then tells us that all religion is garbage, and Christianity is the white man's burden. If you believe in it please drop this class..."
"To 14yr olds. In 9th grade. In a small town school where there is only 4 different history classes; one for each year of high school."
"Get real dude, we couldn't drop your class if we wanted to and you know it. And believe me, we all wanted to. He was exhausting and all we wanted was for him to shut the hell up."
- DaylightPrarie
Too Young To Play That
fail black and white GIFGiphy"In grade 6 our English teacher has as write out a fictional police report."
"I wrote about Grand Theft Auto; not the game, but the actual crime of stealing a car. We were supposed to write about a crime and that was just the one I picked."
"But because I used that term Grand Theft Auto, she instantly failed me without even reading it or letting me explain."
"She said I just wrote about a video game that I was too young to be playing at the time."
- skunkdude13
Ladies Don't Hydrate
selena gomez water GIFGiphy"Not a teacher but she's still a secretary or something. The point is she had a high position of authority at my school, and she would watch classes if the teacher was out."
"If she caught you doing something she didn't like in the hallway, she'd pull you aside and ask why you did what you did (you could literally have your phone in your pocket and she would still pull you aside because it wasn't in your bag) in a super accusing tone."
"She was in the hallway talking to some teachers when I went to get some water, and she told me to stop and said 'ladies don't do that.' "
"Ladies, is it improper to want water? Am I some freak of nature for being thirsty?"
- scarieststar
I Didn't Go Here!
she doesnt even go here mean girls GIFGiphy"I had just moved to a new school in the beginning of the second term of the school year in 10th grade."
"The math teacher gave me - the new kid- demerits and detention for not doing the homework she had given the class the previous term before the break. You know, the term that I was in a completely different high school and city for?"
"I couldn't even defend myself or else I'd just get more detention."
- tyedontdye
Square Watermelons
Hungry Watermelon GIFGiphy"My sons teacher. In 4th grade they had to do a project on GMO’s. They had to read a provided article and then write an essay on the positives and negatives of GMO crops and then state their opinion on the use of them."
"It was online learning during lockdown, so I was in the room listening when I heard the teacher tell the kids some examples of a GMO crops were square watermelons and pumpkins."
"Now, the Japanese got real innovative with vegetable and fruit molds to grow produce into fun little shapes and so there are, indeed, square watermelons and pumpkins. We actually got a pumpkin to grow into the shape of a 5 gallon bucket once!"
"But what she was explaining to the kids is that they were square because they were genetically altered to grow like that. She, apparently, was unaware that they only look like that because they put the immature fruit into a mold and allowed it to fill the space taking on the shape of the mold. There is no genetic modification involved."
"I had to tell my son to completely erase everything she taught them about GMOs because none of it was true, thankfully the online article and movie they provided was pretty accurate."
"They are so young, imagine all the kids that took her square watermelon GMO lie as fact."
- ViciousFlowers
Teachers are human, humans make mistakes. Facts are facts. Please, teachers, do not decide to be Smugbob Smuggypants about it.
These answers got me wondering, do your negative teacher experiences follow the same pattern?
Was it the incident, or the attitude ABOUT it that seared it into your mind?
Let me know in the comments.
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People Explain Which Topics We Should Stop Teaching Young Children
As adults, especially those who work with or have kids of their own, we have a responsibility to mold the young minds that will go on to be the adults of tomorrow. They are our future, and we owe it to them to raise adults that will be respectful and kind community members.
There are plenty of things we were taught as kids that we thought were harmless at the time. But years later those same things have become an issue.
We went to ask Reddit to learn about those issues that we should change for the next generation.
Redditor Ok-Department5749 asked:
"What should we stop teaching young children?"
Let's see how many of these things you heard when you were growing up.
Boys will be boys.
"That if someone is picking on them it means they like them. Gonna set them up for a lot of problems later in life."
"I have a personal beef with this one. The boy who harassed me because he 'just liked me' is now in prison for assault."
