A McDonald’s manager says a customer handed him $35 for an order that cost about $7 or $8 and then asked whether that was enough. According to BroBible, the manager, Jacob Smeltzer, shared the exchange in a TikTok video under the handle @krazeyjakey.
His restaurant is near a high school, and he described the customer as a high schooler. In the video, he said he was “really worried about the future.” He recalled that the order came to “$7 or $8” before he read out the total. Smeltzer said the customer gave him $35 and asked if it was enough. He repeated that the order was $7 or $8, and the customer answered, “Well, is that enough?” He also asked, “Where’s the fundamentals of basic math?”
Federal data released in June shows that math and reading averages for 13-year-olds are still below pre-pandemic levels. The results come from the long-term trend assessment, which about 31,000 students took during the 2024-25 school year. Reading for that age group is roughly where it stood when the test began in 1971. Matthew Soldner, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said, “We can clearly see that this isn’t just a pandemic story.”
Nine-year-old scores show recovery
The results were stronger for younger students. Reading among nine-year-olds returned to pre-pandemic levels, and math showed some recovery. About 84% of nine-year-olds reached the math benchmark, while 70% of 13-year-olds did. Teachers have also commented on how students are doing in class, including a first-grade teacher crying on video.
A report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University found the slide started before the pandemic. Eighth-grade math scores rose until 2013, then leveled off before falling after the pandemic. Almost four in 10 eighth graders scored below basic in math on the Nation’s Report Card.
Digital payments are also changing how children handle money. A Bread Financial survey of 2,189 parents of children under 18, conducted online in May, found that 46% had been surprised by a child’s purchase made with “invisible” money, which the company defines as digital, non-cash payments. High school students were more likely than elementary students to have used peer-to-peer payment apps, at 56% versus 29%, and digital wallets, at 46% versus 26%.
Jessie Calaway, a senior manager at the company, said “the rise of digital spending has introduced an entirely new curriculum.” Teachers have raised similar points about coins. Yonina Lermer, a fifth-grade teacher, wrote that she asked her 25 students in February 2022 how many cents are in a dollar. She said “less than half of my 25 students raised their hands” when asked. Lermer linked the gap to money becoming less physical, as people now pay through apps, websites and debit or credit cards.
Her write-up suggests classroom activities such as a pretend store with priced items and money manipulatives, along with sorting and tallying spare change from around the house.
Published: Oct 14, 2026 03:14 pm