High School Teacher Shares A Student Worksheet That Shows That Both AI & Lack Of Common Sense Are Becoming Real Issues In Classrooms
Alongside distractions and behavior, this teacher admits there’s bigger problems to address.
Monkey Business Images | Shutterstock Educators have a lot of concerns when it comes to school, but a high school teacher named Will has taken to TikTok with a student issue that he feels isn't getting enough attention — their lack of common sense.
In tandem with growing concerns about students’ usage of AI technologies like ChatGPT, he argued that schools should be much more concerned because this will impact their ability to thrive in the future.
A high school teacher shared a student’s worksheet as evidence that AI and a lack of common sense are becoming real issues.
Will shared one of his student's worksheets that showed the obvious use of AI to create an intricate summary of their classroom reading, which just so happened to include a ChatGPT error message.
“As an AI, I’m not capable of forming personal opinions or evaluations,” the student "wrote" in response to one of the questions. In no uncertain terms, Will stated, “Education is being destroyed… like, at least proofread it.”
“It’s going to get to a point where I’m not going to allow any phones or computers in my classroom at all,” he said.
Despite reworking his assignments to foster engagement, Will said the issues have only grown.
While AI integration in school systems has a number of benefits, there are several consequences that can arise from its misuse.
AI integration can help teachers and students create individualized learning plans, and it can use data to adapt those individualized plans to actual learning behavior, according to a 2022 study on using AI in educational settings.
“Not only are students relying heavily on AI,” Will noted, “they’re not even proofreading what it’s saying. They’re just copying, pasting it, and turning it in. So, what actual learning is taking place?”
Without using common sense to interpret or dig into what generative AI provides, students instead take the answers at face value — sometimes, literally typing out ChatGPT error messages.
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Not only is this hindering students’ educational growth, it’s taking away critical thought from assignments meant to boost brain cognition.
Despite trying to rework his assignments to prioritize creativity and critical thinking, Will said he struggled to truly capture the attention of his students — or, at the very least, motivate them to give assignments their best effort.
From papers to quizzes to worksheets and writing assignments, he blamed AI and lack of common sense for his students' inability to learn and even socialize with each other.
Will's concerns are indicative of a much-needed institutional shift.
While AI might be a relatively new hindrance in classrooms, distractions have always been present. So, what makes today's so much different?
Many argue it’s the technological element. Students are distracted by social media and the internet at school and at home.
With constant access to screen time resulting in poor attention spans and heightened mental illness struggles, many of these students are using AI to compensate for their lack of motivation, which results in decreased critical thinking skills.
Students in underfunded districts especially lack the support they need at school and, in many cases, at home.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories