Is anybody else following the AI Alpha School story? I posted about it awhile back, and the results are getting better and better.
At some point, this becomes the cheaper way to educate many kids. And then public school will just be daycare for those who need it.
https://x.com/angusdav/status/2023536903899807977?s=46&t=txNpec1eNyou9AfJmaNxDw
More than anything this is what prevents me from recommending teaching as a career for young people. I just don't think our current model of education will be sustained. I think the days of teaching as a government backed career are numbered and those that remain in that format will become caretakers of 100 student classrooms that are just people in front of computers. All the parents who give a crap will remove their kids into alternative education settings which will be the new job model for educators but the stability of the career will vanish. I'm not even saying it will be all bad, (obviously the testing data indicated we aren't currently winning) but the massive lack of certainty makes me really hesitate to say, "yeah go get your ed degree" to any student. It will also be devastating to my particular field, music as you can't learn music through a computer and band/choir/orchestra are collaborative activities that are very expensive. The taxation model of current ed makes being in music possible for any students within reason. It will be a luxury for the wealthy as public schools decline.
The article makes it sound amazing. Unfortunately, I could not afford $833 a month per child in my family to offer this as an option for my own kids. That is a lot of money. I agree that personalized learning is better. I agree that 2,5 hours a day on academic instruction is more than enough time and that there is much more to be learned and experienced through real world experiences and life skills. Making this a reality for the general public is something that I can’t even imagine making happen. It would require a huge shift. It would mean that teachers would be nothing more than babysitters, dramatically reducing teaching as a profession. I imagine that if this were to happen in public elementary schools, there would be a massive need for aftercare programs to working parents with child care. It would mean that most people would not choose this as a job, as child care jobs are extremely low paying. It sounds great for all who can afford it. For everyone else, it presents huge challenges.
Human interaction is better than “personalized learning”, especially if the latter is coming from a technology that is prone to just making stuff up.
Isaac Asimov’s short story “The Fun They Had” is always good for conversation about computer vs in-person learning.
Isn’t it crazy? I mean, did anyone here think teachers would be one of the first professions to be replaced by AI? I’m pretty pissed off about if I’m being honest.