Hello, AI. Goodbye Teachers?
Why the rise of AI is actually increasing the need for strong teachers and mentorship.
AI did not slowly enter education. It arrived almost overnight.
Tools that can explain concepts, generate content, and personalize learning are now available to every student and teacher. That raises an important question.
So, what is education actually for?
In Episode 12 of I Demand A Meeting, Jesse and I explore what AI means for personalization, teaching, assessment, and the role of educators.
1. AI Is a Tool, Not the Teacher
AI can support instruction, generate ideas, and help personalize learning. Students now have access to immediate explanations and feedback in ways that were not possible before.
But AI cannot replace the role of a teacher.
Education is not only about information. It is about formation. Teachers mentor, guide, and help students develop wisdom, character, and discernment. That work becomes more important in an AI-driven world.
2. Personalization Is Now Expected
For years, schools have talked about differentiation. AI is now making that possible.
Students can learn at different paces and receive targeted support. Parents are beginning to expect this level of personalization.
This creates both opportunity and responsibility. Schools must be intentional in how these tools are used so they support learning rather than distract from it.
3. Rethinking Assessment
AI is also forcing schools to rethink assessment.
When students can generate answers, traditional assignments become less reliable measures of understanding. This does not mean learning has decreased. It means our methods must change.
Assessment needs to move toward real-time demonstrations of learning such as discussions, written explanations, and in-class work. These approaches better reflect what students actually know and can do.
4. The Role of the Teacher Is Expanding
As AI handles more of the informational side of learning, the role of the teacher continues to shift.
Teachers become mentors and guides who help students think critically, ask better questions, and apply what they are learning. They also help students navigate the responsible use of technology.
This moment does not reduce the need for teachers. It increases it.
Final Thought
AI is changing education, but it does not change the purpose of education.
Schools still exist to form students who think, grow, and live with wisdom and responsibility.
The question is not whether AI will be used. It already is.
The question is whether schools will use it in a way that supports real learning.
I appreciate the point that Chat GpT isn’t new as far as progress goes and how it effects education. It’s so true how radio was a beginning of tech in public use. It seems perhaps back then as each new invention was publicly “normalized”, there was a delayed bridge as to when schools chose to introduce the invention to the organized learning experience.
Chat GpT is so unique because, as mentioned, students already knew how to use it even before most average adults knew how. So in this case the search engine on steroids took the educational system by surprise since it wasn’t known on a school approved initiative plan as past things, thus creating almost a panic.. “ what do we do with this?”.
Also to Jared’s point the more things can be worked on in the classroom, the more an educator can oversee the conditions under which the practice/ assesment is supposed to be taking place. A flipped classroom mentality so to speak.. watch content and take notes at home ( so much easier in the long run for everyone), then apply the knowledge and clarify questions at school when the teacher is there to guide. Less double activity planning for teachers too.
Overall… yes! … it’s just a tool. Thank you! It really does need to be integrated somehow if students are to be competent as they age. I laughed to myself at the thought… what if the education system still had not integrated computers into the learning system. Everyone would still be using card catalogs in the library and taking 3 times as long to do assignments.
The advantage of each new invention is that the information of God’s creation and our application of it, can actually be obtained quicker. Thus with impactful teachers, that which students are actually being asked to do for projects should be able to have even more voice, choice, and agency to practice using the brilliant minds God has given them and do some really cool things that will assist students in being more competent to thrive where God has placed them at this time in history.