Schools are in a tizzy because kids are allegedly using AI to crank out homework and essays, and now teachers and administrators are gnashing their teeth over trust issues. The trust issue is believing that somehow students have magically became geniuses who can solve algebra and string together thesis-driven essays without ever cracking a book or paying attention in class.
Here’s a revolutionary thought: maybe, just maybe, students should do their work in the classroom where teachers can, you know, see it happening. Call it crazy – but we used to call that “education.”
Instead of playing whack-a-mole with AI detectors and plagiarism flags, how about less unsupervised homework and more supervised learning? Students might actually learn something instead of perfecting their prompt-engineering skills.
Maybe have students read aloud in class. Maybe ask them questions in person and don’t let them use their phones and computers to give their answers.
And before anyone throws up their hands about “AI being the future,” you should know that there are a lot of educators who aren’t happy about students using these tools to bypass learning – hence the concern over cheating and cognitive laziness with almost 90% of teachers who are worried about AI misuse according to the education website The 74 [1].
Without structure, accountability, and supervision, students are effectively left to decide for themselves whether to actually learn – or to take shortcuts. And we all know what most of them will decide.