"Yep. I had my hair pulled and punched by a boy in third grade. Was told by both teacher and principal that it wasn't a big deal. Boys do that all the time and bedsides he probably just liked me."
"I hate that 'boys will be boys' crap."
"Boys will be boys is for when you and the boys decide to use plywood as a bike ramp, not when someone sexually assaults someone else."
You can't be everyone's friend, and that's okay.
"That everyone is your friend. It's not true. I had to tell my 9 year old niece that sometimes people aren't going to like her and it's just how it is. This broke her heart because there's a boy in her class who doesn't like her and she's been trying to win him over. She's so sweet and I hated having to tell her that."
"I am an ECE who works with school-age kids. My line is 'we aren't all friends here, and that is ok, but we have to treat everybody with respect/kindly'. I see lots of ECE's use the 'friend' terminology ex 'we don't hit our friends' 'your friends are trying to sleep'. I avoid the terminology like the plague."
"I've seen it backfire. I had a 7-year old tell me that it was ok that she hurt another child because the other child wasn't her friend (This was this particular child's first year with us)."
- gydzrule
"This is great because it helps kids learn to treat others with respect while also helping them manage their own expectations about immediately being friends with/like by everyone (which obviously isn't the case). It's a gentle introduction to reality that will save them a lot of trouble down the line. I mean, I really wish I had been taught to build confidence in myself rather than my confidence depending on whether or not other people liked/approved of me."
"The 2nd part to that lesson is learning that a relationship is only worth your time if both people like each other."
- Satchmoi
"More importantly, if both people respect each other."
We're equal.
"That they're more special than other kids. It's a recipe for future entitled adults."
"I think this is important, kids should know they are the most special kids to their parents, however they aren't the most special kids between all the kids in the world."
- Majo1118
"I think it's a setup for depressed kids when they don't end up as gifted as they are told they are."
Older doesn't always mean wiser.
"That just because someone's older doesn't mean they are right."
"Maybe we should teach the older generation that just because someone is younger doesn't mean they don't know what they're talking about. That is the problem I've seen."
"My husband's grandma gets mad when she's wrong. She always yells 'Respect your elders!'"
"Umm being wrong is just that. You find a correction and move on. Also, respect isn't just given. If you can't treat others the right way, no matter how many times you scream that stupid phrase at me, I won't respect you."
Kids deserve respect.
"That you can't disrespect adults but they can disrespect you."
Ali49130
"Or that even if you are right and the adult is wrong, the adult is still right."
max_anarchy
"Not long ago there was an incident in my city where a teacher got in a fight with a student. There's debate as to who is responsible for instigating, but the fact that the video shows the teacher antagonizing and pulling the kid's hair says plenty to students."
"Friends of mine were on social that night talking about years of terrible experiences with that teacher. He was a bully and a bigot with a record."
"The next day I told all my classes that they could always come to me with a concern about another teacher. A couple classes ended up discussing incidences for the rest of the period."
"Do high schoolers sometimes get self-righteous and dramatic? Absolutely. But I'd rather them speak out when something feels wrong than feel like no one would bother helping."
Foreigners Explain Which Parts Of American Culture Seem Strange | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Consent is important in all contexts.
"That not wanting to hug someone is rude."
"I have four nieces and see this happen to them a lot. The youngest one doesn't always remember me. Her older sisters give me hugs with delight and I always tell the youngest to hug me when she's okay with it. I hate hugging people when I don't want to so I'm not gonna subjugate her to something no one can stand. It's so freaking weird."
"Glad someone said this. Children need to be able to say no to unwanted physical contact."
Stop forcing your kids to eat.
"To finish the food on your plate if you're not still hungry. Note: don't waste food. Save leftovers if you can."
- jennkrn
"Was going to say the same thing. Kids are allowed to not like foods the same as adults. We have a 2 bite rule. I don't like avocado, so I don't eat it. My stepdaughter doesn't like green beans so I just don't put them on her plate. I never understood this or the clean plate thing. That can lead to eating disorders later on."
