I’m just coming off a stretch where I had over 60 juniors writing 10-12 page research papers. I’ve scheduled conferences in class and after school and during duty periods. I’ve given comments via Google docs, sent suggestions for sources, paired kids up with others writing about the same thing.
I’ve been preoccupied, lost sleep and have turned down family invitations. Most followed the time table I established, but about 5 of the kids who got behind, chose to have AI compose a chunk of the final product.
Demoralizing, to say the least. Those 5 have occupied so much of my attention that I’m just spent.
I’m old enough to remember Ted Sizer and of course, he was right. It is the sheer # of kids. I love the work and want to do it well, but adding AI detection and negotiation to my list of responsibilities just seems utterly untenable.
I’m very anti-AI to grade essays. As a public school teacher with over 100 students, I just started doing in-class writing conferences in lieu of the 15-hour weekend grading sessions.
This reflection/prophetic call needs to be shared widely. You are making a powerful argument for returning -- or taking up, finally -- to the true mission of teaching. Denying our young the ability to use their imaginations is what so much of our education system focuses upon. Art: music, theater, poetry -- we are created "in the image and likeness of God", and we must be helped to grow into our fullness. That process depends on our creative energies -- the best use of our imaginations.
Zach, I want to say "Bravo" to you for not using A.I. to grade student writing. As a fourth grade teacher, I wanted my students to learn how to write, both grammatically and expressively. That's a big process and if it's done properly, you will wind up reading lots of writing and both editing and commenting on it. When I gave back papers, I would have the kids leave their desks and we formed a circle of chairs which I labeled "the Algonquin Table," after the famous writers group in New York. The children had to read their comments, then put their papers under their charirss, and tell the group what they would do in the second draft of their paper. It was a process and did it result in better writing. Of course it did, but it was tons of work. And I still made time for my kids and wife espeically on the weekends. You must be an incredible teacher.
Thanks so much for the note, Sandy. And that "Algonquin Table" sounds wonderful, and a terrific idea for getting students to engage with commentary from another human being. (Too often we teachers can feel we're writing into the void.)
Thank you, Teacher/Poet, for responding to "artificial intelligence" with genuine intelligence. If AI writes, and AI reads, where are the human beings reading and writing? The true hope in all this technophilial madness is the teacher.
I’m just coming off a stretch where I had over 60 juniors writing 10-12 page research papers. I’ve scheduled conferences in class and after school and during duty periods. I’ve given comments via Google docs, sent suggestions for sources, paired kids up with others writing about the same thing.
I’ve been preoccupied, lost sleep and have turned down family invitations. Most followed the time table I established, but about 5 of the kids who got behind, chose to have AI compose a chunk of the final product.
Demoralizing, to say the least. Those 5 have occupied so much of my attention that I’m just spent.
I’m old enough to remember Ted Sizer and of course, he was right. It is the sheer # of kids. I love the work and want to do it well, but adding AI detection and negotiation to my list of responsibilities just seems utterly untenable.
I’m very anti-AI to grade essays. As a public school teacher with over 100 students, I just started doing in-class writing conferences in lieu of the 15-hour weekend grading sessions.
This reflection/prophetic call needs to be shared widely. You are making a powerful argument for returning -- or taking up, finally -- to the true mission of teaching. Denying our young the ability to use their imaginations is what so much of our education system focuses upon. Art: music, theater, poetry -- we are created "in the image and likeness of God", and we must be helped to grow into our fullness. That process depends on our creative energies -- the best use of our imaginations.
Thank you, Father Brown! And your own witness as teacher and artist has been a model for me--and for countless others. Appreciate you.
Zach, I want to say "Bravo" to you for not using A.I. to grade student writing. As a fourth grade teacher, I wanted my students to learn how to write, both grammatically and expressively. That's a big process and if it's done properly, you will wind up reading lots of writing and both editing and commenting on it. When I gave back papers, I would have the kids leave their desks and we formed a circle of chairs which I labeled "the Algonquin Table," after the famous writers group in New York. The children had to read their comments, then put their papers under their charirss, and tell the group what they would do in the second draft of their paper. It was a process and did it result in better writing. Of course it did, but it was tons of work. And I still made time for my kids and wife espeically on the weekends. You must be an incredible teacher.
Thanks so much for the note, Sandy. And that "Algonquin Table" sounds wonderful, and a terrific idea for getting students to engage with commentary from another human being. (Too often we teachers can feel we're writing into the void.)
Thank you. I loved doing it, but I never learned to 'love' marking writing and writing commentary. Boy, did that take time!!! As you know.
Please let me know if you'd ever be interested in contributing to https://theimportantwork.substack.com/
Very much so, Jane! And thanks for thinking of me.
Thank you, Teacher/Poet, for responding to "artificial intelligence" with genuine intelligence. If AI writes, and AI reads, where are the human beings reading and writing? The true hope in all this technophilial madness is the teacher.
So true! We’d all just be pretending to “do school” without learning anything
Yes this is a great idea. Brisk Teaching is great for this. You can actually get the students to do it and discuss the results.