It's Breathtaking How Fast AI Is Screwing Up the Education System
It's Breathtaking How Fast AI Is Screwing Up the Education System
Thanks to a new breed of chatbots, American stupidity is escalating at an advanced pace.
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NGL, it’s really f*cking depressing when you give students 30m to create something of their own imagination, and they do it in the first minute with chatGPT and spend the other 29m playing games the phone and asking to “go to the bathroom” whenever they notice someone in the hallway.
The excuses you hear when you do something so oppressive as to request they keep their phones in their own backpacks for the duration of the task.
Ngl. I bought a signal jammer for my wife to use in her classroom (after all, it said “for educational purposes only”) and the kids could never figure out why the signal sucked so bad in her classroom during class times. She never got caught using it and never had to worry about them being on their phones.
If there was an emergency, people would just call the front office and they could always reach her on the land line in the classroom.
(after all, it said “for educational purposes only”)
The FCC hates this one simple trick
Violating federal laws is awesome, everyone should do it.
If it’s good enough for the President! /s
"Removed by mod" haha
Fuck YES (says a middle school teacher)
I was uninterested in school because nothing was ever done to make me interested, even at home.
Later in life I was diagnosed with ADHD and now I’m a software developer. Sadly school isn’t for everybody and I just thought I was stupid and lazy, it turns out I was fine I just needed the right help.
Edit: Votes don’t matter but I’d love to know the reasoning for the 5 downvotes on this. Like why don’t you put across your opposition.
The “evan at home” part is 100% more important than the school part. Making sure your kid gets educated at school is a parent’s job.
100%, but sadly many people, myself included didn’t get that and actively grew up in terrible environments.
I guess that’s what happens when you mum is 18 when you’re born. You’re being raised by a kid that didn’t make the best choices and the cycle continues. Although I don’t and won’t have children.
This is why school should be empowered to do more as that place is literally the only place you’re learning how to be a person and get ready for life.
I saw my dad beat my mum up. Been in the house when he tried to drive the car into the house but got stuck in the privits.
I’ve seen my mum attack my dad with a frying pan and witness my tea be dunked on her head. Or my dad go to prison for drunk driving.
Spent my entire pre high school childhood sat in the back of a car as my mum would berate the different men in her life, to her best friend.
Spent the following years seeing my mum psychologically bully my dad and he would be sat down stairs crying at night.
Is it little wonder that when people grow up like this and with ADHD that they might be hard to reach in school and that they are withdrawn.
I want to say that life’s hard and I don’t blame my family for the shit I grew up because they were young and not ready for life themselves as they had shit lives too. We were fed, went on holidays, and were richer than most of my council estate (I grew up there too) friends, but we didn’t get stability, love, or encouragement which is sad.
Like this is the tip of the iceberg of what shit I’ve seen growing up or some of the fucked up shit they dragged me into, being the eldest. I have two younger brothers and we are all fucked up in different ways but I’m by far the worst (as society would say) in every metric like wages, progress in life etc.
Edit: Looking introspectively I am thinking I’ve got unresolved issues for all this shit to just come out my finger tips on Lemmy 😂
Edit: Reflecting on this a little more, it’s annoying when people like dude I replied to say it’s the parents job. Like no shit dude, but what do you do when the parent fails the child, just leave it at that and say to the kid sorry mate, but it’s your mums fault but good luck in life. It’s the same kind of thing where people say the parents should feed the child so the school doesn’t have to, this just leaves hungry fucking kids.
You, uh, might want to talk to someone a little more qualified than anonymous people on Lemmy.
Yeah I’m not really here for therapy, just needed to get that out I guess.
Clearly I do need to talk to someone, but that’s a scary thing and not cheap.
You are correct on both accounts.
Sending you good vibes and money for therapy (only half of the last sentence is true).
Good vibes is what makes life bearable so I appreciate those my friend.
I had great, loving parents who tried their best to get me interested in my education. It didn't matter. ADHD meant I was never going to be a good student.
One proposed Florida law I actually agree with is: phones off during school - all of school, including between classes and recess. Possible exception for lunchtime. Definite exception for when the teacher is specifically using the phones as a fully engaged teaching tool, which should be no more than 20% of overall classroom time, but definitely could be used as a way to "grab attention."
I get wanting to be able to track little Ginny and make sure she got to school O.K. and know when to go meet the bus to pick her up.
There should definitely be "Cybersafety" education in our schools, and the phone as a teaching tool definitely makes sense there.
Having AI write the first draft of your assignment can be a good lesson too, but the remaining 28 minutes should be spent understanding and refining what the AI has given you.
Can't you just make them turn off the computers/phones and do it by hand?
This gives me flashbacks. I had to take Java exams with pen and paper. They took 6+ hours. The reason? Not enough computers for everyone and our teacher wasn't willing to make 2 different exams, like every other fucking teacher does.
When I need them to, I do, but then suddenly everyone starts needing to go to the bathroom way more frequently.
