MacKenzie Price is the founder of 2hr Learning.
I keep running into this false narrative about AI in education that I feel compelled to address. Let me set the record straight: No, robots cannot replace teachers. There is no world where AI alone can be responsible for educating children.
I run schools that use an AI-driven, personalized learning model, and since we opened our first location in 2014, I’ve heard many different versions of this core fear: If you incorporate AI into learning, that means you are taking the teacher out of the classroom. Students will stay glued to screens, with no adult guidance, lose their reasoning abilities and miss out on opportunities to learn from one another.
That is not the way forward, but I understand why people are scared. People are afraid of AI in general. We’re being told that AI will disrupt every industry and big parts of our daily lives, and we don’t know if these changes will be positive or negative.
People are concerned that AI will threaten their jobs and damage our collective ability to “think creatively and form meaningful relationships.”
I’m a parent, as well as an educator and an entrepreneur, and I know that these fears are magnified when it comes to our kids because the stakes are high. We don’t want to get this wrong.
But let’s not let fear lead the way. The goal is not to replace teachers with AI. We will always need highly engaged, qualified educators in our classrooms. The teacher’s role may evolve, but there is no substitute for their ability to transform the life of a child under their mentorship.
Prioritizing Human Connection In The Classroom
Think back to your own education and the teachers who made a difference in your life. What do you remember about them? You may not be able to recall a specific math lecture or essay assignment, but you likely remember teachers who supported you, cared about you and maybe even motivated you to do something you thought you couldn’t do—then cheered you on when you accomplished it.
When we use AI effectively in education, we nurture this type of human connection. AI allows teachers to shift into a supportive, nurturing, mentorship role that seems like a luxury in many schools. But AI makes it possible when it handles the repetitive tasks and bureaucratic work for teachers.
Let’s face it. Teachers in the U.S. are typically underpaid, under-resourced and underappreciated. They have too much to do in a system that doesn’t support them enough. Good teachers are stretched thin, juggling the wide-ranging learning needs of 30 students at a time.
Conversations around edtech often focus on the technology itself, but I think it’s more important to talk about what the technology allows educators and students to do. At its best, AI is an endlessly patient, adaptive teaching aide. It works with students one-on-one to create lessons that fit their individual needs, aptitudes and interests. And it frees up educators’ time to focus on their students in a singularly human way.
This is the role I believe teachers are meant to play: mentoring their students and helping them grow, personally, emotionally, as well as academically. This is what drives many teachers into the profession in the first place.
Leaning In To ‘Good Screen Time’
While robots shouldn’t be teaching kids, parents are right to worry about screen time. Not all screen time is created equal. There’s a huge difference between tech that is designed to hijack kids’ attention and tech that helps kids build skills, curiosity or confidence.
Technology is going to be part of our kids’ lives forever. Hiding it from them isn’t the answer. Teaching them how to use it well is. Kids should understand how AI works, where it’s helpful and where it becomes a shortcut that replaces real thinking. That’s why I always say chatbots can quickly become “cheatbots” in core academics.
In our schools, we’re intentional about using AI tutors to help students with core academics. But the most important part of the day has nothing to do with screens. Educators focus on the human side of learning: communication, leadership, resilience, collaboration, adaptability and mentorship.
Great educators in any learning environment help kids answer a question that needs a human perspective: “Is a screen actually the best tool for this moment?” Sometimes the answer is yes. A lot of times, it’s no.
From my perspective, the future of education isn’t a debate over less technology versus more technology. It’s better judgment around when and how to use it. And last I checked, robot teachers are not known for having the best judgment.
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