Teachers Are Noticing Something Disturbing in Classrooms Across America
The packaging promises“Teachers are warning everyone about something disturbing happening in classrooms across America.”
The thumbnail uses a worried-looking teacher and text overlays to create a sense of urgency and alarm, which is consistent with the video's discussion of a widespread decline in student reading abilities.
The video correctly identifies that many elementary students are struggling with reading, a trend documented as a 'reading recession' affecting diverse school types and predating the pandemic. It also accurately notes a growing trend in some school systems to teach excerpts rather than full books.
The video falsely claims that a fifth-grade student and their entire class don’t know how to read, which contradicts national data: as of April 2026, the majority of fifth-grade students in the U.S. were reading at or above grade level. The video also misrepresents high school graduation trends by claiming most students haven’t read a full book, when 2024–2025 survey data shows most secondary teachers assign at least one full book per year, averaging four.
The video relies heavily on anecdotal testimony from a few teachers and students, generalizing from isolated cases to claim nationwide trends, while misrepresenting survey data and national assessment results.
This video distorts reality by amplifying isolated stories into sweeping claims and misusing data—don’t trust it.
Teachers across America are reporting a widespread failure among students from elementary through college to read, citing lack of exposure, consistency, and parental involvement, with a sharp decline noted around 2016 and especially 2021–2022. The root causes include excessive screen time, uninvolved parents, and a systemic shift away from teaching full books in favor of excerpts, which leaves students unprepared for college-level reading.
A teacher with over 30 years of experience, who taught from 1992 until 2024, reports a significant decline in students' reading ability, particularly noticeable starting around 2016 and accelerating between 2021 and 2022. She states that students no longer read independently, even when assigned, and some actively avoid reading to avoid failing grades. She stopped assigning independent reading because students preferred failing to reading. She began reading aloud to students, which helped, but noted that lack of reading leads to limited vocabulary and weakened communication skills. Another teacher shares that a fifth grader, starting school in August, told her he couldn’t read and didn’t know anyone in his class who could. When offered $10 to read 'chips' on a bag, the boy sounded it out as 'chips' but said it meant 'potatoes,' indicating a fundamental inability to decode text. A bartender recounts an 8- or 9-year-old girl at a resort who, when handed a menu, said, 'I can't read,' leaving the speaker stunned. A teacher in a high school AP English class says students now only read excerpts, not full books, and many graduate without having read an entire novel. College professors are now reporting that incoming students cannot process whole texts, requiring remedial English courses. The speaker argues that schools are pressured to teach grade-level texts even when students can’t comprehend them, creating a catch-22: pushing students beyond their level causes frustration, but teaching below level fails to meet standards. The speaker blames constant screen exposure, especially from age 6–7, for reducing attention spans and eliminating the ability to be bored or use imagination. Parents are criticized for not reading with children, not helping with homework, and shifting responsibility to teachers. The speaker notes that teachers only have 90 minutes a day for reading instruction, not 8 hours, and that when recess and specials are cut, parents suddenly care—indicating that school time is insufficient. The speaker also argues that adults don’t model reading behavior, and many adults themselves don’t read regularly. The video concludes by questioning whether society’s dependence on technology has eroded the cognitive habits needed for deep reading, and urges viewers to pick up physical books to re-engage the brain.
- 01A teacher who retired in 2024 reports a significant decline in student reading ability starting around 2016 and accelerating between 2021 and 2022.
- 02A fifth grader starting school in August stated he couldn’t read and said no one in his class could read either.
- 03An 8- or 9-year-old girl at a resort told a bartender she couldn’t read when handed a menu.
- 04Students in high school AP English classes now only read excerpts, not full books, and many graduate without having read an entire novel.
- 05College professors are reporting that incoming students cannot process whole texts and require remedial English courses.
- 06A teacher says students avoid independent reading and would rather fail than read, even when given the option to do so.
- 07Teachers are pressured to teach grade-level texts even when students cannot comprehend them, creating a cycle of frustration and failure.
- 08The speaker claims that children are exposed to screens from age 6–7, leading to reduced attention spans and an inability to be bored or use imagination.
Who's it forParents, educators, and policymakers who want to understand the specific, anecdotal evidence behind claims of a national reading crisis in American schools.
Only claims we could verify and cite are shown.
As of April 2026, a significant majority of fifth-grade students in the US could read, with national average scores indicating proficiency at or above grade level.
As of early 2026, a significant portion of elementary school students in the U.S. were struggling with reading, a trend described as a "reading recession" that predated the pandemic and affected students across various school types.
As of the 2024-2025 school year, a significant majority of middle and high school teachers surveyed reported assigning at least one full book per academic year, with an average of four books assigned per secondary school teacher.
In many school systems, there is a trend towards teaching excerpts from books rather than entire books.