Teaching Gen Alpha | Teacher Tips For Modern Kids | Ask A Teacher 

24 years here, agree completely.

OMG, I could not agree more! There are so many problems with the whole system, I wouldn't even know where to start....The admin does not support the teachers when kids misbehave...just the opposite--the teachers then get labelled as ineffective or lacking classroom management skills...are you for real??!!

I don't mean to be rude or confrontative or anything, but I can't find a way not to sound like that in text form, so here I go: Just out of curiosity since you sound super sure of what you're saying, could you share the reason behind your conclusions? Are you a teacher too? And if so, have you found a way to connect with these kids effectively? Yes, they can focus for hours when playing a video game, but the problem is that normal people can pay attention for a certain amount of time even when they don't care about the topic, which is something these kids can't seem to do. For them being bored is worse than being diagnosed with cancer, apparently. Also, you say they don't have mental issues. How can you be so sure about this? If this is not the case, then how could you explain our current predicament? You say that kids are fine. If that's the case then why is it that so many teachers are finding it so difficult to engage them nowadays? Seems difficult for me to believe that all of us are wrong, especially when just some years ago some of us were loved by our students and we haven't changed that much... what do you think is the root of the problem now?

@@Terrato.Worzen Yes, I've been a teacher for over 10 years. There were kids who loved their teacher years ago, and many still do now. 💜 Of course, there are those who did not in the past and those who do not like their teachers now for various reason. Being bored and other low excuses have been used to justify lack of effort and poor behavior from students. I'm not saying they are not bored at times, because not everything in school is interesting. I knew that when I was in school. There's nothing new under the sun. However, students are now given all excuses with NO ACOUNTABILITY. It's very simple. If their attention spans were actually low based on biology or science, you could not "choose" to focus on a game versus a lesson. This clearly shows it's a choice, that is perpetuated. If attention spans dealt with the brain, it would not be something you can control when you want. This is the same with adhd. It is a 'mental disability' based on imbalances in the brain. Yet, I've had students every year who would behave in my class, yet adhd would be the blame for misbehavior in another. If there's an imbalance in the brain, you don't get to pick and choose when you behave and when you don't. However, parents, students, and even schools at times want labels to justify low academics and horrible behavior. Sadly, it gives parents, kids, and even schools a cop-out. Accountability is key.

Their social attention spans are extremely short; around 5 seconds or less.

@@vladimirofsvalbard9477 Not true at all.

@@courtneyj.4043 I don't think you realize how big a problem anti-social behaviors are becoming among the youth in this country. Addiction is not a choice; they're overstimulated dopamine receptors that invoke a painful or aggressive response when they don't get their fix. Thinks like RU-vid shorts and TikTok are re-wiring the brains of our youth that forces them to seek out short-term and impulsive dopaminergic fixes. There's also quite a bit of research to suggest that the excessive screen time is producing an underdevelopment in their capacity for empathy. Which makes sense seeing how emotionally unstable they are, but at the same time don't have a care in the world about anybody else. I'm the oldest child in my family (30) and we have quite a few between 12-22. All (except one) exhibit these extreme narcissism, inability to maintain attention, anxiety, and low empathy. Keep in mind that ADHD/ADD symptoms tend to mirror general anxiety disorders. So I believe this is a misdiagnosis; it's something different. Self harm along with anti-social behavior has been going up exponentially from the standpoint of clinical diagnoses. We've never seen anything like this before, because this is the first time there's been a generation that didn't know the world before social media and smartphones.

Meanwhile, Here you are posting on a social media platform as good of an idea that I believe that you've presented . However, it was the past generations that thought about what we have today. Remember those dreams of making things easier in life, etc. ? Well here we are with the technologies that do those things and now when children are getting their hands on such things a number of us start freaking out. Watch what you wish for in life because now we've got it and now it is time for today's adults to start learning how to take the bitter with the sweet.

I teach music and it has similar benefits in motion! Dancing, marching, and playing instruments are great to unplug and get students interested in the rest of the world outside the screens

That is *if* the parents are like you. A lot of students are not exposed to this though.

Mental health garbage? Dude...I think a mental health check for yourself may benefit you.

@@emilyr873 The problem with mental health is that the more you talk about it and focus on it, the worse it seems to get...Willkirk486 is right

Sweetie, cellphones do not belong in any school in the first place. It's stipulated in many school policies. Furthermore, whether a teacher confiscates your book, cellphone, laptop, etc. It does not give you the right to lay hands on them. Lastly, please reflect on your words before posting such ignorant comments. 🙏

@@UMullerOfficial Well "sweetie", 1. The teacher gets to bring their cellphone or personal devices in and get to use them for a little entertainment during their breaks where the students cannot use their devices during their breaks . 2. What if a student "confiscated" something from a teacher for any reason then it would stealing, right? And there are consequences for stealing too, right? 3. I use to occasionally disrupt or get off task back when I was an autistic school student in the school system and I never brought or used a device to do it and those behaviors were triggered by anxiety due to separation from what I enjoyed that I had at My House growing up and being locked down in the classroom versus moderately free at home. Now, granted I will say that some days and occasions got a little authoritarian in the house growing up but at the very least when I had my free time at my house my free time truly was My free time with what brought me at least enough happiness and comfort to cope through the day whereas I could not have that in school. And yes, occasionally I had to cope with a little disciplining and educating at home but guess what? I became the only one of 3 boys who conquered that mountain even after I was doomed to failure by doctors at the hospital where I almost died. Yes, I agree with you that there is school policy against students having devices out and again, My Parents would NEVER let me do such a thing. However, there is also school policy against stealing too, right? I have a cousin who moved in with us for a short period of time who had a stealing problem and I had to cope with that nuisance a lot from the disruptions from the reactions and in some ways over reactions of my cousin to his disciplining for his stealing and lying. I said that to say this. When I speak out even in disagreement or even agreement with a teacher on here it is out of reflection of what I went through when I was an autistic school student coping with anxiety almost every school day. Honest to God truth. Please trust me on this. - Dwight

They are not “stealing” your phones, yet confiscating them for the class period or day. You don’t need a phone during school. The fact that taking the phone away will cause violence in students is already outrageous-they should not act out in this way. 3 warnings to put it away (when playing games, or watching RU-vid, on social media during class) should warrant the phone to be taken away. You won’t die. Using the phone should be allowed to step out for a phone call, important text message, or downtime during to listen to music.

@@roseisbad I wonder what would happen if this were a student taking something away from a teacher without the teacher's permission? When a teacher does something like that to a student it does not matter what the teacher thinks just like when a student does something to a teacher. How about teachers learning to put an end to such antagonizing policy and learn to use what they have to stop the bad behavior like giving the student an incomplete or zero for the day? At least that would be a safer response versus taking something that belongs to the student without the student's permission to force a lesson or activity on them that they are not interested in. Again as I said before I as a former autistic school student read this book before. If a student has zero interest in what the teacher is doing or having them do they are going to go off base or disrupt even without a device. Please, trust me on this.

U make it sound like kids and teachers are on the same level. Teachers are authority figures and children have to lessen to them. That’s just how that works. Teaches make the rules and kids must follow them. That is how it has always worked in every society. U lesson to your elders because they have more life experience. And if you don’t there are consequences.