Gen Z Teacher Shares Experiences That Would Horrify Gen Alpha Students

Internet users have been reminiscing about the best moments of their school days after a Generation Z teacher highlighted what used to be completely normal in schools but would leave Generation Alpha speechless.

Back when Ally Powers was a school student in New York, she used to love having lessons in the computer lab, and it was an annual highlight when the teacher rolled out the television for a movie.

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However, now, as a teacher of English and English as a second language, Powers, 24, told Newsweek that much of what made her school experience so enjoyable is not feasible now. The idea of walking into a designated room filled with desktop computers, or taking handwriting lessons, would be completely alien to the Gen Alpha students in classrooms now.

"There are so many experiences I had in school that don't happen now," Powers, from Rhode Island, said. "For example, I would handwrite my essays at home and then get to school early to type them up and print them in our computer lab. That would never happen anymore.

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"With all the technology that pupils have now, I feel like it has taken away the excitement from certain things. The pure joy of seeing that TV cart roll in was unlike anything these kids experience, and I used to love computer lab. We would take typing classes or have free time to go on [art software] Tux Paint."

While she said that her opinions are entirely her own and don't reflect her school nor the district she works in, Powers added that she feels it important to look back and see how much has changed.

Whether it was filling out exams on paper or watching the math teacher work out an equation via a projector, Powers said that Gen Alpha students would find these things so hard to believe. Students nowadays have come of age during an age of technology where they often have their own iPads or laptops, making tasks much more efficient.

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"There are some things that were better back in my day, but there are also a lot of experiences these students have now that were better than my own schooling," Powers said. "Let's be honest, every older generation critiques the generations after them, so who are we to judge?"

How Did TikTok React?

Powers shared the hilarious clip on TikTok (@teachingat22) revealing the many things that were normal back when she was in school. The post instantly went viral, amassing more than 3.2 million views and over 530,000 likes at the time of writing.

Powers had no idea that the TikTok would generate such an overwhelming response, but she has loved reminiscing about "much simpler times" with her social-media followers.

"The majority of the people commenting are millennials who are just reminiscing on their school days. Other people just haven't thought of the differences in schools now, so I'm glad I could start this conversation," Powers told Newsweek.

"It's good to reflect on the past, but not to get hung up on it. Our job now is to use our experiences to prepare this new generation the best we can. I hope these conversations can continue to happen and lead to some more productive conversations for the betterment of the system."

Social-media users have loved reliving the nostalgia of their school days as a result of Powers' video, leading to more than 8,300 comments on the TikTok post. One comment reads: "They don't have MANDATORY PRESENTATIONS OMG [oh my god]."

Another person responded: "The absolute STRESS of having to go print out your essay at the library in the morning because you spent all night writing it the night before it was due."

A third TikTok user posted: "Girl, at 22 I did not need to feel this old."

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