Is it just me or are young adults under the age of 25 just plain lazy?

The teachers I really liked the most were the ones who treated their students with respect and didn't talk down to them. I had a few that would take the time to explain things in different ways so everyone could understand. They approached teaching as teaching and not just preparing kids for some BS government tests.

 

You would love that movie friend!

 

I have the opposite experience up until recently. The old batch is retiring finally and the younger ones are much, much better.

Here is one that still bothers me. I dated a health/phys ed teacher. She was and still is an alcoholic chain smoker. Bloated, red leather faced overweight drunk. She is a hypocrite for what she teaches. Also a very bad example on behalf of the district. Promoting good health and good choices. Cmon man.

I should note I am only talking high school teachers. My kids elementary teachers are fantastic.

 

You hit the nail on the head. Since the 40’s wages have steadily increased. Manufacturing increased drastically to supply and win WWII. Our productivity won the war period. Without our weapons, it wouldn’t have happened. America got real busy real quick. Monopoly Laws were suspended, allowing Companies to become huge. Though Workers wages were froze, and the ability to go on strike was outlawed. Companies used perks to attract workers. Health Insurance being a major perk used to recruit workers. Afterwards there was plenty room for growth. Everything had a “Made in America” label on it. Mainly because we were the only Industrialized Nation still standing. We then made everything to Export rebuilding other Countries. Workers had bargaining power. Eventually other Countries were rebuilt, and started competing with their goods in the Market place. This time of prosperity changed everything. Creating the working middle class. It lasted till the mid 70’s, would have probably ended sooner, except for Labor shortages here, due to so many young men being deployed during the Vietnam War. Once the soldiers returned home, less jobs were available. Women decided to enter the workforce in record numbers, resulting in stagnant wages. Bad price freezing policies on food, only made food inflation worse, when ended. Health care rising. Workers still expected free health coverage, along with good company paid pensions. It wasn’t sustainable. By the early 80’s even more women had to work. It took 2 paychecks to run a household. Suddenly the middle class was at risk, what followed was a drastic change for workers. Stagnant wages, Insurance Premium Co Pays, privatization of Pensions through 401k’s, and other IRA’s. A whole series of band aid policies that are designed to keep the out dated system working. Since then everything is compared against this window of growth from the early 40’s till the mid seventies, when the creation of the almighty middle class raised the standard of living and opportunities above anything anywhere in the world. In short, it’s not that things are so bad now, it’s more like things were really good for a good while. Nothing lasts forever. For all the praise Politicians give to the middle class. Trying to get their votes. They are more interested in feeding the Big Corporations. They need to be fed, our wealth as a Nation relies on them. 98 of the richest 100 Corporations are American Companies. They have the money and the power. Especially since mid century. Workers are only important when they’re needed. Kind of like everyone calling essential workers including Truck drivers Hero’s. Till everyone had their ##### covered, literally ( toilet paper ). Lol. Now it’s back to normal.

 

I have a couple thoughts.

First being, if you want talent you need to pay for it. Plenty of great teachers leave after the first few years due to pay issues. The money isn't worth the work.

Second, trying to connect to 100-125 kids, every year, is emotionally draining. It's easier when the kids are engaged and committed to learning, and much harder when the kids are just marking time because their parents have told them school is a waste. Trying to connect with each and every student is a losing proposition, even before you take into account "different strokes for different folks". I guarantee you some of the teachers you remember as being "passionate" are remembered as "bung holes" by some of your classmates, and vice versa. Also, I cannot begin to express how frustrating it can be to deal with "hey, I got a C, that's good enough" students.

Third, we do a lousy job of preparing new teachers. From basic classroom management to lesson planning to general theory - it's all a poop show of 'best practices' and 'tools for your toolbox', but nothing on how to employ them effectively. Then we toss them into the deep end with ZERO support and wonder why they flounder and quit. My first year teaching I was supposed to have 3 sections of US History and 2 Civics sections, lunch room supervision, a 'planning period' and lunch. Three weeks before the year started I was informed that I would have 1 US History, 1 'normal' Civics and 1 "high need, team taught" Civics, and 2 Global Studies classes - one of which had 15 students and the other 28. The most fun part was there was no Global Studies curriculum, it was a new offering based off of No Child Left Behind. More kids had signed up for Global Studies than Geography, and the Geography teacher opted to poach two of my US History sections rather than create a curriculum out of nothing. My planning period and lunch were often preempted to cover classes. I was also a 'traveling teacher', having no assigned classroom of my own. First year teacher, 5 preps, and at least a dozen IEPs, assistant swim coach. I got to the building at 0600, left at 1800, all for $35,000.