If your school is not supporting teachers with a cell phone policy you should try to find another place to teach and tell them exactly why when you leave.
Edit: this is also something your union should be pushing for. I'm surprised parents haven't demanded it.
I don’t care that much. I live on an island and most of my “students” are actually just tourists pretending they’re there for educational purposes.
It's really fucking depressing
Well yes, and it’s a tourism based economy, which means I usually don’t have to deal with any particular group for longer than a few weeks. Some groups are loads of fun and don’t have any problems with their phones. It usually just depends on which part of wherever they’re coming from, and how life is like for them back home.
You gave them a task, they used their imagination to apply it, in a different way than you expected, by using a new tool which is a non traditional method you asked for but the task still got completed. They still loosely completed the task 30 times ahead of schedule by using their imagination on how to constructively solve your problem, utilizing a tool in their imaginary bag.
I don't think it's wrecking the system as long as the LLMs could be trained and ensure strict accuracy (yes I know they can be inaccurate but again so is any tool in its infancy), the system fails people everyday as a whole. I think it's changing the traditional paradigm. Maybe for the better, maybe not. Time will tell. I think ChatGPT is a tool in its infancy. It's changing the way minds think fundamentally like for isntance critical thinking skills decline by relying on "AI" but it frees up the mind to grow in other ways to adjust to the new paradigm.
I think the true point here is fear from breaking traditional values. Humans have never accelerated faster with current technology thats with or without LLM usage.
Holy fuck, we are so cooked.
This is such a concavebrained take. The point of exercises handed out in schools isn't the accomplishment of the set tasks; it's that students internalise the processes necessary to do the task themselves and thereby learn those skills.
Thus, giving away a task to a LLM is only "using their imagination on how to constructively solve [the] problem, utilising a tool in their imaginary bag" in the same way that bullying a nerd into doing the work for them used to be.
I think it's changing the traditional paradigm. Maybe for the better, maybe not. Time will tell. I think ChatGPT is a tool in its infancy. It's changing the way minds think fundamentally like for isntance critical thinking skills decline by relying on "AI" but it frees up the mind to grow in other ways to adjust to the new paradigm.
This is so obviously for the worse. Losing the ability to think critically isn't "freeing up the mind to grow in other ways:" basic critical thought is a foundational prerequisite to fully developing as a person capable of participating in society in the current age in much the same way as basic literacy is. It's limiting the mind from growing in any meaningful way.
And don't get it twisted, you're just saying this shit to be contrarian. I doubt you actually believe this development could be a good thing. Like come the fuck on, let's say in ten years' time you get into some kinda accident and need surgery. There is no way you'd would want your surgeon to be someone who 'did' most of their assessments in med school with a fucking chatbot. Who are you kidding???
You’re not wrong, but the difference is that they came up with a creative solution to avoid the task, not a creative solution to engage the task. If I ask them follow up questions to explain their thoughts and reasoning behind their own work, I get deer in the headlights.
Now, I think the tide is rising with AI and it’s sink or swim if you’re a teacher, so it’s better to just learn what AI is and how to leverage it no matter what people think of it, or if I’m even getting paid for my effort.
A different approach I’m considering is embracing AI for teenage groups and changing the format of the course entirely so there’s more interaction (incorporating AI) than production. I’ll be the first at my school to do it, but I’m also the only person there who could tell you what the fediverse is.
Now I get that 100 percent. Avoiding the task makes total sense, especially coming from students of all ages. I absolutely think critical thinking skills are foundational to understanding and knowledge and need to be practiced, learned so much more than they are.
I think rather than free range use of LLMs or any other tool there needs to be some guidance. I don't think clogging the system with dumb laws will do it, and I certainly don't have all the answers. But with the usage of GPT if it can be made explicitly accurate within reason, one can gain knowledge at an accelerated rate due to the speed it can process vast data.
Its awesome to see teachers, educators trying to evolve and improve the learning experience which we desperately need. So thanks for putting in the extra effort whether your rewarded or not financially. The real people the got failed, or generally care thank you for your efforts!
Thanks. It’s motivating to hear that.
Educators are the future for us all. Knowledge and how to apply it is everything even more so the faster humanity accelerates.
I think it sucks your care and compassion isn't financially rewarded from a school level but the effort, care, and value of going the extra mile always gets noticed/remembered and should be rightfully encouraged and appreciated. Respect.
*We all know these hellion kids are a handful to deal with 😂
Dunno Yeah I disagree with AI. I grew up without phones but they should not be used in schools.
I actually sometimes as my students to use their phones to produce presentations and such (AI permitted). I just think the rule needs to be no phones in sight otherwise, and the phone stays if you go to the bathroom.
Right on. Your opinion is better than mine. I’m not a school teacher.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say my opinion is better than anyone else’s, it just an experience that suits the context of the life I’m living now. There are definitely schools out there where the learning culture probably couldn’t handle it.
Is there not a way to plan the assignment so that it's not doable in 1m with ChatGPT?
