December 21, 2025 at 4:55 pm

‘You don’t know your parents’ names?’ – A Teacher Discussed The Basic Things Elementary School Students Don’t Know How To Do Anymore

by Matthew Gilligan

teacher talking about students

TikTok/@mommy_n_zachy

Folks…prepare to get depressed.

A teacher took to TikTok and she gave viewers a dose of reality when it comes to what kids DON’T KNOW these days.

teacher talking about students

TikTok/@mommy_n_zachy

The first point the teacher made was that kids today don’t know how to read clocks.

She said, “They’re like, ‘I don’t know how to read that,’ and they say that to you with confidence.”

Next up was cursive handwriting, which she called a “lost art.”

The teacher then raised the alarm that students don’t have any important phone numbers memorized and she said that a them don’t even know their home addresses.

She continued and said that another things kids don’t know how to do these days is count money.

She explained, “If you give them a few coins, they don’t even know the names of the coins. They don’t know the value of the coins, they can’t add it all together. Like, what is happening?”

teacher talking about students

TikTok/@mommy_n_zachy

The teacher continued and said, “They have these fancy shoes and they don’t know how to tie their shoe laces at 8 and 9 Like, what’s happening?”

And next up was a strange one…she claims that kids don’t know their parents’ names.

She said, “You don’t know your parents’ names? They don’t know where their parents are from. Like, do you speak to your parents at all?”

The teacher continued, “Some of them can tell you their birthday, but what year they were born, they don’t know, nor are they interested.”

And she wasn’t done yet!

The TikTokker said that kids don’t know how to use dictionaries and they don’t even necessarily know the alphabet.

Finally, she said that kids today aren’t good at following sets of instructions and can only do one thing at a time.

The teacher ended her video by saying, “We’re gonna do our part as teachers. We just need a little help. We need a little extra help at home, please. We’re a community, we work together, so let’s set our kids up for success. Let’s set our students up for success. And let’s work together and try to just bridge some of these basic gaps.”

Amen to that!

teacher talking about education

TikTok/@mommy_n_zachy

Let’s take a look at the video.

@mommy_n_zachy

What’s happening to our kids? I need answers!! #teachertok #elementaryteacher #teacherproblemsboredteachers #teacher

♬ original sound – mommy_n_zachy

And here’s what viewers had to say about this.

This person asked a good question.

Screenshot 2025 11 29 at 4.58.57 PM You dont know your parents names?   A Teacher Discussed The Basic Things Elementary School Students Dont Know How To Do Anymore

Another TikTokker spoke up.

Screenshot 2025 11 29 at 4.59.09 PM You dont know your parents names?   A Teacher Discussed The Basic Things Elementary School Students Dont Know How To Do Anymore

And this viewer shared their thoughts.

Screenshot 2025 11 29 at 4.59.22 PM You dont know your parents names?   A Teacher Discussed The Basic Things Elementary School Students Dont Know How To Do Anymore

The state of America’s education system is definitely not in a good place right now…

If you liked that story, check out this video from a former Chipotle employee who reveals how the company cheats customers out of food.