Life is better today but the ‘Yuff’are unfgrateful

[H2O2hair]

As a teacher I am probably a bit biased but maybe more informed.

The generation of today don’t know hardship. Sometimes for the better as there but sometimes I feel not,it does make kids entitled.

I work in a leafy suburb school.

It’s a battle to get kids to shut up to learn. They eventually do but its a battle.

They flout school rules as you watch them ,such as a one way system.

They don’t bring their ownequipment and break yours. Snap rulers, pens and throw them at each other. Glue , glue sticks to
the wall

Bins don’t exist


They ask me why I wear the same dress every week. Lots of personal commenst.


They try to sit on my seat and log onto the computer and search records.

Many more.

Did we do this as kids? I certainly didn’t . Bet half of parents don’t realise the poor listening skills and behaviour of their children.
AIBU

[SilentIsla]

I hope these kids will be able to use sentences other than simple ones.

[OhDearGodLookAtThisMess]

But it's true! Some pupils will behave as badly as they think they can get away with. And there's an element of good behaviour management that can't be taught in training, and tips such as "smiley faces on the board for positive encouragement" will only go not very so far. You need a certain presence and authority you either innately have as part of your personality, or that develops with experience.
Good management back up and support is key, too.
But don't imagine for one minute that "poor" pupils exhibit worse behaviour. Some of the worst examples of arrogance and entitlement come from "middle-class" and private schools, and is often reinforced by parents who despise the teaching staff and can see no wrong in their child.

[busybarbara]

Back in the day we were a little scared of grown ups. Particularly ones in power. Nowadays no one has any decent sanctions as it's either not legal or even with punishments life isn't that uncomfortable now anyway

[Verbena87]

The behaviour you describe used to happen in my school when management didn’t back teachers up or were inconsistent re the behaviour policy. Now that’s changed, and the policy is clear, straightforward, and enforced across the board, it’s like teaching different kids.

I don’t agree that current teenagers have it better than their parents though. Ever-increasing exam pressure, higher and higher tuition fees making universities back into a place for rich kids rather than academically intelligent kids, a job market with few properly paid opportunities and zero-hours contracts viewed as normal, the gradual collapse of the nhs, increasing retirement age, the impending doom of Brexit, an aging population who will be their problem etc etc

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Verbena: quite, it’s tough out there. And yet despite this, there are many kids who are content to hand in a 5 min cut and paste job for their homework every time. By year 11 the same kids are panicking thinking it’s too late to put the effort in.

I’m not sure how we got to the situation where so many kids don’t think they have to work to achieve somethjng. Maybe the celebrity reality TV culture has contributed to this? When Katie Price becomes a role model for young women who claim admiration for her work ethic” rather than constant attempts at self-promotion with minimal talents, you know we’re in trouble.

I’m fed up of pupils being surprised at my (excellent) GCSE grades when they ask me what I got. They wonder how I ended up in the support role I am in in school because they think that with those kind of grades I should be some high flyer earning £3k bonuses alongside a 6 figure salary.

I sometimes think their expectations are too high. Completely unrealistic. The work they put in is often nowhere near what’s needed to help them to get where they want to be in life.

Maybe rather than forgive them their poor behaviour because “life is hard these days” we should be saying “yes, life is hard. Housing costs a fortune, there is fierce competition for the most ordinary jobs. You need to work extra hard and give yourself the extra edge. Do the volunteering so you have something interesting to put in your CV, come to the holiday revision classes that your teachers put on for you.”

Instead, there is his “aww, poor pets, it’s hard for them. No wonder they misbehave.”

I hate to see new pupils come to school who speak little English, and change from being hard-working, polite and well-behaved to being disruptive and lazy. It MUST be something in our culture.

[stopitandtidyupp]

I hate to see new pupils come to school who speak little English, and change from being hard-working, polite and well-behaved to being disruptive and lazy. It MUST be something in our culture.

Couldn't agree more.

[StitchingMoss]

Totally agree CurlyHaired! Reality tv is definitely part of it - and social media. And ridiculous helicopter parenting where kids are given responsibility for nothing and waited on hand and foot.

It’s a mess .

[Oblomov18]

I find all the children I know entitled and unappreciative.
They are very nice boys. Ds1 & Ds2 Play in a football team.

But we live in a nice area, and all the schools are pretty strict, which I like.

It saddens me. I don't think there's anything that can be done.

[StitchingMoss]

But there is so much that could be done! Teaching children to behave appears to have become something that is just too much like hard work for so many parents nowadays (see current thread about screens at dinner tables for some great examples of this!) and we all pay the price.

Parents need to step up and help sort this out - whatever teachers do if it’s not supported at home we’re on a hiding to nothing .

[rainingcatsanddog]

I'm a parent of teens in a good comp.

There are arseholes in every age group. My kids probably have as many stories of bad teachers as you do about bad kids.

My personal experience is that state schools don't/can't get rid of poor teachers quickly so the class as a whole gets cockier and rowdier until the following year's teacher is stuck with an undisciplined class. Then the crap teacher repeats the pattern the following year with a different class.

You must realize that education policy is to blame here. Schools don't have the money to pay for resources, help for those who need it and staff who haven't taken scraped into teaching by taking numeracy and literacy competency exams multiple times. Dealing with children with problem behaviour is a long tedious process- of course it affects the other kids if they share a learning environment with kids who can kick off with no consequence. (I'm not advocating corporal punishment)

I don't know you OP so these comments are not aimed at you personally but teen bashing is too easy to do. Don't you think they'd rather have a good teacher who was in control of a class and helped them get qualifications and a well paying job? (Your School is leafy so I assume that kids have high aspirations)

[rainingcatsanddog]

What happens these days when kids do stuff like break a rubber belonging to the teacher or glue the pen pot to the desk? I'm assuming that apart from a telling off and short after school detention, nothing else. In many of those cases, do school communicate this to parents? (I'm my experience no)

At home, most parents would set consequences for something like gluing a pen pot to the table. Low level bad behaviour isn't dealt with so the stakes get higher and the well behaved kids start behaving less well behaved.

