Let’s be honest: schools love shiny things. We’ve been through the smartboard phase, the iPad carts, the edtech du jour.
And now? It’s artificial intelligence. Big, bold, and barreling straight into K–12 classrooms.
Districts across the country are diving in, some cautiously, others like it’s Black Friday at Best Buy. RAND says that by fall, about three-quarters of districts will have handed out some kind of AI training to teachers. Though “training” might be generous. In a lot of places, it’s more like: “Here’s a webinar link. Good luck.”
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The White House, seeing the writing on the digital chalkboard, has jumped in too. New executive orders are promising teacher development, student exposure, federal funding, even a national AI talent pipeline. Career prep. Competency contests. Public-private partnerships. It all sounds promising, on paper.
But out in the real world? It’s messy. There aren’t enough qualified people to train teachers yet. There aren’t even consistent best practices. One district leader told RAND, “People are claiming they have best practices… and they’re making money hand over fist.” You can practically hear the PowerPoint slides printing themselves.
Meanwhile, kids are already using AI. They’re asking ChatGPT to rewrite Shakespearean monologues in Gen Z slang, solving algebra problems with a chatbot, or yes copying their homework.
And teachers? We’re left to untangle what’s “cheating,” what’s “innovative,” and what’s just plain confusing.
Now imagine layering that chaos onto a kindergarten classroom. That’s where this is heading. AI across all grade levels, all subjects. It’s part promise, part panic.
Of course, there are real benefits. Imagine a tired teacher getting help drafting lesson plans. Or a student who struggles with reading finding an AI tool that explains things in kid-friendly language. There’s potential here. Big potential.
But there’s pushback too. From teachers. From parents. From the part of our brains that says, “We just got through a pandemic, and now you want my second grader writing prompts for a robot?”
We’ve also got screen fatigue to wrestle with. A lot of districts are trying to get phones out of classrooms, now we’re inviting in an AI? The tension is real.
And then there’s the money. Expect the floodgates to open. Tech giants, startups, and every edtech platform with a pulse are lining up for contracts. Microsoft. Google. OpenAI. Smaller players with slick demos and vague outcomes. Some states will go all in. Others will hold their breath and wait.
Here’s the thing: AI in schools isn’t a question of if. It’s happening. But the question we should be asking is how we guide it with integrity, with equity, and with a solid understanding of how kids actually learn.
Because when the robots are here to stay, the real job of a teacher doesn’t change: helping students become thinkers, not just users.
