[bearjaws]

I've recently been working in EdTech for K12 in the US.

I have to say, I cannot imagine being a teacher today.... I know this is a history meme but it's appalling how far behind teens are. Certain states have the audacity to require students to know 10th grade English and Algebra to graduate. A significant percentage are failing and being left behind.

That is to say some drop out at 10th grade, or some even get to continue on until 12th grade, where they will be unable to graduate.

Many are given 2+ more years to learn 10th grade English, and attempt the state exam 4-8 times without passing.

Want to be terrified? Go look up what 10th grade English is, we are talking some of the most foundational knowledge one needs. Themes and plots, character perspective, writing formal arguments... It's not something we should skip.

This is not like .4% of students, the total is nearing double digit percentages, depending on which state you are talking about.

Teachers now have to contend with students who's entire lives revolve around social media, and have had a phone / tablet in front of them 24/7 for a decade or more.

No wonder teachers keep leaving in droves.

[k12sosse]

Well, here in Ontario where teachers routinely make over 100k a year - check out today's sunshine list - the staff are not allowed to fail kids without written permission from the superintendent of the family of schools. I have worked in the information tech for the sector in the province overseeing digging us out of the dark ages.

Teachers in Ontario are heavily labour organized and you can get paid 150k to be an elementary school teacher. Bravo to them for pulling it off.

[triceratops]

> Themes and plots, character perspective, writing formal arguments

You'd be amazed how far a writer can get in Hollywood without these skills.

[leosanchez]

> A significant percentage are failing and being left behind.

Do you have any theory on why that is ?

[bearjaws]

Definitely a multi-faceted problem, a big part is the pandemic, where some students just completely failed to do any work or learning while at home, creating a sort of tidal wave.

My second theory is we have a dopamine casino in our pockets now, and it's generally more problematic to self regulate and dedicate time towards your education. FWIW I believe parents are a big part of this problem.

Last of all, we have a growing conservative movement that is basically telling everyone that higher education is dumb and everyone should become a trades person. Definitely have seen a lot more apathy in general.

[roncesvalles]

Last point is interesting. There is also a parallel phenomenon where social media creator is one of the top (actually the top in some surveys) "dream professions" among youth these days, displacing the traditional ones like pro athlete, doctor, lawyer, actor, etc.[1][2]

When I was in high school we were completely gripped by the notion that it was necessary to get into a good university program in order to have a (monetarily) bright future. If that mythology is broken, I can imagine it becomes very hard for the average teenager to give a shit about school at all.

[1] https://today.yougov.com/technology/articles/39997-influence...

[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/19/more-children-dream-of-being...

[wara23arish]

Do students in the US not get held back if tjey dont pass their grades?

[vundercind]

No, they stopped doing that a long time ago.

[bigyikes]

Conservatives would recommend against a non-STEM degree (or any degree which is unlikely to have a positive ROI).

The rate of single parenthood has drastically increased over the decades, which undoubtedly has impacted grade school success more than the “conservative movement” boogie man you felt the need to shoehorn into your argument.

[brianwawok]

Up to 2 years of pandemic era e-learning really seemed to cause permanent problems to a large chunk of students. Kids with stay at home parent did fine, kids with 2 working parents not so much.