Sick. In a very bad way. Very sick.

People will suffer. Then the law will protect the wrongdoer. Then come the vigilantes.

I teach university level (ages 17 and up).

Purely anecdotal, but I can confirm that I see instances of everything mentioned in this article on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis.

Students are more flippant and belligerent. They will go over your head and around your back to get excused for work. When they make a mistake, they find a way to blame it on the teacher.

I started teaching in 2006 and it was not like this. Blaming COVID and technology is easy. Blaming parents is easy. But, top-down decisions are another thing to look at. People who are no longer teaching are making teaching decisions in some instances, and disciplinary measures have been weakened. Students lawyer up in a heartbeat so we walk on eggshells.

Example: student cheats, uses ChatGPT or plagiarised something? I cannot say they cheated. That’s slander or libel. I have to get the documentalist to confirm and then the head of the programme will speak with the student. If the student admits, they get a mulligan, otherwise the student can appeal and that is a can if worms I don’t want to lear about.