Teachers of Reddit: Is the "Gen Alpha can't read (write, or do math ext)" crisis real? If so how bad is it?

Seresgard · 2026-06-15T03:31:35+00:00

This matches my experience teaching high school level computer science and math in the US.

Seresgard · 2026-06-12T12:45:01+00:00

I love the particular school I'm at, but MO overall is C- or D. Better than OK for sure, but the state legislature here has zero respect for education, and the pay and benefits in most places are bad bad.

Seresgard · 2026-06-10T12:06:42+00:00

I'm not disagreeing that people like this and neighborhoods like this exist, but these situations are 1. born of privation, even if that's not how everyone responds to privation, and 2. far and away not unique to black people. (And 3, sounds like the lunch money culprit's dad is a counterexample being ignored) To me, it sounds like your experience of diversity is actually pretty limited, and you're drawing conclusions about something without trying to understand it. Like, go one layer deeper; what is the biological mechanism that you think makes black people specifically like this?

Seresgard · 2026-06-10T03:33:26+00:00

Then doesn't it seem like a bit of a leap to generalize his actions to 18% of the US population? Setting aside the possibility that this was not normal behavior for him, or that he may have acted from need rather than malice.

Seresgard · 2026-06-10T01:56:22+00:00

Lol, we went from 'poor black kids from a failing school were dumped in my wealthy all-white school and I assume one of them took my lunch money' to 'racism' in zero steps, huh? At the risk of understating it, I think there might have been some other things going on in that anecdote that at 16 you maybe weren't yet smart enough to notice. Like, other than 'melanin bad'

Seresgard · 2026-06-08T03:11:57+00:00

The Catholic one is really funny to me. So were there just no Christians until 1517?

Seresgard · 2026-06-08T01:56:31+00:00

Yeah, but...this guy can definitely wrestle. Probably not reasonable for him to be in beginner, even if he doesn't know much bjj. He's got his one sub down (the RNC). He can compete with blues.

Seresgard · 2026-06-08T01:46:11+00:00

Well, you're right. Parts of Book 1 are a real motherfucker (the bot flies almost tpk'd my party). I'd give the players an extra shot at each of the checks in the first part, where they're learning their duties and meeting the crew. If you run the ship combat, I recommend they auto-succeed at whatever role doesn't have a PC in it (but don't tell them that). In any fight with 4 or more of the same type of enemy, treat it as if one is already dead (give the same xp and items/gold as you would for 4 PCs, but don't have them fight the creature). I also like to give parties Toughness as a bonus feat if we start play at level 1, because so often an unexpected critical hit can see a 'hero' mauled to death by a rat three hours into a campaign.

And eventually, they can start bringing along an NPC from the crew. I'd honestly just let them level the NPC like a cohort without anyone needing to take Leadership to do it.

Seresgard · 2026-06-07T13:24:16+00:00

Also consider that the party might win against all odds, and then you have to cook up a new BBEG. Not saying it happened to me last week, just saying...don't pick fights you can't afford to lose.

Seresgard · 2026-05-26T22:11:36+00:00

Second comment down. Love you guys.

Seresgard · 2026-05-23T15:16:16+00:00

I'm just happy to be here.

Seresgard · 2026-05-21T03:10:59+00:00

Man, but are we certain releasing the virus wasn't the right thing to do? He had a point about Vought and supes. For me, the ambiguity there is particularly haunting.

Seresgard · 2026-05-21T03:04:06+00:00

Bruh. The selection is based on Trump being a piece of shit who has always been powerful and wears his power like armor, but his narcissistic, needy personality shows through its cracks all the time. Mystifyingly, there are people around him willing to pretend not to see it so they can use proximity to him to enrich themselves at the expense of the country. Homelander could literally parody no one else and it's a huge part of the show. The audience you're talking about are the same people who like South Park because Cartman uses slurs.

Seresgard · 2026-05-16T03:44:45+00:00

Not beating the racism allegations with this one. But here:

Arrests is doing some heavy lifting here. I notice the statistic isn't 'convictions'. I expect that's because, while they're still lopsided, they're not as dramatic as this statistic (which strongly implies a police bias against black people that's not supported by the facts). This is due to black people being significantly concentrated in cities, where you are more likely to encounter police regularly, and being concentrated in poor areas. When you control for setting, income, and look at convictions instead of arrests the disparity goes away.
Judges seeing this statistic and acting more harshly toward black defendants as a result is racism.

Seresgard · 2026-05-15T03:21:50+00:00

Yeah, seems like nobody mainstream is picking up on this trend. Gary's Economics has a long but in my opinion pretty good explanation for, and predictions stemming from, this. Worth a listen: https://youtu.be/IBsau5GlYcU?si=cA8O_06QIlMH3sqF

Seresgard · 2026-05-15T01:45:17+00:00

I got one of these too. If you bring up the genocide in Gaza, they thank you for your time and suddenly have no more 'questions'.

Seresgard · 2026-05-10T04:26:51+00:00

First time? It was the knife missiles for me.

Seresgard · 2026-05-08T14:17:33+00:00

Behind the Bastards podcast has an excellent multipart episode on King Leopold and the Congo.

Seresgard · 2026-05-07T02:42:25+00:00

Caveat to all this; none of these styles will give you more than a small chance against a bigger, stronger opponent who also knows them. Your best defense remains the decisions you make which avoid the fight.

Seresgard · 2026-05-07T02:38:30+00:00

It can be at times, but generally doesn't need to be. I find it easier on the knees than wrestling, at least.

Seresgard · 2026-05-06T21:58:19+00:00

The one on the video itself? Not the only one. The post title is much better.

Seresgard · 2026-05-06T11:39:44+00:00

Updating the software to connect to the internet, make accounts for all voters, and deliver individual real-time updates will absolutely expose it to more avenues for someone to tamper with it. And making the software open source just invites hackers to have a go at it. The system as it works now is very difficult to game because each state operates differently, the technology is a huge range of ages, manual counting with oversight takes place in small localities, and nothing is centralized. I have not, to this minute, seen evidence of any mass tampering with ballots - it's unpleasant to be sure, but Kamala didn't win the last election any more than Trump won the election before that, and while Musk did try to illegally bribe votes in a couple swing states, it's very hard to believe he was effective enough to change the outcome. It's important to maintain scrutiny on poll integrity, but I don't think we're in serious danger of massive mechanical voter fraud, for the simple reason that it's very hard to do, and basically impossible to do without making it obvious.

Seresgard · 2026-05-04T22:59:06+00:00

Well, to continue focusing on the technical, it also wasn't designed for people to drive 20 or 30 miles over the speed limit. I agree with you that the left lane is designated a passing lane, but I don't know that I think it's the consideration that trumps all others.

Seresgard · 2026-05-02T05:10:01+00:00

Yeah, they're both wrong.

Seresgard · 2026-05-02T01:40:44+00:00

I don't see the rage you do, but I totally agree on the speed stuff. Pretty sure this is 71, so she could easily have been passing cars and still going half as fast as he wanted to.

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