Anyone who graduated from high school or college during or before the pandemic can attest to the lengthy writing assignments they often had to complete.
From five-paragraph essays during class using a black or blue pen, to writing paragraph "discussion" posts and choosing three peers to respond to, to writing twenty-page theses that took weeks to prepare, we had plenty of stress, cramped hands, and tired eyes.
But now in 2025, Gen Z is working their way through their late high school and early college education, and they are not interested in the volume of work, homework assignments, and projects we often faced.
Teacher and TikToker @eli_carbullido faced pushback from his students over a simple paragraph essay, in fact.
After reviewing a project, the teacher asked his students to write a paragraph-length reaction to what they'd experienced, which he specified should be five sentences in length.
Depending on the style of paper being written, paragraphs could range in sentences from four to twelve sentences each, so this requirement was already on the lower end.
But when TikToker @eli_carbullido announced the assignment, he was met with a loud collective groan.
One girl in the background could be heard asking:
"Can't it be four sentences?"
The TikToker then specified again that the paragraph had to be five sentences long and even pointed out that he used to write papers that were at least five paragraphs long, which did nothing to ease their reactions to the assignment.
You can watch the video here:
In addition to outraged and shocked reactions on TikTok, the video also appeared on Twitter (X), where people shared some strong opinions.
Others pointed out how ironic their reaction was, given that many of them would outsource the assignment.
Some people are more enthusiastic than others about writing down their thoughts and exploring their education through essays, which is understandable and normal. But the fact that these students were flummoxed at the thought of writing just five sentences is undeniably concerning.
Students have always complained about homework, but their groaning and trying to negotiate what the paragraph had to include? That feels like more than the usual complaining.
@thekalenallen/Threads
U.S. Mint
