‘They swiftly came to his defense’: Teachers Discuss Wholesome Trends Seen Among Gen Z Students in Heartwarming Thread

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Apr 4, 2024 9:00 PM EDT

Everyone loves to hate on Gen Z. 'They're always on their phones. They don't pay attention. They have no work ethic!' are just some of the things I hear.

Say what you will about Gen Z, but they have the courage that many of us could only dream of having. They embrace diversity, inclusivity, and do so naturally. You don't see them grimacing at students who look or talk differently from the majority, whereas older generations may have had to consciously work towards understanding and accepting differences. This generational shift towards inclusivity is reflective of the evolving social and cultural landscape.

The older bunch are also standing up to their bosses, which is something I both admire and fear, lol. I could never. In this heartwarming thread, teachers provide hope for the future, sharing the positive trends they have noticed among their Gen Z and Gen Alpha students.

Then, check out these memes that you will want to stuff in your desk drawer.

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  • 01
    Teachers of Reddit, what are some positive trends you have noticed in today's youth?
    via u/
  • 02
    HardGayMan My GF is a teacher and she is amazed at how uncool drinking and driving is. Kids are like "that's stupid you will' 'I someone..." They literally make fun of kids who do it. In my day EVERYONE drove dr nk. Very positive change. Edit: for the 20,000+ people saying my user name doesn't check out I'm going to have to ask you to do something risky and Google Hard Gay Man. If you don't want to do it, you're missing out. YAHOOOOO!!!!!~~~ People who have Hard Gay in their lives are better for
    via u/HardGayMan
  • 03
    ABahRunt Spouse to a high school teacher, she had to say: they were born into the internet and social media, it is not something they had to learn. Also as a result of which, they are also more self reliant with research. And most importantly, contrary to the largest complaints, today's kids are extremely hard working, and are less judgy of nerds (less judgemental in general) 24.4k Share
    via u/ABahRunt
  • 04
    ZoiSarah. Nerd/geek culture is more accepted. معصرة 2.6k Share eat_ _donkey At my school they are the ones with the largest friend groups 369 Share
    via u/ZoiSarah, u/eat__donkey
  • 05
    rly_not_what_I_said Girls ask boys out more often, boys are starting to expect girls to be more frank and straightforward with what they want more often. Other than that just like my colleagues: Generally kinder, more generous, understanding of differences, mature. On the other hand, I find them generally more sad, maybe more cynical, and overall quite happily pessimistic toward the future, a kind of "ahah we're so fɩ d" vibe I feel sometimes. edit: I got to say that I teach in France, it has it
    via u/rly_not_what_i_said
  • 06
    gbdarknight77 · I'm 27 now but in elementary, one of my best friends was kid with Down Syndrome. His name is Shawn. Super cool guy and the nicest person you would ever meet. I introduced him to my other friends and he just clicked with our group. We had sleepovers and his parents always thanked us for including him and I remember my friend, Ian (who was the most hesitant to befriend Shawn), telling the parents "Shawn is one of us, no worries". I remember the dad getting emotional after that. Any
    via u/gbdarknight77
  • 07
    [deleted] They seem generally kinder to each other, especially to the kids who are different. When I was in school, the kids who didn't speak English as their first language, or were a little quirky or had disabilities were either avoided or viciously bullied. Today that seems to be the exception rather than the norm. 8.5k Share
    via u/deleted
  • 08
    TYPE ERROR GIRL Marky_Marky_Mark University teacher here: My students put in way more effort than I did at their age. Granted, the system has pushed them in that direction as well, but they typically have a better idea of where they want their carreer to go and are willing to put in the effort to obtain that goal. By comparison, I and my cohort mucked about a bit more. 484 Share
    via u/Marky_Marky_Mark
  • 09
    Kighla 5 yr. ago Students are not afraid to just be nice to each other. I teach elementary art and it is so nice when a kid who is pretty unskilled in art show another kid their work, and instead of getting laughed at (like when I was in school) kids are just so sweet and will say things like "Wow, I really love that!". I hear kids telling other kids "I think your work is beautiful" or "I really like your ideas!" and I just think of when I was in art kids made fun of my work. In general I really
    via u/Kighla
  • 10
    nice district too with few problems but I was bullied. Kids here have a MUCH worse home life than kids at my old school and while they could choose to take it out on others.. they don't. Kids help each other too. They know if a student is "special" and will try to help that student out. They'll offer to walk them to the bathroom, or help them with their drawing, or very politely tell them to be careful with things. 11.0k Share
    via u/Kighla
  • 11
    Saucebiz I worried about my son, who has mild autism, for the first ten years of his life. I kept telling him that middle school would be hard, kids would tease him, etc. and that high school would be even harder in the same respect. 15 years ago, I would have been right. Fast forward to now, and I'm constantly amazed and grateful for how well he is treated. Even the "jock" kids and big snotty idiot kids who would make perfect bullies are inclusive, kind, and even sometimes protective of my son.
    via u/Saucebiz
  • 12
    [deleted] My day care kids are much more likely to wash their hands than my generation was when we were their age lol 17.7k Share Ninjachibi117 Kids are so much neater now, once they're about 8 or 9. They pick up after themselves, are sort of organized, and don't litter when they can help it. I've even had kids at work that couldn't reach the trash can so they'll come up to the counter and hand me their trash. 4.2k Share
