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I worked for an organization that designs English Language Arts curricula for K-12 schools, and one complaint we regularly received about our materials was that it was unrealistic to expect students to complete the bulk of their reading as homework. "Students just won't do it." Instead, teachers were spending much of their class time reading aloud to students, even in high school. I'm hesitant to blame teachers for this—I taught middle school for four years and it's true that some students simply won't read independently—but I do think that there is a tendency among a significant number of parents and teachers not to ask kids to do things which will cause them to struggle. The pushback from kids is exhausting, for sure, but the long-term repercussions are even worse.

I teach in Boston and work with High Schools, Community Colleges and Universities all across the US.

I think this article is more well-intentioned than a lot of "kids these days" critiques, but still is missing some important context.

First, it's helpful to separate ability from motivation. Is it that students can't read the 20 page paper, or is it more that they don't want to?

The perceived value of higher education has shifted. It used to be that going to, and experiencing college was what was most valuable about it.

Now we tell students that completing college, that the degree itself, is whats most valuable. By this logic, the rational thing to do is to get through college as quickly and easily as possible. Unless students see the inherent value of the 20 page paper, they are going to do what they need to do to get the grade needed for the credits.

It used to feel that to get a good job, you went to to college. Young people today don't think this is necessarily true. If we want them to engage in the classroom we have to start by helping them see the value of what they are being asked to learn.

Also, the writer states: "None of the syllabi I teach are designed to deliver this type of cognitive rehabilitation".

Effective teaching includes the modification and adjustment of the material to meet the needs of the students. If we aren't willing to change, can we expect students to?

He also says: "We cannot keep conferring degrees on students who cannot do what the degree is supposed to certify."

What does the degree certify exactly? Historically, it has certified that students can navigate the hoops and ladders we put them through to navigate a system (that is inherently designed for upper middle class white people).

If we spent less time worrying about how to certify students and more time on helping them to learn, these issues might not be as pronounced.

I trust the intentions and appreciate the insights in this article, but also worry that articles like this make it too easy to blame students solely for the issues we see today.