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Based only on firsthand anecdotal experience, I wouldn’t say so. I am currently raising three kids in the same city (and school district) that I attended in ’86-’99. And what they’re doing doesn’t seem to be any worse than what I had to do.
My middle kid seems to always have a ton of homework to finish each night (I always worked to make sure that I never had anything to do at home) but I don’t think that it’s because his workload is any different (especially since his older brother didn’t have the same issue). I think it’s just that he procrastinates and/or gets distracted.
It depends on what you mean? More advanced subjects are normal parts of the curriculum now, compared to those for Boomers through Millennials. Especially with maths. Anything beyond Algebra II was considered AP when I was in HS. Now, intro to calculus is standard to the curriculum and Cal II is where my daughter needed to be for it to be considered AP.
But workload seems more balanced compared to times past. My daughter had maybe two to three hours worth of homework per week. Whereas my wife and I had two or more hours per night
As far as college goes, one major impact is that the cost increases are far exceeding inflation and wage increases. When I was younger, it was still possible to work part time and pay my way through without loans. I know it’s not what your asking exactly, but it generally makes going to school more difficult financially than previously.
Kids nowadays don’t know the slightest about chemistry or trigonometry anymore, plenty of geometry feels like incomprehensible for some younger generations as well. Math in general seems like it has gotten dumbed way down. Seems like history classes haven’t changed in the slightest and it’s still the same shit from 1776 to like the 1960s lol
When I was trying to get an engineering degree, my teacher told me that the math he was teaching didn’t exist when he was in college. He had a master’s in mathematics, and he didn’t have to take Differential Equations to get it. I had to learn it for a fucking associate’s degree.
I think college classes may be less demanding of their students in some ways these days, but there’s definitely more to learn. The days when you could break ground in physics just by dropping stuff off a building and seeing how long it took to land are long gone.
They legitimately have the internet and things like chat gpt. School is not harder, kids just aren’t prioritizing memorization or developing academic skills.
If you have to use the internet to solve a problem, you don’t actually know jack shit. All you are doing is handing in someone else’s answer without learning anything.
Anyone else remember memorizing the periodic table? Hand me a sharpie and a white board and I can draw it perfectly. The math formulas? I don’t have to look that shit up.
We are as a society failing the younger people, they don’t actually know anything valuable. The education system needs a massive overhaul.
Yes there is evidence. Schools have lowered requirements to get people to graduate or accept students into universities. We have people going to college now that struggle with basic reading and writing, it’s fucking insane.
I cant speak for k-12 but there are MANY professions that did not require college education in the past. Now these jobs require masters degrees. I wouldn’t be surprised if school for children is also more difficult. Contrary to the answers in the sub, I also believe that computers actually made school harder.
What equates to an elementary education today (reading, writing, and simple maths) would basically be a high school education in the first half of the last century. Post WW2 education became more of what we would recognize
Not sure harder but looks more complicated. When my kids ask me to look at their math problems, i have no idea what is being asked. When I try to answer a problem, the kids don’t understand the way I am answering Completely different forrmulas.
The curriculum isn’t necessarily more difficult. However the workload is. Whether it’s from badly run classrooms, lazy kids, lazy teachers, etc. kids have 3-5x more home work now than they did 40 years ago.
If you do any research, you’ll find that the educational requirements have dropped through the decades. A person who graduated high school in 1900 would vastly surpass a person from 2025. Look at some of the homework they had, and then consider that those young folk also had hella chores to do back at home or on the farm.
Nowadays primary education is getting markedly easier because students are coming into class less and less prepared. The average reading capacity is lower now than ever. Student behavioral issues are at an all time high along with truancy, absenteeism, and fail rates (where they are allowed to still exist outside of pervasive ‘no fail’ districts).
Parents are working more hours and care about their kids education less, schools just exist to respond to the needs of students which their parents simply are not or cannot address. Check over at r/teachers, parents have become as rabid and unpredictable as their kids.
There was just an opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer about how kids are showing up to college, having never read an adult book from cover to cover and being unable to do so while understanding it. I went back to college a couple of years ago, and it is so much easier than when I first attended ~30 years ago. So, no, school is less demanding and is also being severely hampered by screen addictions.
Yeah, there’s some evidence school’s gotten more demanding over the years, especially in the U.S. But it’s a little messy. First off, the homework load. Back in the day, kids had less homework on average. Studies show that now, even elementary school kids are getting more assignments. And then there’s college pressure. It’s wild how much it’s shifted. It feels like kids are expected to have perfect GPAs, do 12 clubs, play a sport, volunteer and run a small business just to get into a decent college. It wasn’t always like that. The whole admissions game has gotten kinda intense. And there’s standardized testing. That’s become a whole thing. More tests, higher stakes, and states tying school funding to scores. So teachers are also stressed, which trickles down to students. Not exactly a chill environment.
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No way, schooling in America has gotten so much easier nowadays compared to previously.
Depends on the region.
Advanced math studies are more available now.
For students in AP classes, they are working their hardest.
i imagine it’s hard to focus with all the gun shots
The internet has made some things easier, but it can also make things harder if you don’t know how to use it.
Based only on firsthand anecdotal experience, I wouldn’t say so. I am currently raising three kids in the same city (and school district) that I attended in ’86-’99. And what they’re doing doesn’t seem to be any worse than what I had to do.
