AI and the Future of K-12

By Contributing Writer on November 8, 2024

November 8, 2024

AI and the Future of K-12

By Bruce D. Price

Lit4u.com

AI tackles the big issue: “Explain the decline of our public schools.”

Dear reader, this article will serve two purposes: to bring you up to speed on AI; and to illuminate why we have so many problems in K-12.

X, Elon Musk’s platform, has an AI function called Grok. I asked this question: “Explain the decline of our public schools.”

The answer, as you’ll see, is remarkable for being surprisingly fast, without typos or obvious mistakes. (I have not changed a syllable.) The average A-student is probably in or beyond college before being able to do this level of work. And that human would have to engage in hours or days of research.

As the nominal author, all I had to do was twiddle my thumbs for 50 SECONDS!

The first thing to realize is that search speeds.have increased hugely since you got your first computer. AI requires lots of searching done very quickly. But finally the AI depends on what it encounters out there in the digital world. I have to report that Grok did, in fact, find almost all the talking points you would probably find after a day of research. I am frankly very impressed by the high quality of this article.

But here’s a fascinating detail, which shows you the limitations of AI. I am a harsh critic of the Education Establishment. I constantly try to make people aware of all the reasons why everything’s going to hell. (I say the schools are bad because the hard left, for almost a century, has tried to weaken America by weakening the schools.) Charlotte Iserbyt wrote a famous book 30 years ago called “The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America,” with much the same thesis. But the AI did not find Iserbyt, me, or similar. That’s because the professors at Harvard try to hide things they don’t want the world to know about. There is no suggestion in the AI article that the people in charge of education may be the real problem.

Explain the decline of our public schools.

GROK: The decline of public schools in the United States, as observed through various reports and public sentiment, can be attributed to a combination of demographic shifts, educational policies, societal changes, and economic factors:

Demographic Changes: There’s been a notable decline in public school enrollment, partly due to falling birth rates. This trend has been exacerbated by the shift towards alternative education options like homeschooling, private schools, or charter schools. For instance, the share of children enrolled in public schools has decreased, while private school enrollment has seen an increase. This shift might reflect broader societal changes where parents seek alternatives due to dissatisfaction with public education or for ideological reasons.
Educational Policies and Funding: The increase in federal education spending without corresponding improvements in educational outcomes has led to criticism of how public education is managed. Critics argue that the Department of Education, established relatively recently in 1979, might have contributed to bureaucratic inefficiencies rather than educational improvements. Funding cuts, especially in light of declining enrollment, have led to school closures and fewer resources per student, which impacts the quality of education.
Teacher Morale and Workforce Issues: There’s a significant issue with teacher retention. Teachers are leaving the profession due to increased expectations without adequate support, less creative freedom, and challenges in managing classroom behavior due to inadequate staffing for student needs. High-stakes testing regimes also contribute to teacher burnout, focusing education on test preparation rather than comprehensive learning.
Curriculum and Educational Focus: Public sentiment, as reflected in posts on X, indicates a shift in what schools teach. There’s a perception that traditional education (reading, writing, arithmetic) is being sidelined for other subjects or ideological indoctrination, which has led to dissatisfaction among parents and educators who prefer a more classical education model.
Societal and Cultural Shifts: The rise of remote work and changes in community structures have impacted how families view public education. The sense of community around schools has diminished, with parents feeling less connected or invested in public schools, partly due to the individualistic lifestyles and the economic necessity for both parents to work, reducing involvement in school activities.
Political and Ideological Battles: There’s increasing contention over what should be taught in schools, including debates over curriculum content related to race, gender, and other social issues. This has led to laws aiming to give parents more control over curriculum or to ban certain topics, which in turn, affects teacher autonomy and the educational environment.
Economic Factors: The economic pressures on families, including the rising cost of living, might push parents towards educational options they perceive as offering better value or alignment with their values, even if it means moving away from public schools

The decline in public schools, therefore, isn’t just about one factor but a confluence of demographic trends, policy failures, cultural shifts, and economic pressures. This multifaceted issue requires a comprehensive approach, involving policy reform, community engagement, and possibly a reevaluation of how public education is structured and funded to adapt to modern societal needs and expectations. —END OF GROK’S ANSWER

You can imagine how AI will play havoc with what teachers can ask of their students. AI enables plagiarism on steroids. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Grok did not mention Charlotte Iserbyt or me. That’s because professors at Harvard, like the liberal media, are always trying to ignore any perspectives they don’t want the world to hear.

Here’s why that’s somewhat good news. (I’m not being ironic, but brutally realistic.) Students will have to study their subjects carefully so they don’t reveal the extent of their plagiarism. In other words, if students hand in perfect work, they will immediately be suspect. A teacher can ask, well, what does this sentence mean? Students who rely on AI or any other kind of plagiarism will be in a constant state of anxiety as they try not to be too perfect. Possibly our schools will learn to utilize this anxiety in a constructive way. What worries me is how much cheating is already in the schools. The administrators don’t seem to care. But they are very concerned with high graduation rates, even if the students know very little. So the schools will be tempted to indulge the use of AI.

I suspect, if a school is serious, it will need to have an Honor Code. If you sign your name to something, you are saying you created it.

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Bruce Deitrick Price is the author of Saving K-12, which explains the problems in our public schools. His podcast is called Let’s Fix Education. His novels are described on his literary site, Lit4u.com.