Teacher Says Kids In Her Class Are 'Scarily Unempathetic' And Never Listen
“They’re constantly chaotic and noisy and rude.”
Pavel Danilyuk / CanvaPro Many teachers, like this one on Reddit, are shocked by how poorly their students treat them.
In this case, despite everything the teacher has recently gone through, losing her voice and returning to the classroom from sick leave, she’d assumed they’d give her a little bit of grace. Instead, they were as rude, disrespectful, and unempathetic as she remembered.
The teacher admitted her students are ‘scarily unempathetic’ after she asked for some grace in the classroom while sick.
“Today, my voice was partially gone, and it was a struggle to get any words out. I made it clear at the beginning of the class that I was sick … they needed to be a bit quiet,” she wrote. Needless to say, they did the opposite.
They showed up with poor intentions and decided to be even more disrespectful than normal — “their usual misbehavior times a 100,” as she described.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen them this unrelenting and disorganized. It was like I wasn’t even there,” she admitted. ”I had to quit class mid-way through because they weren’t even acknowledging me.”
Despite having lost her voice, she said her students refused to listen, lacking the basic empathy she thought they’d be willing to display.
Especially with the pandemic's toll on many young children early in their lives, basic skills like social awareness, communication, and empathy have suffered. While other toddlers were out in the world, reading expressions and communicating with other people, many of these pandemic kids spent that foundational time locked up at home.
In addition, many of these children were exposed to more screen time, not just from the pandemic but also from recent technological advancements.
Excessive screen time has been linked to stunted social skills, including an inability to read the faces of the people around them. This missing skill is a contributing factor in the lack of understanding and kindness that many older generations of kids take for granted.
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If teachers find younger students to be “scarily” unempathetic, imagine what will happen as they grow into young adults. They will find it difficult to empathize with their peers, parents, and community.
That’s why so many experts emphasize making an effort to reverse the negative effects of the pandemic and their early childhood experiences.
Experts suggest limiting screen time to promote more empathetic children and increase healthy social interaction, storytelling, and community.
Building community, trust, and communication with others is foundational to developing empathy, especially in kids. Experts suggest enrolling children in sports or extracurricular activities to bolster this kind of interaction, and give them an opportunity to work as a team and understand different perspectives.
In addition, watching movies, reading books, and listening to stories can be incredibly helpful for understanding different perspectives — without spending any time or money outside of the home.
Let your kids get a feel for different people’s opinions and perspectives. Allowing them to walk a mile in another's shoes is the best way to cultivate empathy.
Remember, building empathy starts at home.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.