Will My Childrens AI Teachers Have the Patience My Teachers Never Had?

Based on the prediction that, in the near future, we will have AI doctors, let’s imagine a world where our children teachers’ will have real psychological training as a default.

Author Dom Galeon, recently published an article about AIs exploring space on their own. This extrapolation is based on “Father of Deep Learning” forecast, that AIs will become better doctors than humans.

Naturally, this transition will take a while. But hey, if humanity survives until then, I want to stretch this extrapolation to a very sensitive topic: education. And how could it change if all children had AI teachers.

Duolingo chat bots are doing a pretty good job already at learning foreign languages. Sure, plenty of room for improvement. But a good step forward, nonetheless.

Now, in my mind there is a very, extremely clear distinction between education and learning stuff. Sadly, most of the world educational systems are centered around memorizing. And reproducing a form of piled up knowledge that seems totally useless in the real world. Real world = world that happens outside classrooms.

In the event of people feeling the need to disagree with me, I will do the mature thing and add an argument to the authority. To reinforce my own views. For those of you considering education is doing its job, please watch this, painfully relatable, TED talk, held by Sir Ken Robinson: https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en

If you still feel the need to contradict me, afterwards, watch the sequel. And the prequel. If, after that, you still feel the need to contradict me, please, by all means, do so. It must mean that I really have to hear another side of the story. And, that can only be constructive.

Until then, I will carry on from the presumption that education is centered around memorizing. I call it learning stuff. It’s like, instead of me applying the very basic Python programming skills I have, I am only contempt to add to my vocabulary some fancy terms such as “encapsulation”, “inheritance”, “polymorphism”. That does not mean I learned Python. Or Oop.

(Side-note: please do not make the point of the article the debate of, whether or not, Python is an Oop language).

Yet, somehow, in the legislation of each country, the educational ideal seems to be the correct one. And go beyond job-holding adults. It is desirable, at the end of all scholastic endeavors, to have responsible, problem-solving, creative, innovative individuals. In good health. Who know to make plans for a better world for the following 50 years. At the very least.

So, what is the problem(s) with a system that spends 12 to 18 years of one’s life, acquiring little to no marketable knowledge?

First one, and probably the most disconcerting, is the fact that the measurement of a good student is standardized. It applies the same evaluation criteria for all children. Regardless of how different they all are. Knowledge is being passed on from fairly inflexible curricula.

More often than not, subjects presented are outdated and completely dislodged from concrete applicability. Sometimes information is so poorly structured, that the age and the background of the students are totally incompatible. Imagine the frustration from trying to learn quantum physics when there was insufficient time to go through mechanical physics first. That is, assuming you are physics-ly inclined to begin with.

Second one. Tender topic. Is the performance of the teachers. And, again, here we have multiple causes. For one, the fact that there simply aren’t enough teachers for so many kids. The existing ones, are not sufficiently well-paid. Thus their selection process becomes less rigorous.

That aside, or maybe despite of it, here is another thing that happens. Granted, this is based only on me&my own small universe of experiences.

Maybe, I was under a strange karma, but throughout my developing as a student, aside from all issues listed above, the one I still can’t wrap my head around, was the teacher’s egos. And their unwillingness to accept different opinions than theirs’. Their inflexibility. They had a single interpretation of the subject they were teaching. I had to present that exactly, replicated, view to get a good grade. No discussions about it. And absolutely no patience for anything that might not be done their way. Their egos, and, demands from a servile attitude from my colleagues and me, made the entire process even more dislikable.

All of my friends and acquaintances have similar stories. This teaching style has nothing to do with external, uncontrollable factors. It is an absurd manifestation of my teachers’ ego. And lack of professionalism on their side. Of course, there were exceptions to this model. “Exceptions” being the key-word. Because of it I have major authority issues now. Most of my friends too.

So, let’s recap. We have inflexible, outdated, lacking in practical appliance curricula, with standard tests for all children, often from impatient teachers who don’t have the time or the will to acknowledge the importance of their jobs. On the one hand. And exhausted, confused, with a sense of not belonging, low self-esteem, debt-owning, unable to hire themselves, sometimes conflictual, frustrated, graduating students. If they do graduate and don’t become so discouraged during school time that they are already engaged in small illegal activities. On the other hand.

Dare we imagine something different?

What if all teachers have the training to work with each and every child, until they find their true strengths? And guide them in that direction. From the very first day of school. Then encourage and keep track on them until they evolve and diversify their strengths. What if all teachers have enough patience and holistic knowledge to apply theoretical models to real-life problems? Imagine going to school every day and play your favorite game. A game you are actually good at, as it was crafted for you to engage with your colleagues. And stimulate talents you are naturally inclined to. Would you want to miss a single hour from that?

Finally, what if all teachers could hold professional therapy sessions for community violence, victimizations, disasters, separation anxiety, etc.? An AI teacher will always find ways to treat, encourage and stimulate. That’s its only occupation.

Think anything will change if every child has a sense of purpose? A sense of self-worth? A sense of contributing to the greater good of a world they are part of? Can you imagine if all the ego loosing around the world now, that most often than not, results in conflicted disputes, is channeled creatively since childhood?

Can you imagine a kid with a difficult situation at home being guided to manifest their anger into achieving sport performances, for instance? Their teachers would hold professional therapy sessions. As many as it takes. Find solutions together. And channel the anger into the appropriate, kid-specific activities. Such that, at school finish line, the end-result is a well-balanced, confident, highly-achieving individual. One who isn’t afraid of different opinions than theirs. One who is capable of challenging their own views of the world. One who can critically analyze problems and information thrown at them.

Until differences between students become untapped creativity pools. Until children know, not only that they can dream a better world. But that, their dreams WILL become realities.

We will have musicians, philosophers, engineers, mathematicians, wood-carving, gardeners, shoe-designing, pie-baking, street-drawing, polyglot translators, advanced physics professionals by the age of 10. Happy little 10 years old professionals. Proud 10 years old professionals. Daring, creative, problem-solving 10 years old professionals.

Can school become a place for disciplines to interconnect, share breakthroughs and blur field boundaries? Can going to school become something kids just can’t wait for? Can it make their eyes sparkle with joy and anticipation?

Think, maybe, humanity will stand a change and give history a new course? One that hasn’t repeated itself so far?

But, before we reach this phase of enlightenment, let me ask you this. Do you really think that all the dick measuring* going around the world these days is, even remotely, aspiring to modify the educational system at a planetary level? One that would make an impact on the global socio-economical structures and the environmental ecosystem we are all part of?

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —-[dick measuring] = [placeholder for whatever privileges, goods, services one possesses that makes one’s ego feel more entitled than the next person’s]