It has been made very clear that AI is going to be a major part of our lives and won’t be leaving anytime soon. Not only is it used to make videos, write documents, and even program whole websites, but it’s used in our education. This isn’t necessarily referring to students’ use of AI to help with their homework or complete other assignments, but that it’s become a key resource by teachers themselves. Websites like Magic School, Grammarly, and websites that help to grade assignments are being encouraged by the very people who claimed to be entirely against AI use. Teachers have ridiculed it and demeaned it many times, saying that AI is almost the same as cheating, yet now it’s the only way they allow us to submit an assignment. The students’ opinions on this differ greatly. They were asked if their teachers require them to use AI when submitting an assignment, their thoughts on that, and what they think the future of our education will look like as the use of AI in schools progresses. The teachers were asked the same things and gave their thoughts.
The students’ opinions:
6th grader Amy Del Leon, “They shouldn’t make AI like it can trick people and little kids. It’s not a good thing. I think some teachers are gonna get replaced by AI, and AI can take over some schools and stuff.”
8th grader Rosemary Ge, “All they use it to is to grade our work. I really don’t like it and I’m against supporting AI because it will take over my job in the future. Stop with Sora AI. I don’t think we’ll have any more education. ”
8th grader Kaitlyn Sheppe, “None of our teachers really use it unless probably grading or something. Or AI tracking to see if you used AI on your assignment. I think AI is pointless because it’s taking countless jobs and what’s the point of teachers being hired if AI is doing most of the stuff. AI is good for some things but not most things. I think we’ll be taught by AI and in college I’m gonna be getting taught by a robot.”
8th grader Lauren Higgins, “I think it’s ok. The future will be filled with idiots who always use AI”
8th grader Alexia Root, “I think it helps me, like it can explain what I’m learning and tell me feedback on what I can do better. Mrs. Youssi makes us use it, it gives us feedback.”
8th grader Dean Kocaya, “It can help with studying and explain your notes to you a little bit more.”
The teachers’ opinions:
Mr. Adras, ‘No, my students don’t use AI. I think it’s ok to integrate but not take over everything. People should still be working and using their own skills.’
Mrs. Thompson, “I don’t have my students use AI because as kids you are learning how to think, I’m not necessarily as worried about what the output is. My goal is to teach you the skill and not just to get a perfect response. So, I want my students to practice thinking and the process to get there. When adults use AI properly, they are using it to cut out that mental workload because there are so many other things they have to get done. So if I cut out the thought process in creating something, I can proofread it and that saves me time. If you don’t ever learn that thought process you become dependent on AI, and so then it becomes more of a problem. So I don’t let kids in middle school use it, I would probably let seniors in high school start to use it, but I don’t think that kids in the K-12 system really need to use AI in general.”
Mrs. Grey, “I don’t know, It looks scary. That’s all I’ve got for you. It’s terrifying to think of how quickly the technology will grow and how people will lack the capacity to keep up with it. ”
Mr. Morton, “It’s very limited, most teachers are using it for things like creating lesson plans or creating year long plans for their classroom. There are some teachers like Mrs. Thompson using it but that’s more the exception than the rule right now. I think AI will be heavily involved with education in the future but I don’t think anyone knows what it’s actually going to look like. Will it look like us as teachers using it in school, will it look a little bit more like students doing things more independently without teachers? I don’t know any of that. I heard someone say the other day that there won’t even be apps here in a couple of years because AI will figure out how to do anything, why would you need a budget app if the AI could do your whole budget in a few seconds. So I think, yes, we will go towards AI but I have no idea what it will exactly look like, like will all 1,000 Bobcats come to school everyday? I don’t know, I suppose so, but that would be interesting to see.”
Amy Del Leon, Rosemary Ge, Kaitlyn Sheppe, Dean Kocaya, Alexia Root, and Lauren Higgins:
