A teacher on TikTok recently shared a video that got a lot of people talking about what kids today don’t know how to do. The teacher, who goes by @mommy_n_zachy online, posted a list of 10 simple things that her students can’t do when they come to her class.
According to Daily Dot, her video has been watched almost 5 million times. In it, she talks about how hard it is to teach when kids don’t know basic stuff. She says teachers have to start from the very beginning instead of moving forward with normal lessons.
The teacher listed some pretty surprising things her students struggle with. They can’t read clocks with hands on them, write in cursive, or remember their parents’ phone numbers. Kids also don’t know their home address, can’t count money or name different coins, and don’t know how to tie their shoes. She also mentioned they struggle with remembering what year they were born, using a dictionary, putting words in ABC order, and following directions that have more than one step.
Parents and schools really need to work together on this
People who saw the video on TikTok had different opinions about whose fault this is. Some blamed parents while others blamed schools. But most people agreed that parents and teachers need to work together to fix the problem.
One person who commented, User5646, said, “I teach six graders. They don’t know this either.” This shows the problem isn’t just with younger kids.
Another commenter named darlenelysius718 said, “I’m sorry. Parents do not invest in their children anymore. They too busy doing everything else.” Someone else named durwood bynum wrote, “I had high schoolers didn’t know their address,” which proves this goes all the way up to older students.
Some people think the whole system is broken. A user called SweetestLens said, “The school system is failing these kids.” Another person, mikebriggs13, added one more skill to the list by saying, “You forgot about reading a ruler or a tape measure!” All these comments show that teachers and parents everywhere are seeing the same problems.
The worry about declining student preparedness in schools is happening when teachers already have a lot on their plates. The teacher ended her video by asking everyone to work as a team.
She said, “We’re gonna do our part as teachers, but we just need a little help. We’re a community. We work together. So let’s set our kids up for success. And let’s work together and try to just bridge some of these basic gaps, please.”
Thousands of parents and teachers have connected with her message because they know kids do better when families and schools help each other out. Problems like student safety and supervision have also shown how important it is for adults to take responsibility for children both at home and at school.
Published: Nov 17, 2025 12:30 pm