Kids respect the teachers who are in control and know exactly which teachers won't tolerate bollocks.

[RebelWitchFace]

Some kids are terribly entitled and arrogant and some get into a meltdown when you pay them a compliment or give them praise. Some kids are very privileged while some wonder where their next meal is coming from. Some kids get waited hand and foot while others look after their parents or younger siblings. Some are lovely at school but rude and difficult at home,or the other way around.

To generalise a whole age group as ungrateful and "have it easy" is a bit daft really.

[AiryFairyUnicornRainbow]

You say they don't know hardship, but then say you are in a 'leafy suburb'

They probably don't

Try working in an inner city school, where the kids come to school with half a pack of biscuits for lunch cos that is all there is, then have to go home and care for a sick relative or go and work

I think you...and the kids, are very privileged, and if you are a teacher, I have known teachers be sacked for bemoaning the kids they are supposed to teach (instead of judge)

[stopitandtidyupp]

RTFT the op had said they had worked in a less privileged school and the kids were less arrogant.
I think you...and the kids, are very privileged, and if you are a teacher, I have known teachers be sacked for bemoaning the kids they are supposed to teach (instead of judge)

Op is hardly complaining on Facebook I doubt, maybe in the staffroom.

[stopitandtidyupp]

Would love some posters to try teaching for a week.

Disclaimer- They are some wonderful kids out there before everyone gets on their high horse.

[OhDearGodLookAtThisMess]

You "know if teachers sacked for bemoaning the kids they're meant to be teaching?"

Bollocks you have!

[corythatwas]

stopitandtidyupp Sat 20-Oct-18 17:43:47


"Would love some posters to try teaching for a week."

was a supply teacher in the early 1980s. Which is why I don't believe the myth of some golden age of well behaved children.

[stopitandtidyupp]

I am sure there were bad kids in the past. Though I feel since I have started teaching it has got worse in the last 15 years.

Calling parents often doesn't help they have a talk with them but nothing really changes.

Again not saying all schools this is my experience and by the sounds of it lots of others.
Also agree a good behaviour policy is a big thing.

[Idontbelieveinthemoon]

The generation of today don’t know hardship. Sometimes for the better as there but sometimes I feel not,it does make kids entitled.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you there. Plenty of the children I've taught have known poverty and hardship. It hasn't made them resilient and hard working. It has made them sad, desperate for kindness, it's left them hungry, it's meant I've had to buy them clothes, winter hats, coats out of my own pocket, it's meant that I keep breakfast cereals in the staff room to ensure everyone gets breakfast, it's meant the difference between school shoes that fit and cold, wet feet on snow days, it's meant the difference between attending school every day or staying home because there's no adult to bring them in, it's meant they're less likely to succeed simply because of their lack of privilege.

If you've worked in a less privileged school, you'll know that the less fortunate children live (statistically) unhappier lives and become (statistically) unhappier adults. Why would you imagine that to be a positive?

[goingonabearhunt1]

Are kids really so much worse now? I don't remember it being that bad when I was at school (early 2000s) but I always assumed that's because I went to a school in a 'good area' so minimal poverty etc. From what teachers say though (both on here and my friends who are teachers) it seems to have gotten worse generally. I wonder why that is...

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Look, the location of the school means sod all. For every privileged kit at a school in a leafy suburb there is one entitled to pupil premium bussing in from a sink estate further away. “Leafy suburbs” means nothing these days, which was my point further up.

Corythatwas: and are you still a supply teacher? Supply teachers have always suffered at the hands of disruptive kids. At least in secondary schools (some replies to this thread made it clear they’re talking primary only).

But I think you might see some severe differences if you did supply in some secondaries now.

[OhDearGodLookAtThisMess]

I have taught in the same school for an embarrassingly long time (have been seeing children of past pupils come through for a fair few years now). The catchment area and general affluence of the area has remained pretty static in that time. The general bar of behaviour in the kids, however, has lowered dramatically, and we are dealing with things I couldn't have even imagined 25 years ago. Quite a lot of that is to do with mental health issues/SEND, but more of it is to do with so-called 'low-level' disruption and a sense of entitlement, aided by parents who will not accept that their child has an attitude problem and will back them to the hilt, even if presented with cast-iron evidence of appalling behaviour.

[Stripybeachbag]

I'm a parent of teens in a good comp.

There are arseholes in every age group. My kids probably have as many stories of bad teachers as you do about bad kids.

It's your kids that are probably causing the problems then.

I genuinely believe that bad teachers do not really exist in the UK - or are very rare. No-one who does not care about their job or not have the ability would stick with it. Your life would be a living hell.

On the other hand, there are many many inexperienced teachers. Kids spot and terrorise them so that they don't get the opportunity to teach. I would guess that those are the teachers you are labelling as "bad".

When these teachers leave who is going to replace them? A teacher with 20 years experience of the curriculum and a salary to match? No...it'll be another nqt if you are lucky. If not an unqualified teacher on 16k who gets to learn on the job.

And the cycle repeats, just getting a little worse each time.

[MardyArabella]

We all had bad teachers. Doesn’t mean we were all bad students.

Most teachers are great. Doesn’t mean the bad ones don’t exist.

[RandomObject]

I'm howling at the idea that kids breaking rulers is some new epidemic and the end of society as we know it - those darn rebels!

I was at school around 15 years ago and kids dealt drugs in the toilets and set each other on fire - and this was a good school in a nice enough suburban location.