OPINION:
It is time that teachers and administrators stopped taking a just-say-no approach to artificial intelligence in the classroom.
Imposing broad bans and treating AI as the enemy does students a disservice. Instead of running away, educators should educate.
Just as teachers assign summer reading lists, they should take time over the summer to learn everything they can about AI — how it works and what it can and cannot do.
Teaching students like me to harness AI’s power and avoid its pitfalls while preserving individual creativity is a better strategy than ignoring AI and hoping it will go away.
AI is developing at unprecedented speed, yet many school systems refuse to engage with it. A Pew Research report found that 35% of the public believes AI will have a negative impact over the next 20 years, while 33% expect an equal mix of positive and negative effects.
This widespread anxiety makes it even more vital for schools to step up.
AI will reshape job markets, and ignoring this shift means missing a critical “teachable moment.”
Integrating AI education into schools offers several clear advantages:
- Preventing students from falling behind: If I don’t learn to use AI now, technology could pass me by. I risk becoming like my grandmother, whose attachment to her flip phone and failure to adapt to a smartphone mean she cannot access many essential features of society.
- Promoting educational equity: High-income students often rely on paid consultants and educated parents for help with college essays. Responsible AI use can level the playing field for lower-income students who lack those resources.
- Teaching critical thinking and verification: AI models frequently hallucinate or reinforce user biases, leading to substantial errors. Just as history teachers train students to evaluate sources, educators must teach students how to fact-check AI outputs and cite tools properly.
- Preparing for modern work environments: Real-world jobs require resourcefulness and collaboration. Schools should teach nuanced guidelines so students can determine when AI assistance is appropriate.
Comparing AI bans to cellphone bans highlights a key difference: Although cellphone policies are actively debated, far too many schools refuse to address AI at all.
Schools cannot ignore this technology and just hope it vanishes. The world is changing fast with or without me, and if I don’t learn to use AI, I could get left behind.
Bethesda, Maryland
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