Discovery Project

Americas Literacy Crisis

Over the past few months, a growing conversation across many social media platforms like TikTok and X has centered around the notion that we have entered a literacy crisis. The individuals heading these online discussions have expressed concern regarding our current culture's normalization of this era of anti-intelectualism. Reading comprehension, the ability to engage with text, and basic understanding of what words mean has become less and less common, and educators posting to these platforms are highlighting the drastic effects this is having in schools. Social listening reveals thousands of posts from teachers discussing the alarming amount of students who are struggling to read at grade level, have cripplingly limited attention spans, an uninterest for learning in general, and an overall lack of classroom etiquette and respect for authority. Popular videos use hashtags like #teacherTok, #literacycrisis, #educationcrisis, and #teachesoftiktok, which have gained traction and become a space for concerned and exhausted educators to share their experiences.

Screens and the Brain

One major trend in the social media conversation is the belief that technology and screen addiction is contributing to declining literacy and attention spans. Teachers argue (rightfully so) that the shift to short-form content that became so dominant on apps like TikTok has been detrimental to students ability to focus, and has changed attitudes towards engaging with longer form media and text as a whole. Because of this inability to pay attention for longer than a couple of minutes and comprehend more than a few sentences, some teachers have stopped assigning full books as part of the curriculum. Instead, at some schools, students are only assigned to read/analyze a specific passage or chapter. This signifies a dramatic shift in education. The negative cognitive effects of excess screen time has culturally and fundamentally changed how we teach young kids, and what’s being exposed is that the damage extends past things like reading. Educators in these spaces have vocalised that students are now struggling with following simple directions. Posts and comments explaining a frequent scenario where after given basic oral instructions, many children are unable to figure out what it is they are to do. Steps need to be explained to them many times, and even after clarification, there is still mass confusion. 

Teachers vs. Parents

Another point of tension emerging from the literacy debate has to do with a disconnect among teachers and parents in terms of expected responsibility. A major debate has unfolded as educators express their frustration with the lack of parental involvement. Teachers feel that they are now expected to teach lesson plans, to parent, and to babysit. Noting that parents of students who are falling behind or struggling to perform at grade level think it is entirely the schools fault. Much of early education begins at home, parents need to also foster environments that encourage learning and teach acceptable behavior and discipline. To send a child to school without attempting to do either is irresponsible according to these posters. Many teachers active in online communities are exhausted by how little respect school students are displaying. Interrupting is constant, cursing is more than common, and classrooms are so chaotic that instructors are struggling to lead the class. There is an assertion that many parents do not have control of their children, that their kids act however they please, so that behavior gets repeated towards teachers on campus. Some teachers also note that they are incapable of getting students to care anymore. High schoolers are increasingly apathetic towards learning, and inconvenienced by any amount of work. Teachers are reporting a common trend among students in which they would rather ignore an assignment entirely and willing take an F, than do any kind of work. These teachers have been candid about how discouraging it is to see so many students not value their time in school or their instructors.