My middle kid seems to always have a ton of homework to finish each night (I always worked to make sure that I never had anything to do at home) but I don’t think that it’s because his workload is any different (especially since his older brother didn’t have the same issue). I think it’s just that he procrastinates and/or gets distracted.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
It depends on what you mean? More advanced subjects are normal parts of the curriculum now, compared to those for Boomers through Millennials. Especially with maths. Anything beyond Algebra II was considered AP when I was in HS. Now, intro to calculus is standard to the curriculum and Cal II is where my daughter needed to be for it to be considered AP.
But workload seems more balanced compared to times past. My daughter had maybe two to three hours worth of homework per week. Whereas my wife and I had two or more hours per night
If anything it’s easier
In the 1970s in Oregon the only required high school math course was algebra which modern kids take in 8th grade. It is dramatically harder now.
The most important skill is learning how to go through an entire textbook, taking proper notes.
8th grade test from 1912
Most high schoolers and even college students would have trouble with this now.
the opposite mostly
Considering that millennials and gen z can’t seem to read or write, I’m going to say, no.
As far as college goes, one major impact is that the cost increases are far exceeding inflation and wage increases. When I was younger, it was still possible to work part time and pay my way through without loans. I know it’s not what your asking exactly, but it generally makes going to school more difficult financially than previously.
Kids nowadays don’t know the slightest about chemistry or trigonometry anymore, plenty of geometry feels like incomprehensible for some younger generations as well. Math in general seems like it has gotten dumbed way down. Seems like history classes haven’t changed in the slightest and it’s still the same shit from 1776 to like the 1960s lol
When I was trying to get an engineering degree, my teacher told me that the math he was teaching didn’t exist when he was in college. He had a master’s in mathematics, and he didn’t have to take Differential Equations to get it. I had to learn it for a fucking associate’s degree.
I think college classes may be less demanding of their students in some ways these days, but there’s definitely more to learn. The days when you could break ground in physics just by dropping stuff off a building and seeing how long it took to land are long gone.
They legitimately have the internet and things like chat gpt. School is not harder, kids just aren’t prioritizing memorization or developing academic skills.
If you have to use the internet to solve a problem, you don’t actually know jack shit. All you are doing is handing in someone else’s answer without learning anything.
Anyone else remember memorizing the periodic table? Hand me a sharpie and a white board and I can draw it perfectly. The math formulas? I don’t have to look that shit up.
We are as a society failing the younger people, they don’t actually know anything valuable. The education system needs a massive overhaul.
Yes there is evidence. Schools have lowered requirements to get people to graduate or accept students into universities. We have people going to college now that struggle with basic reading and writing, it’s fucking insane.
I cant speak for k-12 but there are MANY professions that did not require college education in the past. Now these jobs require masters degrees. I wouldn’t be surprised if school for children is also more difficult. Contrary to the answers in the sub, I also believe that computers actually made school harder.
What equates to an elementary education today (reading, writing, and simple maths) would basically be a high school education in the first half of the last century. Post WW2 education became more of what we would recognize
I went to Catholic schools in the 80s and 90s. 12 years.
My daughter is now in middle school. She is already taking algebra. I was not allowed to go past pre-algebra in high school.
Not sure harder but looks more complicated. When my kids ask me to look at their math problems, i have no idea what is being asked. When I try to answer a problem, the kids don’t understand the way I am answering Completely different forrmulas.
The curriculum isn’t necessarily more difficult. However the workload is. Whether it’s from badly run classrooms, lazy kids, lazy teachers, etc. kids have 3-5x more home work now than they did 40 years ago.
If you do any research, you’ll find that the educational requirements have dropped through the decades. A person who graduated high school in 1900 would vastly surpass a person from 2025. Look at some of the homework they had, and then consider that those young folk also had hella chores to do back at home or on the farm.
We’re all weak. So weak.
Nowadays primary education is getting markedly easier because students are coming into class less and less prepared. The average reading capacity is lower now than ever. Student behavioral issues are at an all time high along with truancy, absenteeism, and fail rates (where they are allowed to still exist outside of pervasive ‘no fail’ districts).
Parents are working more hours and care about their kids education less, schools just exist to respond to the needs of students which their parents simply are not or cannot address. Check over at r/teachers, parents have become as rabid and unpredictable as their kids.
There was just an opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer about how kids are showing up to college, having never read an adult book from cover to cover and being unable to do so while understanding it. I went back to college a couple of years ago, and it is so much easier than when I first attended ~30 years ago. So, no, school is less demanding and is also being severely hampered by screen addictions.
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/student-book-reading-declines-20250410.html
Yeah, there’s some evidence school’s gotten more demanding over the years, especially in the U.S. But it’s a little messy. First off, the homework load. Back in the day, kids had less homework on average. Studies show that now, even elementary school kids are getting more assignments. And then there’s college pressure. It’s wild how much it’s shifted. It feels like kids are expected to have perfect GPAs, do 12 clubs, play a sport, volunteer and run a small business just to get into a decent college. It wasn’t always like that. The whole admissions game has gotten kinda intense. And there’s standardized testing. That’s become a whole thing. More tests, higher stakes, and states tying school funding to scores. So teachers are also stressed, which trickles down to students. Not exactly a chill environment.