    via u/deleted, u/Ninjachibi117
  • 13
    PROFITPROPHET • 5 yr. ago I'm not a teacher but my GF's mom is a teacher and it sparked a dialogue. With the dawn of meme culture, kids are getting competitive with comedy at an early age. When I was a kid, I had un- diagnosed mental health issues so I was bullied a lot, and the only thing that kept me alive was developing my sense of humor. Sad as it is, young people have a pecking order and cliques, but a few things can transcend those boundaries and one of those is humor. Coincidentally, I wa
    via u/PROFITPROPHET
  • 14
    10 today you would be a GOD. It's honestly made a lot of kids that don't fit in have at least SOMETHING in common with their peers. All you have to do is yell FORTNITE or whatever meme is going around that week and boom you have a friend. I had one time where I was able to make friends like that and that was when Pokemon came out, similar concept. You might think that kind of stuff is "cringe" or annoying or stupid, but if it can prevent someone from wanting to I themselves at 12 like I was, I'l
    via u/PROFITPROPHET
  • 15
    Hobbesina They are generally independent and self-reflective. When I first started teaching I thought I had simply lucked out getting students who were consistently bright, engaged and curious, but having now taught at 3 different universities on 2 different continents, it seems to be a general trend across universities. They are also, as noted elsewhere, generally kind and empathetic, and both my male and female students are usually pretty emotionally mature. 22.1k Share
    via u/Hobbesina
  • 16
    storkthe1st With high schoolers I really noticed how better their style is. Super random but compared to how lazy I dressed in high school it's impressive. 6.4k Share Level_Five_Railgun ⚫ High schoolers try really hard to look good for school. Then you get to university and realize that no one cares because people would literally just go to class in their pajamas or just put a hoodie and call it a day. 3.4k Share
    via u/storkthe1st, u/Level_Five_Railgun
  • 17
    swhertzberg I asked my wife (primary teacher) and she says empathy and adaptability are the two traits she has seen dramatically improve over her last 15 years. Kids seem to be better at putting themselves in another's position and understanding their situation. Also they seem to be much more flexible with changes whether in the classroom or the outside world. 25.4k Share
    via u/swhertzberg
  • 18
    ThisHatRightHere Funnily enough, I feel like the internet and global culture contribute to this a lot. Granted, I think the internet can be a really bad influence on young kids, but it really removes the bubble a lot of us has when we were younger. Having a global perspective and understanding how different people are everywhere around the world also helps put our small interpersonal differences in perspective as well. I feel like that does a lot for the kids of today, though they probably don't
    via u/ThisHatRightHere
  • 19
    [deleted] As a student currently in highschool, the big thing for our generation, at least in decent schools, is that failure isn't cool. Sure if you suck up to the teacher and obsess over studying you'll get made fun of a bit, but the kids getting Fs get made fun of a lot more. A lot of the 'popular' kids are actually really smart and get top grades. There's a general awareness that we all need to do well and a lot of aspiration for the future. 2.6k Share
    via u/deleted
  • 20
    likelazarus. Kids are openly kind and loving regarding their parents. I had a tough football player day in class once, "I love my mom, she's my best friend!" I see the old "Ugh my parents suuuuuuck!" mentality falling by the wayside recently. 17.2k Share
    via u/likelazarus
  • 21
    Anifus ⚫ I am a teacher at a high school in Missouri. All of the Stereotypes you hear/see in rural high schools are still prevalent. However, almost every 'group' works harder academically. It is no longer cool to get F's and fail. Even country boys who will never leave the farm or go to college care about getting passing grades. 600+ Students in our HS btw. 28.5k Share
    via u/Anifus
  • 22
    405 USSanon They really get each other. As much as they diss on each other, joke around, and yes, get to the point of blows, they can usually put issues aside. Sometimes to a fault, but overall they are pretty understanding of each other. 13.4k Share stewgod comin from a senior in high school, this is the most accurate answer here. we are complete dis to our friends and nice to strangers. 5.3k Share
    via u/USSanon, u/stewgod
  • 23
    HelloThereBuster This thread is dope it's given me hella hope for the future. 11.0k Share rootberryfloat This is definitely the most wholesome thread I've read in awhile. 3.2k Share ...
    via u/HelloThereBuster
  • 24
    BookerDeWittsCarbine I wonder how the subculture kids are doing. Are there still goths and punks? I miss my clique of goth teens from high school. Those were the best days. 3.8k Share ricottapie I don't really see a lot of that. Someone's keeping Hot Topic alive, but I'm not sure it's the teens. 1.3k Share
    via u/BookerDeWittsCarbine, u/ricottapie
  • 25
    Mxttjxmes The 8 year olds I teach really make a huge deal about plastic. We watched the Blue Planet 2 episode with them and since then they have been so mindful and really want to protect the oceans 19.5k Share javier_aeoa As an environmental engineer, I can tell you that awareness is the single most powerful tool to give us a chance of a future. Keep doing your crucial job, mate! 8.2k Share
    via u/Mxttjxmes, u/javier_aeoa

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wholesome school graduation heartwarming students classroom teaching gen y millennials nostalgia good grades teachers inspiring gen x gen z high school education gen alpha
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