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To me this nostalgia is pointless. AI is here and it's good enough only going to get better. The classroom should be about using AI better not ignoring it. But

To me this nostalgia is pointless. AI is here and it's good enough only going to get better. The classroom should be about using AI better not ignoring it. But that would require the teacher to be good at AI too. I think that's the problem here.

SirHumphrey 6mo ago
Just because an AI can craft a decent Japanese text doesn’t mean I can. Just because AI can write x86 assembly also doesn’t mean I can. You don’t give first graders a calculator because they will always have one in their pocket- they end up just inputting numbers in a magic box and not learning how to do this manually which will destroy their future mathematical education. It’s about the same with AI.
- tim-projects 6mo ago
  Here is a good video I watched just yesterday on how to integrate AI into a writing and thinking process. AI is not a gun that you can't put into the hands of a child. It's a paint brush. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbHB-rzKBAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbHB-rzKBAs
cafebabbe 6mo ago
Seems like you're equating 'education' with 'employability training'.
medbar 6mo ago
> The classroom should be about using AI better not ignoring it. No, it shouldn’t. I’m not bearish on AI but it shouldn’t replace any part of a classroom where the objective is to learn and communicate in a new language (German). The typewriter argument is memorable and interesting - the article points out the lack of editing forces kids to slow down and think about their writing, as well as iterate through multiple drafts. It’s not a nostalgia thing, they’re not old enough to have ever used one before. I could see an argument for adding on a new class for GenAI, agents, context engineering or what have you, but considering how behind current US curriculums already are and how quickly the AI field moves, I can only see this ending in wasted time and money: even an up to date class will be stale by the time it’s over. Kids will end up learning this anyway outside of the classroom, no use lecturing them on something they’ll already know.
- tim-projects 6mo ago
  I completely disagree with you. You can do all the same learning with AI tools, with the added benefit of developing extra skills on top. This notion that AI automatically reduces learning seems more born out of fear than reality. There are also different kinds of learning. People who really want to can still go back to typewriters. Forcing it into a mandatory curriculum though is a step backwards. Just like it would have been pre AI.

SirHumphrey 6mo ago

Just because an AI can craft a decent Japanese text doesn’t mean I can. Just because AI can write x86 assembly also doesn’t mean I can. You don’t give first graders a calculator because they will always have one in their pocket- they end up just inputting numbers in a magic box and not learning how to do this manually which will destroy their future mathematical education. It’s about the same with AI.

tim-projects 6mo ago
Here is a good video I watched just yesterday on how to integrate AI into a writing and thinking process. AI is not a gun that you can't put into the hands of a child. It's a paint brush. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbHB-rzKBAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbHB-rzKBAs

cafebabbe 6mo ago

Seems like you're equating 'education' with 'employability training'.

medbar 6mo ago

> The classroom should be about using AI better not ignoring it. No, it shouldn’t. I’m not bearish on AI but it shouldn’t replace any part of a classroom where the objective is to learn and communicate in a new language (German). The typewriter argument is memorable and interesting - the article points out the lack of editing forces kids to slow down and think about their writing, as well as iterate through multiple drafts. It’s not a nostalgia thing, they’re not old enough to have ever used one before. I could see an argument for adding on a new class for GenAI, agents, context engineering or what have you, but considering how behind current US curriculums already are and how quickly the AI field moves, I can only see this ending in wasted time and money: even an up to date class will be stale by the time it’s over. Kids will end up learning this anyway outside of the classroom, no use lecturing them on something they’ll already know.

tim-projects 6mo ago
I completely disagree with you. You can do all the same learning with AI tools, with the added benefit of developing extra skills on top. This notion that AI automatically reduces learning seems more born out of fear than reality. There are also different kinds of learning. People who really want to can still go back to typewriters. Forcing it into a mandatory curriculum though is a step backwards. Just like it would have been pre AI.