AI-Proofing Our Children

In a recent essay for The Times on AI and education, Sir Anthony Seldon explored what separates human beings from machines driven by sophisticated artificial intelligence.

He identified what he called ‘seven core facets of humanity’:

• Curiosity
• Agency
• Consciousness
• Awe and wonder
• Love and empathy
• Apprehension of the Divine
• Family and belonging

So, what questions do we need to ask ourselves as we start to address these ‘facets’ in our classrooms? Where do we start as we come to terms with Ian Gilbert’s famous and prescient question – Why do I need a teacher when I’ve got Google?.

As a start, here are some provocations complete with suggested reading from across our Independent Thinking Associate family to help you answer these questions:

Curiosity

How are you tapping into children’s innate desire to learn, to ask questions, to discover for themselves, to explore, to make mistakes, pick themselves and continue? How are you celebrating the learning of new skills and new knowledge?

Suggested reading:

Oops! Helping Children Learn Accidentally by Hywel Roberts

A Curriculum of Hope by Dr Debra Kidd

Agency

How are you giving children and young people ‘a sense of control’ (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow: The Psychology of Happiness) over their learning and their lives? How are they participating authentically and visibly in the life of the school? How are you helping them develop intrinsic motivation, that they are learning what they need for their own lives and futures?

Suggested reading:

Essential Motivation in the Classroom by Ian Gilbert

Forget School by Martin Illingworth

Consciousness

How are you helping young people ‘grow into their own skin’ as it were, to develop what the great Brazilian educator Paulo Freire referred to ‘conscientização’. How are you helping them learn about the world around them, the forces that impact that world, the others they share that world with and their place and potential in that world?

Suggested reading:

The Fascist Painting by Phil Beadle

The Working Class edited Ian Gilbert

Awe and Wonder

How are you creating opportunities for children and young people to be moved, to be dumbstruck, to be amazed? What emotive and inspiring experiences are you offering, both within and beyond the curriculum, that will stay in their minds, long after their school days have ended?

Suggested reading:

A Cabinet of Curiosities: The Little Book of Awe and Wonder by Dr Matthew McFall

Dirty Teaching: A Beginner’s Guide to learning Outdoors by Juliet Robertson

Love and Empathy

In a world that seems increasingly self-centred, how are you developing and demonstrating values such as kindness, respect and love in all members of the school community? Are you modelling ‘unconditional positive regard’ toward all your children and young people, even those who are presenting the most challenging behaviours?

Suggested reading:

The Kindness Principle by Dave Whitaker

The Little Book of Big Stuff About the Brain by Dr Andrew Curran

Apprehension of the Divine

How are you helping children and young people feel part of something bigger than they are? Whether it is through religion of any denomination or moments of spirituality and transcendence, how are you helping then tap into that part of us that is both uniquely human yet beyond humanity too?

A Moon on the Water by Roy Leighton

The Little Book of Values by Julie Rees

Family and Belonging

How are you ensuring every child and young person feels like they belong in your school? What are you doing to make them feel welcome, safe, valued and loved? How are you practising the idea that belonging comes before behaviour and not the other way around? And how are you helping your families and the wider community be part of your work too?

Suggested reading:

Independent Thinking on Restorative Practice by Mark Finnis

The Best Job in the World by Vic Goddard

There are many answers to Ian's famous Google question but it really depends what sort of teacher you are – or are allowed to be.

For us, a teacher that brings his or her humanity into the classroom is one that will be difficult to replace, no matter how good the AI becomes.

In this way, that teacher helps children and young people retain and develop what makes them worth more than the machines as they enter a world that will be unlike the one we entered not that long ago. [ITL]

To purchase any of the books mentioned above, use the code 'ITL20' at checkout to receive 20% discount and free UK p+p.

And to book any of the Associates mentioned to help your school or organisation as it comes to terms with the challenges and opportunities of the AI revolution, simply email us or call us on 01267 211432.

A human being will get back to you reassuringly quickly!