Now let's turn to state standards and high stakes testing. You know all those viral posts about a math teacher marking a 'correct' answer wrong? Most of them are marked wrong because the teacher knows how the multiple guess test is set up and are teaching the students to make the 'right' choice between two correct answers. There are a couple dozen answers to "what caused the second world war?", but only one 'correct' answer according to the test, so guess what the teacher is going to teach? You know how frustrating it is to smack down curiosity and nuance? It's enough to make a good teacher get a CDL. And that's before considering that the test is only high stakes for the teacher - the student has no skin in the game. They can christmas tree the answer sheet and face no repercussions.

Then there's admin - teachers who want a bigger paycheck. What makes a good teacher does not make a good admin and vice versa. And once they're out of the classroom for a decade, they don't understand the actual issues. My training manager came off the road in 2006. He has never run an AOBR, let alone an ELD. He is a great instructor and I always liked getting guys from him because hard skills were on point and I could focus on teaching my student how to apply those skills in the real world. As a manger he sucks more than a black hole event horizon. He worries more about not making waves than about doing his dang job. Admins like that are why mediocre teachers are retained over teachers who have the potential to be great.

 

What a bunch of goobly gook!
Let me sum it all up this way, if you are over 21 and making minimum wage then you need to blame the guy in the mirror.
Living within your means is a good start to being successful and by successful I mean living happy and comfortable.

 

There is no "better" they are both great, as long as They are both people who are striving to be better. Not self entitled T ards that wont do anything that requires any amount of work or sacrifice.
Whats a dead end job?
Folding boxes at a pizza joint? I've done it.
Pumping gas? I've done it
Cleaning the arena at hockey season? Done it
Mowing grass? Done it
Cleaning wrenches, sweeping floors, cutting up empty crates after the motorcycle has been assembled? Yup, done it.
And so many more. And proud to say so. I have no university, really dont even have my high school diploma, ( failed english, wouldn't go back for 1 credit, later diagnosed with dyslexia. )

ANY parent is happy and proud to support a child who is trying to move up. Unfortunately there are a lot that support lazy entitled emotional grenades that without their parents hand outs will never amount to anything, all the while DEMANDING to be given everything on a platter, all the while needing a "safe place" to keep them from overloading.

 

Oh come the f on, kids dont decide they want participation trophies, that was the fault of gen x and boomer twits that started it for their mediocre parenting skills in the late 80s and early 90s.

If youre going to tell me im a lazy entitled prickwith no emotional skills or resilience, you better have reality to back it up. Lazy and entitled is this relentless myopic focus on nothing but a better wage. No social cohesion, never talking to your neighbors, the cancer of suburbia, the ridiculous notion that anyone is self-made.

You are 100 percent wrong that parents are happy and proud of supporting children who are trying to move up in the world. My brother's father in law told his daughter as a mantra that she was never going to get ahead in life, that she would perpetually be in debt and to just accept it. I can point to countless examples of self interested abusive parents that is the norm. This is not even 100% generational, thats just the human condition. Your "kids these days are lazy and entitled" is old and tired, aristotle was saying it 2500 years ago.

My mother in law charged her son who was trying to rebuild his life after coming back from iraq and dealing with a messy divorce with 3 kids 2500$/month to rent a house she inherited, that was 10 years ago. Thats not support or a happy and proud parent looking out for their children and grandchildren's wellbeing, THATS your entitlement.
Yes kids today may want "safe spaces" but maybe thats because growing up they were told how useless they were by their parents and left to the internet to raise themselves.

Stranger danger and keeping kids inside is a normal stance from the late 80s and early 90s, those sheltered kids didnt make that decision to be lazy or entitled, its the gen x and baby boomers that lived in suburbia that made that normal, its hardly a wonder that such sheltered (abused or stunted) kids view the entire world as a personal threat amd have anxiety issues.

It takes a lot for me to be even civil to people with your attitude because its not an opinion with any stake in reality. Humans are complex critters and its a disservice to your own mental faculties to think everything is so simple as "kids are lazy today" without taking a long hard look at causal factors.

 

Every generation has it's share of poverty stricken & super wealthy people. There is nothing new under the sun.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

The absolute sheer driving force of our national economy - without truck drivers, our entire national economy would come to an absolute standstill - if not outright be dead.

Over the mountains, through the woods, into the valleys, coast to coast, from sea to shining sea - truck drivers can and do go anywhere and everywhere, every day, every night, all year round.

 

Every generation has it's share of both hard workers and lazy people.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

The absolute sheer driving force of our national economy - without truck drivers, our entire national economy would come to an absolute standstill - if not outright be dead.

Over the mountains, through the woods, into the valleys, coast to coast, from sea to shining sea - truck drivers can and do go anywhere and everywhere, every day, every night, all year round.