“Kids Have Changed.” Or Have We? A Look at Elementary Students in 2026

I think we've all heard someone recently say, “Kids have changed and teaching isn't what it used to be”. It's seen and heard on social media, in teachers lounges, and something I've experienced as an elementary music teacher of 30+ years.

Shorter attention spans, lower frustration tolerance, lack of independence, inability to follow directions,  lack of grit, BIGGER emotional reactions, and DySrEgUlAtIoN. 

Children didn’t wake up one day and collectively decide to be different. It's so much more complex. Over the last 10–15 years, parenting, technology, nutrition, and culture have shifted dramatically. Children today are growing up in a world fundamentally different from the one their teachers experienced as children.  

These shifts are not moral failures. They are environmental changes and when that happens, behavior follows. If we want different outcomes in classrooms, we have to understand what is "driving the bus".