18 teachers share their “most terrifying” Gen Alpha horror stories

Teachers rushed to share stories about the increasing struggles among Generation Alpha with school basics all the way through college. An Ask Reddit post soliciting tales about how “Gen Alpha Can’t Read/Behave/Etc.” gained thousands of responses within days.

The answers reflect growing concerns among educators and other experts that today’s young students aren’t meeting the usual school milestones. Many blame an over-reliance on technology, specifically smart phones and generative AI, for reductions in critical thinking, problem solving, and basic initiative.

Last year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress report supported these dire warnings.

“These 2024 results clearly show that students are not where they need to be or where we want them to be,” said commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics Peggy Carr.

The following 18 responses will not make you feel any better about the future. The kids are not alright.

1. They struggle with computers

“Teacher friend told me that for years she’s been seeing ability to interact with technology decline. She says a lot of her students now basically have the same ability to solve problems on a computer that you’d expect from your grandparents.” —u/Your_Gonna_Hate_This

2. One kid could barely talk

“I had a pre-k student whose speech was unintelligible. He could not communicate. So I told his mom he needed to be tested for speech therapy and she replied, ‘Awww, so he wont baby talk anymore? I’m gonna miss hearing that!’” —u/Scottishdog1120

3. High school students can’t do basic math

“I teach highschool math. I’ve encountered many students who were operating at maybe a 2nd grade level of math.”

“Seniors who couldn’t do 2×3 in their heads.”

“Freshmen who couldn’t ADD OR SUBTRACT.” —u/get_your_mood_right

4. Teens can only copy and paste

“High school student asked me what it means to ‘put it in his own words’ instead of copying and pasting.” —u/Outrageous_Owl_9315

5. College students can’t form their own opinions

“I asked an undergraduate student for their opinion on a text, they pulled out their phone, typed my question into ChatGPT and then read aloud the answer it gave.” —u/Asleep_Breadfruit_18

6. A fourth grader didn’t know his shapes

“One of my fourth graders was provisionally promoted from third grade in the middle of the school year.”

“He hit his 14-day suspension cap quickly because he was constantly fighting with other kids instead of actually trying to learn. The guidance counselor pulled him out to do a therapeutic art project one afternoon. That’s how we discovered that he doesn’t know his shapes either.” —u/fastfood12

7. A class of seniors could barely read

“I graduated over 10 years ago with a class that was filled with seniors that had to slowly sound out every single letter. You’re telling me it got worse?” —u/TheRexRider

8. A child who didn’t know what deserts were

“We had a kid who didn’t know that deserts were dry.” —u/flowerodell

9. They might even be lacking potty skills

“I’m not a teacher but a former janitor, and all I can say is urine and feces EVERYWHERE!!!” —u/mboron021990

10. Curiosity is gone

“You ask them a question, and they look at you like you’re going to spoon feed them the answers. There’s no initiative. No drive. No curiosity.” —u/Birdo3129

11. American students don’t know what’s in America

“One of the questions on a test about plate tectonics said ‘What do Chile, California, Alaska, and Japan have in common?’ and I was looking for anything related to the Ring of Fire. Even just saying something like ‘they’re on a fault line’ or even ‘they get earthquakes’ would’ve been good enough.”

“Someone answered ‘They all in America.’” —u/Kairos385

12. 11-year-olds can’t use a ruler

“My partner is a teacher and has come home several times telling me about 10 and 11-year-old kids who can’t use a ruler.”

“They can’t use it to measure a straight line. They can’t use it to draw a straight line. They can’t use it to draw a line to connect two points. They just don’t know how to use it. At 10+ years old.” —u/Sharktistic

13. Adolescents don’t know how to read a clock

“I had students come up to me and ask what time it was. I would always look at the clock on the wall, that they had clear view of, and tell them the time. None of the kids (12-14 year olds) knew how to read a clock. I even explained how to read it to a few of them and they looked at me like I had two heads.” —u/spookkish

14. Middle schoolers barely know where they live

“My aunt teaches in a middle school in Rhode Island, and she was telling me a story about how her 6 and 7th graders could not tell her the name of the state or city that they live in. She was asking them to name the states in the New England region; one of them said ‘Alabama,’ another said ‘China.’” —u/AdmiralSpank

15. They’re biters

“Elementary PE teacher here. The amount of children biting when angry is terrifying. I have several that will chase a kid down after they’ve been wronged, grab their arm, and bite them like a dog.” —u/krazycatlady21

16. Students can’t even cheat properly

“They are so lazy in French class, that they don’t change the default language in Google Translate and sometimes hand in work in German or Spanish.” —u/mzryck

17. They can’t figure out the bus

“Each bus is parked in the same ‘lane’ at the schools every single day, regardless of who is driving. Most students walk up to the bus and if they see it isn’t their regular driver, they look around in horror and start wandering around aimlessly.”

“I tell them every time it will be in the same lane regardless of driver, but I can drive the same route once or twice every week and the same clueless kids will back up and wander around every time.” —u/oldatheart515

18. Attention spans are shot

“Almost a decade in education now. These kids have zero attention span. Absolutely none. They are so poisoned by YouTube and TikTok; they need constant stimulus.”

“Nonstop engagement, no lull, no downtime, just distraction after distraction after distraction, bursts of noise and color and stimulus in 10-second increments, shaped by far too much unmitigated access to social media.” —u/CranberryBauce

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