“We’re Doomed” — Internet Is Shocked at 8th Graders Who Can’t Answer Simple Questions

Fewer things will cue an eye roll from the current generation of youngsters than hearing their elders wax poetically about the past.

And while one may be quick to dismiss these statements as the bitter ramblings of curmudgeons who are upset they're no longer considered inherently hip by virtue of how few years they've spent on Earth, there's some truth in these statements.

That's because some things have changed, especially in education specifically in the U.S. The country's education system has faced unprecedented criticism in recent years.

One anecdotal example came in the form of a now-viral TikTok from a educator who posts under the TikTok handle The Sage Teacher (@thesageteacher) titled "Asking my 8th graders questions they should know the answer to pt. 4."

The video has racked up an impressive 1.8 million views– perhaps for all the wrong reasons. In it, she quizzes her students on what seem like basic facts, and their answers are ... alarming.

The teacher started with a simple question: “When was 9/11?” A student answers surely, “2011.” She moved on, asking, “Who was the first president of the United States?” The student responds, “George Washington, right?” before adding, “The white-haired kid.”

Who said ‘I have a dream?’” That answer? “Barack Obama.” It gets worse. When asked how many inches are in a foot, the student guesses, “10.” For vowels, the answer is “They, why, we.” When asked to name the continents, they list Arizona, Texas, Wyoming, and Mississippi — eventually guessing there are 25 continents. Mount Rushmore? “It’s a big mountain with snow. It’s tall, big, and cute.”

The teacher continued, asking what “WWW” stands for. The student offers, “We we we,” eventually getting to the correct response, "World Wide Web."

The comments section was filled with a mix of cringe and concern with many positive-thinkers hoping the teacher gave the students the correct answers afterward.

Others remarked that they believed that this video was proof that the United States Department of Education shouldn't be dismantled.

The Sage Teacher's TikTok has become in a way, a microcosm of a much larger problem in the nation's educational policies. To many in the comments, it is funny in an “I can’t believe this is real” kind of way, but it also points out the glaring issue at hand: America's current educational system is not working.

A Pew Research study found that over half of Americans think public K-12 education is headed in the wrong direction. Teachers themselves aren’t optimistic either — many complain of burnout, poor pay, and being overextended beyond just teaching.

What do you think of this video? Do you think it points to a failure in our education system? Are parents to blame? Is it a combination of factors that also includes internet exposure and AI that leads to kids not taking pride in or responsibility for their educations?