Teacher Says "The Kids Are 100 Percent Different" This School Year and Can't Explain Why

If you have kids, then their behavior as of late probably isn't anything new to you. And one teacher on TikTok, whose username is @butterpunkk, and whose real name is Layla, shared just how strange kids are these days. Particularly in the 2023 school year. She shared a TikTok where she goes into detail about the change she has seen in her students recently in regards to their behavior.

She explains that the kids are "100 percent different this year" and even shares a story from a fellow teacher with decades in her field who is at a loss with her own students. Personally, I think that widespread behavior issues ebb and flow where kids are concerned. But teachers are feeling a shift right now.

In her TikTok, Layla says that her 2023 class is already acting out in a way that she doesn't usually see until further into the school year. She explains that she is accustomed to students essentially being on their best behavior as they get acclimated to a new school year and new class. But, it's less than a month into the school year, and Layla sees kids acting out already, which prompts her to note that the "kids are not the same" right now.

"I saw another teacher from another school across the street from our school walking to her car this afternoon and she looked like she could barely walk to her car," Layla says in her video. "And I was like, 'we're almost to Thanksgiving,' like you know, trying to be friendly. And she just unloaded on me."

Layla says the other teacher has been teaching for 34 years but told Layla she has "never had it this hard." And this is in reference to the behavior teachers are seeing from kids.

Layla also explains how students this year are much more comfortable right off the bat. So comfortable that they are all unafraid to act out in class when they should be paying attention while using recorders for music. And it's a deviation that Layla hasn't seen in her 10 years as a teacher.

As a mom myself, I can attest to some surprising and bold behavior from other kids toward my own, the likes of which I hadn't seen before this particular school year. Let's just say I never thought I would be on the phone with the principal less than a month into the school year.

According to the comments under Layla's video, there are a few different reasons that may explain why kids are different this school year. Some people blame the COVID-19 pandemic, which occurred when many of these kids were a tad younger.

As a result, the pandemic eased up as these elementary-aged and middle school-aged kids were old enough to understand it. One person commented, "As a recent graduate, everything just felt like it mattered less after Covid. Like nothing was worth it."

Another user shared, "As a former children's entertainer, the kids post-pandemic are soooo different. That's why I'm no longer working with them."

Others are in agreement that the way school is structured, with children stuck at desks and feeling daily pressure, just isn't cutting it anymore.

And maybe this generation of kids is unafraid to break out of that mold. There seems to be no definitive right or wrong answer. But many are in agreement that kids these days (at the risk of sounding much older than I am) are just different.