- tkp14
"Also doesn't help with sensory issues."
"My partner just can't handle the texture of 99% of vegetables. So I work around it with veggie noodles and blending vegetables. Since I love to cook, I love the challenge of making something healthy but working around the texture thing (I also have an aversion to some vegetables. Like cauliflower. I can't.)"
"To that end, cooking things in different ways is paramount. Don't just boil some green beans and call it a day. I used to hate collard greens until my mom made 'boozy' greens (I forgot what she put in them for liquor). Other people just boiled them and slapped them on a plate, but what she did was just more harmonious. Complex. Satisfying."
"Once I heard my aunt tell my nieces that they needed to eat everything on their plates, even if they didn't like it, because "someday you're going to start dating and you don't want boys to think you are a picky eater." I had a conversation with my own daughter later about how wrong that statement was."
"My brain audibly broke when I read that. Thank you for telling your daughter how wrong your aunt was."
Zero tolerance policies.
"Those 'zero tolerance policies' where you get detention because someone punched you in the back of the head make any f*cking sense."
- 4-stars
"I've never even heard a valid argument for this. It's always, 'You MUST have done something to incite this.' Like no, some people are just a**holes and you shouldn't be punished for their actions."
"The sole point of this is, and has always been, for school administrators to escape responsibility."
- 4-stars
"We had a student break the zero tolerance policy. He got jumped in the hallway, threw his hands out to his sides away from the attacker, and screamed that he wasn't fighting back and that he needed help. Once he went to the floor, he balled up and kept yelling. He was a bigger kid than his attacker and could have handled it, but chose to take the hits."
"When he got called to the office and the zero tolerance policy was brought up, he pointed out that he never fought back, screamed that he wouldn't to de-escalate the situation, and that he needed help like students are taught to do when they are being bullied. Having done everything right, it wasn't a fight, it was an assault and if they punished him for being assaulted under their care, his parents would be blasting this everywhere they could."
"He never got punished and the other kid was expelled."
"My solution to this is "no, I will tell you if you're in trouble after I hear what the school has to say." Detention is no big thing if your parents aren't adding on."
"Also zero-tolerance drug policies that punish for simple over-the-counter meds. I know girls that got expelled over Midol. Others for Tylenol."
"I'm 30 and still feel like I'm being judged if I take Motrin at my desk for a sore back."
Kids are smarter than we think.
"Their worries and concerns are small or silly. Stop making them feel dumb or embarrassed for saying or doing something wrong. Most of all, that it's normal for mom or dad to post those moments on their social media page. Just stop."
- Redditor
"There was a famous quote And it goes something along the lines of 'Don't put down whatever they feel the need to share with you whether it be big or small, because to them everything was big.'"
Everyone's got problems.
"'You think you have problems? Just wait until you're grown up and you'll find out what real problems are!'"
"I became an adult with real problems, but nothing that has happened (which includes several abusive relationships, not surprisingly) has been as horrific as being trapped in that sh*tshow of a childhood and not being believed nor having any power to defend myself or escape."
"But even if their problems really are relatively minor, denying or invalidating your kids' experiences is damaging in and of itself. They're not minor problems to them, have some fucking empathy."
No really means no.
"That saying No is rude. I wanna teach my kid it's ok to refuse something or just say 'no' without any reason."
"One of my friends has been working with her kids on 'hear my "no"' recently and I thought it was so cool. If you want a kid to stop bugging you when you say no, you have to make sure they understand they can say no too and that it's not a bad thing."
"At our place we always teach our kid to respect the no. On the flip side, we always respect the kid's no too. It goes both ways."
sortitall6
Boundaries and sharing are both important lessons.
"Stop making them share everything for the sake of sharing. Teach them to set healthy boundaries. Teach them about donations and charity. Teach them sharing in moderation. Teach them why we share. But dammit, stop forcing them to do it all the time because 'that's what kids are supposed to do.'"
