How different are kids post-pandemic?
And how much did that lost time in school affect young kids?
Those two questions are at the heart of a viral TikTok video posted by a teacher named Layla who is having a hard time grasping just how different the kids in her school are this year.
Layla said the kids are “100 percent different this year” and that the kids are acting out early in the school year. She said the beginning of a school year usually sees kids on their best behavior because they’re getting used to a new situation, but this year feels different to her.
Layla said, “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. And I was like, ‘we’re almost to Thanksgiving,’ like you know, trying to be friendly. And she just unloaded on me.”
Layla said her teacher friend has been in the classroom for 34 years and that she told her she’s “never had it this hard.”
She said she’s been a teacher for 10 years and she seems genuinely surprised by the drastic changes.
Here’s what she had to say.
@butterpunkk I am so tired. #teachersoftiktok #teaching
And here’s how people reacted.
One TikTokker said schools are doing the work to keep up with the changes in kids.
Another person has been hearing this, too.
And one viewer said they don’t work with kids anymore because of how much they’ve changed.
Yeah, this is a tough one.
On one hand, you feel for the teachers. On the other hand, it’s likely teachers have been saying this in one form or another for a while.
Hang in there, teachers!