• Require students to cite their sources
• Require students to show their working
• Ask students questions related to the process of a given task during class
• For things like media analysis, require them to do it with a pencil and paper without the use of computers where possible
• Treat the use of LLMs as an act of academic plagiarism
All of these are things that schools should already be doing holy shit
Yes, this absolutely. It should have always been like this but there is no other option now with AI.
Only thing I disagree with is using LLMs - if anything they should make that mandatory now because it's going to be totally integrated in the future and they're going to need to get used to using it. BUT grading should be 1000% more stringent on getting facts right and specifically looking for things that LLMs get wrong.
AND all that to say - using your list and other methods to show student knowledge/undertanding should avoid any possibility of being able to complete a task with AI alone.
It’s possible, but it takes time and effort to prepare, and I’m not getting paid at home, so I’m reluctant to do it.
You could offer the students a choice: no AI and a 5 slide presentation, or allow AI but with a 15 slide presentation, then let them decide. AI makes work more efficient for us, so if we can be 3x more productive, I should expect 3x more product.
I taught an ESL group once. One of the girls, around 15-17, plastered a bunch of ChatGPT text on the slide and sat the whole period on her phone. When it was her group’s turn, she quickly realized the position she put herself in as she was now in at the front of the class trying to sound out a wall of high-level English words she’d never heard before. I gave her the standard score because, even though she failed the task, she tried really hard to read out all those difficult words and I thought that was probably more work than anyone else had done.
I gave her the standard score because, even though she failed the task, she tried really hard to read out all those difficult words and I thought that was probably more work than anyone else had done.
That is a tragic indictment on the state of your class. You are failing your students by refusing to give them failing marks for this shit.
I think she learned the lesson on her own on that one. No need to rub salt on the wound.
Furthermore, at their level, they already assume that they’re hopeless. I don’t want to reinforce that idea and discourage them from reproaching the subject later on. We’re talking about a lower vs mid elementary proficiency rating here, so no one’s life is changing.
I don't understand how you are not paid for planning time. Without providing that the school just makes their teachers glorified babysitters.
Yep. I totally agree. Hopefully I’ll find a school that does pay me for planning time eventually,
Because school is boring, that's why.
Most people don't need to learn beyond the fourth grade, especially because calculators and now GPT exist for instant answers.
And I say this as someone who wasted his time all the way up to a Master's degree just to show society I too followed the beaten path. It's time I'll never get back.
Good god, if you went through an entire education and don't realize how fucked of a take that is I don't know what to say. Go try again at a different school maybe?
It's not a take, it's how children (and adults, frankly) feel about school. It's not great at making you a capable adult.
Do you know how useful my two diplomas were to get a job? Nothing. Zero. Zilch. None of the theories I learned were useful, neither on the job nor for their own sake.
As for middle school, exactly what did you learn that you think is so useful for daily life? I'd happily replace learning "how to discover x in n dimensions" with basic financial literacy, for example.
The latter years of the school system are quite literally a waste of time. The useful stuff you learn before high school.
As for middle school, exactly what did you learn that you think is so useful for daily life?
Off the top of my head: basic biology so I'm not dumb enough to be antivax. History subjects that require more than elementary maturity so maybe we can avoid another Holocaust. Enough physics, ecology and chemistry that I can comprehend how climate change is happening. How basic statistics work so I'm not completely lost when someone throws around misleading data.
None of that is automatic from a 4th grade education and is crucial to be a functioning citizen. Learning to take unquestioned GPT answers is not a substitute for actually learning any of those.
You either went to a painfully bad pipeline of schools or were too dumb to recognize the important parts.
Holy shit, thank you, finally someone in this thread is still living in the same reality as I am.
I've been to 7 different schools and the answer is horrible pipe lines. But the true answer isn't so black and white. It'd largely dependant on area, class, state and local Govts. School fails people everyday, the govt and its systems fail people everyday, medical fails people everyday etc. Systems are not perfect they just allowed humans to organize. Subsequently also disorganize too by adding too many layers.
You're right, I was too hyperbolic when I said 4th grade was enough. Biology was indeed useful and so was history. Likewise, learning a second language from 5th grade was crucial for the conversation we're having right now.
Still, I'd put the usefulness "cut off" point at 9th grade or so.
On a side note, I know people who did the whole of university with me who today are anti-vaxers. I know IT BSc graduates who think Trump totally isn't yet another fascist dictator, and I know a doctor who believes name brand ivermectin cures cancer.
Turns out more education isn't necessarily related to coming out the other side of the pipeline not being any of the things you mentioned. It's maddening.
It took all of school to help me realize what kind of person I wanted to be, and more importantly, what kind of person I didn’t. It seems it had the same effect for you, albeit a much different outcome. I changed my major two times and was in university a couple years longer than most. It was wasteful for sure, but it directed me down the path that eventually led me to my current career and meeting the wonderful woman who became my wife. My studies don’t really apply to anything I do, but I know they’ve enriched me as a human being.
Just because you didn’t find a use for math in your life doesn’t mean nobody else does either.