Photo by Marcus Spiske
One of our board members asked me what I thought of a TED video from Sal Khan of Khan Academy titled, "How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education." Here is my response.
AI is going to be an essential part of American education within ten years. It will be sad because turning to AI is the opposite direction education should be going. It is another low bar setting that will disappoint. But AI will be in all the public and charter schools and most of the Christian schools within the next ten years.
No, it will not be a part of Maricopa Christian Academy. We will continue with our model of hiring mature Christians who love their Lord. People who have been trained to break down the skills needed to an understandable level that our students can learn from. Teachers who care about and know your child. Who pray for him daily. And each student will always have a daily individualized education plan built on their previous work and their teacher's knowledge of the student.
AI will be an essential part of the American education scene because 1) Almost all teachers have little or no skills in educating our children. 2) Education always heads to the easiest and cheapest ways to educate. 3) We are a people who believe the experts that AI will save our education system. 4) The education system has suffered greatly by keeping men out of teaching, especially in the lower grades.
Teachers are not taught or expected to break down a skill into something a student can learn. Instead, at best, there is an expectation to present a skill in a general, broad sense, then if that doesn’t work, teach it in small groups who were not able to grasp the skill enough to apply it. And if that doesn't work, tutor the students who are falling behind individually. This is the present system in almost all public, charter and private schools.
It does take years to do well at this method even the best of teachers will teach to the low-middle average student. That is if the teachers have good coaches. But in most schools, there is little to no coaching.
Almost all public schools and the larger charter schools try to make-up for the growing percentage of low skilled teachers by hiring more administrators. This does not help. Most administrators are poor teachers or even noneducators. Sadly, even a cadre of skilled administrative trainers is not effective, because as a rule, teachers will ignore any trainer who does not perform their yearly review. Unless the person has the power to hire and fire, teachers will ignore the trainer and continue their present methods of instruction for better or worse.
The idea of heading to the least expensive route is obvious. Class sizes are usually way above twenty students in a class. Everyday supplies are usually sparingly parceled out. Million-dollar curriculums are purchased with minimal and poorly designed training. Scary thought that the trainers of educators use videos and , "Please check with me if you need help." The use of AI will allow schools to hire a master teacher for each grade or subject to design curriculum and train aides. The aides will be in the classes while the students are working on their AI instruction.
Most of America has been duped for the past sixty years while a growing percentage of students is unable to meet minimal state standards. AI instruction will be presented as another miracle method to save our education system. And like before, most Americans will believe the educrates.
Concerning men instructing, Alphonso Evans, CEO and principal of Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School in Philadelphia, made this comment in USA Today in 2023<
“Last time I checked it was 78 percent Caucasian female, nationally, so you’re constantly fighting that battle,” he says. “Our area of education is losing so much influence that we could be giving to our young males because of the absence of male teachers at all.”
Most elementary schools in Arizona have few or no male teachers. Why does that matter? Because men are not in schools to nurture. They are teaching to provide a better education than they received so their students have more options for success. Men set higher expectations for boys in both behavior and academics. Presently, the female-dominated lower grades prefer to label boys (and an increasing amount of girls) who misbehave as special education students so these boys and girls will be out of their classes because they don't know what to do with them.
A recent education graduate asked her teacher why there were no men in her education classes. She was told men don't do well in education because of their lack of ability to nurture.
And that is the problem now in education. Schools are there to educate, not nurture. Nurturing is performed by the mothers and fathers.
Sorry. Back to AI. AI cannot meet the needs of any student who wants an education. Education is much more than skills and information. Experienced and trained teachers build up students in their skills, confidence appreciation of God's Word and its creator through prayer, love and encouragement Something no AI will ever do.
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