Throughout my years in school I have valued my sense of creativity within the classroom. Being able to generate my own authentic ideas was one of my favorite parts of every class, especially English. Artificial intelligence has disrupted this creative process for me, not merely because I find myself fascinated by the technology and its speed but because I sometimes convince myself it’s better than I am. Although I find it helpful at appropriate times, I do believe that AI is slowly taking over the creative and trustworthy learning process for me and many other students. Students want their teachers to trust them with their work, and a lack of trust from teachers leads to a lack of effort and enthusiasm from the students.
Even though AI can be a beneficial tool, I strongly believe my logical thinking is becoming weaker because of it. AI is becoming the new hub for generating ideas. I try my best to steer clear of using it for this purpose because I know at Parker authenticity is valued over perfection.
In English class at Parker this year, I had the choice of writing an essay about a previous poem we had read in class that year. As I was choosing my poem and beginning to write my essay, I thought about putting my work into an AI checker. I did this because this year, specifically, I have noticed many teachers doubting whether to let students complete assignments on their computers, due to a lack of trust.
I have noticed that teachers are becoming more hesitant to allow writing assignments on computers, out of school assignments, and independent research. To me, Parker’s philosophy on AI is inconsistent. Some teachers love it, others hate it, and few have no care for AI. Due to this inconsistency, I frequently find myself confused about the expectations of teachers regarding AI usage. All students are clearly made aware of the section in the Parker handbook about AI and the consequences of inappropriate usage, but very few teachers specify their personal standards.
In a classroom setting this could look like teachers explaining the limits they feel comfortable with involving AI relating to the assignments they give out to students. This would be an extension of the handbook policies and a more personal opinion regarding how AI should or shouldn’t be used in their specific class.
Recently, I have also been feeling as if Parker teachers haven’t been using AI to their advantage. From a curriculum standpoint, AI should be used in a classroom setting as a tool for both students and teachers. I am under the impression that many Parker students use AI, so having a clear way of knowing the perspective of each teacher with AI would be helpful because we would know their way of using it or not using it at all. Teachers could even teach students their way of using it to ensure more trusted usage from the students.
As some Upper School students might know or have signed up for, there’s a new AI elective class next year. This could be a great opportunity for students to learn about the mechanics of AI, how it operates, and how to maximize their abilities to use it.
AI is only going to grow, and some members of the faculty seem to be dismissing this fact. Although AI can do the work for you, it can also be a mechanism to work with. Some examples of this are using it to create practice quizzes and tests, having it teach a topic for deeper understanding, and asking for tips about presentation skills. These are all things I have used AI for in the past, and I find it surprisingly helpful.
When I was using AI to study for a presentation in history class this year, the robot not only provided tips that I took into consideration but also listed out certain things that would bore the audience or make me feel less confident. This type of utilization is different from generating ideas or cheating because I learned by specific communication rather than simply asking for answers.
AI shouldn’t be an untrustworthy cheating mechanism or an answer hub but a resource to expand critical thinking skills to help you maximize your knowledge. I started out the year with little knowledge on the subject, but as I have continued to appropriately use it, I have found myself capable of communicating clearly to the robot to obtain my wanted outcome. This includes me retaining information for a longer period of time and memorizing information at a faster pace.
Although my initial opinion on AI was negative, I know that it will become a more popular tool, so I have learned to work around and with it. We are future educators, but in order to educate, we must know how to utilize our resources.