"Right. Forcing someone to 'give' you a turn isn't sharing. Some 7/8 year old kid tried to pull this on my then 2 year old at the playground when he (my son) brought a really cool Tonka dump trunk. He tried to take it saying my son had to share. When I intervened, he told me my son had to share and give him a turn. I said, 'First of all, you taking it from him is not sharing. Second No. No he does not "have" to share. This is his truck. If and when he decides he's done playing with it, you may ask him for a turn. If he says yes you may have a turn, that is sharing. Do not try to take his truck again.' He got all angry and scowly and said he was going to tell his mom on me, I told him to go right ahead."
"At our house, unless you are clearly hogging an item just to be a jerk (which rarely happens), both boys (4,7) know that it is someone's turn until they decide they are done. You may ask for a turn, but they don't have to say yes. If you are the person who has the thing and you say no, you are expected to go find the person when you are done and let them know you are done and they can have a turn now. What really warms my heart, even though they say no about half the time, they rarely play more that 3 or 5 minutes before giving the thing to their brother."
"Don't think our house is squabble free, there are definitely still fights, even over turns sharing/turns."
It's out responsibility to care about the young people in our lives and raise them to be respectful members of the community. It starts with us.
Now that we know better, we must do better.
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Students Who Have Switched To Online Classes Due To The Pandemic Share Their Funniest Experiences
Everyday seems to bring about more somber news and confusion. But just because the outside world seems to be coming to a pause that doesn't mean education has to stop. It fact it is imperative that learning be one of the fundamentals of this experience. Many, many students have been forced to switch to learning from home online. And be educated online can be an "interesting" experience.
Redditor u/lengelmp wanted to hear from all the students out there who are homeschooling it through this crisis by asking....
BEST. LECTURE. EVER.
Not even 2 minutes into first online live stream class, moaning noises start coming over the stream. Thinking its a joke, professor stops and asks whoever it is to stop. Noises keep coming, and suddenly they get really loud. Next thing we know, someones mom starts screaming and yelling at someone in the background, and sounds of crying are heard. Turns out someones brother was watching *ahem* adult films and accidentally hooked up to his speaker instead of his headphones, although still not sure how one can actually make that mistake without knowing it.
Anyway, professor continued on with class trying not to laugh as we got to hear every word the mother told her other son from the other room. Best part was after the mom had finally calmed down and stopped yelling the kid who's mother it was got up and called from his doorway, "Mom, can u keep it down, I'm in the middle of online class room". The mother came into the room 2 minutes later and apologized for the excess noise. BEST. LECTURE. EVER. AcceptableRub1
Kim?
GiphyYou can set a virtual background e.g. green screen - Set up me in class with Kim Jong-Un beside me for the whole hour at the desk. Robindinho
So Loud.
Don't know if its funny but my math teacher decided that he wanted coffee, so instead of muting himself he started to boil water. It was the loudest thing I have ever heard through my headphones. It took him another 30 seconds to realize that he didn't mute himself and quickly did. MaxusBork
A student joined in.....
A student joined in, didn't mute his microphone, and started making fun of the teachers name with a family member who was in the room. Didn't realize for a couple seconds before finally muting his microphone. Everybody heard him including the teacher. microbazinga
Ponies!
GiphyMy professor had allowed his daughter to use his device before starting the video chat. We were silent for a moment until we heard the My Little Pony song playing in full volume. My professor was moved into instant shock and anxiety. DrPorterMk2
3 in....
Professor uploaded 3 videos on 3 topics. Alas, in the last video, there was no sound as his microphone was off.
Poor guy. He had to record and re-upload the entire last lecture. But kudos to him, he did it within a couple of hours. soubhik_
One of You!
Someone's mum came into my classmates room and told her that she is disappointed and disgusted that she clogged the toilet. PeeLITunder"Which one of you clogged the toilet?
"...WELL, IT WAS DAMN ONE OF YAS!" LotusPrince
Going Black.
My teacher sent the link to his son to get to online classes as a test to see if it worked. The boy (who was in 7th grade) kept the link so when we were in the middle of class he got on and said, " Help, help me, i've been stuck in this computer for 4", years then the screen went black. My teacher explained it to us then we all laughed. boyler2025
Bleh.
One of the lecturers recorded a powerpoint with voiceover unaware that his webcam was also capturing video. He shared the audio, the presentation and a one hour closeup of subtile movements of his crotch to all his students. The powerpoint presentation didn't excite him much. trinityxxiv
Turn it Off!
GiphyCurrently enrolled in a electrician trade school. The first class went a little messy. Some of the moments include.
The teacher finding out how to share his screen, then proceeds to draw giant dongs on a white board program.
A loud "can you turn that damn movie off" from one classmate to another, since he had a movie in the background.
A guy thinking he had put his mic on mute, and asked his gf/wife for head (he didn't have a webcam on)
Many, Many technical difficulties (Understandable due to many of the guys in my class being 35-40 range)
A guy drinking a beer, in a tank top, just acting chill about it.
I know many of these are not out of the ordinary, but for a school setting, i couldn't help but laugh. KidVibez
Damn you Mario!
GiphyMy professor turned on closed captions and when he finally figured out what it was he was like "what type of communist Nintendo technology is this?" gabriey
This is Me...
Had a seminar this afternoon. I joined the Zoom meeting to see my Oxbridge-educated, world-leading-expert professor lying horizontally in bed.
It's a Master's course and for some reason the image of him giving utterly zero craps just killed me. countrycider
I don't know if it would have been better or worse if he was lying vertically. LoveDaLlamas
Obese Cat.
On our second online class, one of the kids didn't realize his mic wasn't muted, and proceeded to start talking to his cat (offscreen), who was apparently drinking out of the kid's water glass. It went something like this: "You damn obese cat, you just sit there on your butt and eat all day; you don't even do a damn thing for us."
Before any of us could react, our teacher (a devout environmentalist and the most aggravating teacher I have ever had) started lecturing this kid for being cruel to his pets while we all just watched. Then she actually made this kid apologize to his cat, which took him a long time to do because he was laughing so hard. Lunar_Wolf770
Wooftime.
My teachers dog (a small one) run to him during the class. It would've been cute, but it get hilarious when his other dog (Great Dane) run toward him too like it was jealous. It bumped him out of his chair and seemed to be licking him. agenericgirlithink
Boop.
GiphySomeone ripped a massive fart while the teacher was talking and no one knew who did it. sentient_spaghetti
Smoked.
I was attending my class and my roommate who was in the very corner of the camera didn't think he was visible on my camera and proceeded to take a really big hit from his bong when I was talking so my camera was blown up on everybody's screen. duston199o
Cut to Black.
I had an online meeting with my department about online exams and how they're implemented. One of the senior staff members cut off every once in a while for 5 seconds. Once it happened in the middle of a sentence where he was describing the procedure if a student disconnected during an assessed skype meeting. He went "and in case one of the students cuts off..." and his video feed went black and sound cut off. Beautiful. Geronimou
Waving Bye.....
If anyone has used blackboard for online lectures, you'll know you can click a button to "Raise" your hand and a little icon will pop up next to your name. Since discovering this, everyone on my course has taken to "Waving" bye to each other all at the end of a lecture by repeatedly raising and lowering our hands. It's not much but it's hilarious to see a bunch of notifications pop up at the end of a lecture. tidus9000
50 People Deep....
Today was our first online class and I ran really quickly to get my phone from upstairs right... when I left my brother who's 11 ran into the room blasting Minecraft songs and my dog was jumping on him and barking... well I forgot to mute myself so everyone saw and heard what was going on and now my English teacher thinks my family has issues. :) Also, forgot to mention there were like 50 people live on this chat looking at my screen while hearing everything in the background. jasminesoriagonzlez
You're Out!
GiphyWe were playing a video game on discord while being muted on the call with the class. My friend then decided to lecture me our other teammates how we were bad and what we should do differently, while using a ton of swear words and yelling. Turns out he somehow unmuted himself, so he got kicked out of the call. Fil-IP