By Corey Bennett
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now starting to find its way into classrooms, which, to some extent, is very helpful. However, most teachers are debating whether or not it should be used in classrooms, considering if it is helpful for students or if it is just another method of cheating.
When asked about AI and its role in the classroom, a number of Benicia High School teachers argued that it should be limited in the classroom.
“I think it is lazy. It is the easy way out,” Mr. Calderon said during his interview. This is a great example of how AI should not be used in English classes, as it could turn students into passive writers, relying on AI to write their essays for them. Though, to some extent, AI is great. “Kids can do 10 to 15 drafts in one to two days, where it would take me two weeks,” Calderon would continue. This shows that there could be great potential when it comes to AI, allowing students to write more and work faster. But being able to write fast doesn’t mean that it will be good.
“But for the most part, when people say that technology is making us better students, better writers, and better thinkers, they’re wrong,” he continued. Many English teachers seem to agree with this, saying that AI should not be used in their classes when it comes to writing.
“AI is very good in some instances, but not for foreign languages. Because you are just translating information from one place to another instead of putting it in their heads,” Profe said when asked about AI in the classroom. If students use AI to cheat on assignments, they aren’t truly learning the assignment, and when they are tested and don’t have that tool, they’ll most likely fail. While it does offer itself as a tool, students should probably know the subject before they try to use it as a tool.
When teachers use AI as a tool, many believe that it should only be used in certain subjects, instead of being integrated into all classes.
Mr. Kim, a history teacher at Benicia High School, believes that some classes shouldn’t implement it. “I think courses that should use it/teach it, are the courses where you need to utilize it. You don’t need to utilize it in English, you don’t have to utilize it in history, it’s just a shortcut,” he said when asked about AI and whether or not it should be used in the classroom. Simply meaning that it may be helpful in some classes that students are taking, but should probably know the subject before using AI, instead of just using it to cheat.
Mr. Kim then proceeded to go further in depth about the subject, going on to talk about Large Language Models (LLM). Stating that “If we had a class on grant writing, writing grants, then of course we should use LLMs because that’s a pivotal point/place where you should use it. English class no, because you have to learn how to write an essay to determine if ChatGPT is writing a good essay for you.”
On the other hand, some Benicia High School teachers believe that it should be implemented into classrooms and lessons, embracing an emerging technology.
“If we teach our students to use skills so that AI makes life easier for them, then I think that it can be a great tool and advance education,” Ms. Morgan, a member of the Social Studies department said.
This perspective seems to suggest that if teachers embrace AI for what it is, and choose to teach students to use it as a tool, instead of a way to just get answers, then it could be very beneficial to students and how they learn.
Mr. Swartz, a PE teacher at BHS, also agrees that using AI in school can be very beneficial. Helping students manage workouts and time during that class can help when it comes to weightlifting. But it is also going to most likely be an important part of our future, and we should embrace it with our arms wide open.
“I think that if we’re not using AI and not teaching kids how to use AI, we are falling way behind.” Swartz would say when asked about how it was going to affect teaching and learning as a whole. Bringing in the idea that again it should be used as a tool, and that is very beneficial to students and teachers, helping students learn how to use AI could greatly benefit them in the future. “It is coming whether we like it or not,” he continued.
Mr. Kaiser, head of the CTE department, more drastically explained that we need to integrate AI into every class and should change how teachers give information to students.
“Too much of school is memorizing things that aren’t important anymore. We need to focus on things that are important to us as humans,” Kaiser said during his interview. He believes that teachers should shift their educational priorities and that they should teach students to use it as a tool. This AI can be an amazing tool, and AI may be the future, but it lacks the critical thinking and creativity that humans have. “AI should be there to help us when we’re stuck and teach us when we need help,” he would continue. Bringing together the main idea that AI should function as more of a supportive aid, allowing students to do their assignments better and more efficiently, While also being able to take what the AI gives them and learn from it rather than just using it to get answers and cheat on assignments.
In the end, AI has both benefits and disadvantages. If educators can understand AI and better integrate it into their lessons, we could better prepare students for the world of technology that they are growing up in.
beniciapaw.com 