Rebecca Winthrop

There's a group of schools that I have not visited and I don't know up close, but alpha schools. are doing this. They do. And they've been doing it for 10 years, actually, pre-Gen AI. They do a couple hours of sort of adaptive learning on key academic subjects.

There's a group of schools that I have not visited and I don't know up close, but alpha schools. are doing this. They do. And they've been doing it for 10 years, actually, pre-Gen AI. They do a couple hours of sort of adaptive learning on key academic subjects.

And then the rest of the time, kids are working together to build bridges or learn about financial literacy or play sports or identify a passion that they want to go learn about in their community. It's together. It's alone. What we don't want to do is bring AI in and have every kid sitting in front of a

And then the rest of the time, kids are working together to build bridges or learn about financial literacy or play sports or identify a passion that they want to go learn about in their community. It's together. It's alone. What we don't want to do is bring AI in and have every kid sitting in front of a

AI tutor alone at their desk for eight hours a day, that's not the future that is going to help our kids.

AI tutor alone at their desk for eight hours a day, that's not the future that is going to help our kids.

The role of the teacher in traditional public schools is damn near impossible, honestly. They have to master a certain subject. They have to get kids to grade level and And usually we have a wide difference of grade levels in school between three and four different grade levels.

The role of the teacher in traditional public schools is damn near impossible, honestly. They have to master a certain subject. They have to get kids to grade level and And usually we have a wide difference of grade levels in school between three and four different grade levels.

So they've got to differentiate and figure out who needs what, the bored kid who's the passenger, the struggling kid who's also the passenger, both of them silent and quiet and you don't even know. And they've got to manage classroom dynamics. Like kids have to not, you know, hit each other or disrupt each other or ruin the furniture. And they have to increasingly be social workers.

So they've got to differentiate and figure out who needs what, the bored kid who's the passenger, the struggling kid who's also the passenger, both of them silent and quiet and you don't even know. And they've got to manage classroom dynamics. Like kids have to not, you know, hit each other or disrupt each other or ruin the furniture. And they have to increasingly be social workers.

Kids are not doing well, lots of mental health problems. They've got to spot that, they've got to help it. They also have to be relationship managers. They've got to work with parents, et cetera. So it's very hard for one teacher to do this all. Absolutely, I think the wave of the future is a different model where you have multiple people and one of those could be an AI tutor.

Kids are not doing well, lots of mental health problems. They've got to spot that, they've got to help it. They also have to be relationship managers. They've got to work with parents, et cetera. So it's very hard for one teacher to do this all. Absolutely, I think the wave of the future is a different model where you have multiple people and one of those could be an AI tutor.

helping support our kids' growth and development. The interaction with AI can help with skill development, knowledge acquisition, but that is one slice of what happens in a classroom, and it is one slice of what it really means for kids to be educated. Kids are learning all sorts of things. They're learning how to self-regulate emotions in a group.

helping support our kids' growth and development. The interaction with AI can help with skill development, knowledge acquisition, but that is one slice of what happens in a classroom, and it is one slice of what it really means for kids to be educated. Kids are learning all sorts of things. They're learning how to self-regulate emotions in a group.

They're learning how to understand different perspectives from kids who are different from themselves. They're learning how to ask for help when they need it. There's a whole bunch of things that kids are learning that is much more person-to-person that we want to maintain, I would argue.

They're learning how to understand different perspectives from kids who are different from themselves. They're learning how to ask for help when they need it. There's a whole bunch of things that kids are learning that is much more person-to-person that we want to maintain, I would argue.

I agree with you 100%. It was a massive uncontrolled experiment and our kids were the guinea pigs. We just had a wait and see approach. We cannot take a wait and see approach again. And I think that there's lots of lessons. I would say, first off, do not use generative AI Unless you really know what you're using it for.

I agree with you 100%. It was a massive uncontrolled experiment and our kids were the guinea pigs. We just had a wait and see approach. We cannot take a wait and see approach again. And I think that there's lots of lessons. I would say, first off, do not use generative AI Unless you really know what you're using it for.

There is a real sense of FOMO among educators, parents, young people even, that there's this thing happening out there and I should use it because it's the newest thing. I saw that with groups who were working on student well-being. And they had done teacher training around well-being curriculum for teachers. And they said, oh, we need to train parents how to do it.

There is a real sense of FOMO among educators, parents, young people even, that there's this thing happening out there and I should use it because it's the newest thing. I saw that with groups who were working on student well-being. And they had done teacher training around well-being curriculum for teachers. And they said, oh, we need to train parents how to do it.