In the ever-expanding world of the Internet, it should have been no surprise to anybody that artificial intelligence (AI) would eventually make its way into the hands of the common people. This development has raised some concerns when it comes to education, with students being put on blast for any use of AI, regardless of the intention or level of use.
However, students are far from the only members of the education system who have participated in the use of AI. Despite students being blamed for the development of AI in schools, teachers have contributed just as much to this development as students. Websites like Snorkl and Quizlet’s AI (Q-Chat), which have become staples in student learning over the past year, are only two examples of the growing use of AI by teachers.
“Any new technology poses challenges and opportunities. We can’t hide our heads in the sand and pretend that it doesn’t exist. Instead, I think we need to figure out how to enhance learning and help our students navigate its use,” said Mr. T.J. Gillespie, AP Literature and Composition teacher at North Penn High School.
“I think that AI is here to stay, and will only get more advanced, so schools should embrace it,” said Mrs. Brittany Atkiss, North Penn’s World Language Department Chair.
These tools seem useful on the surface, but problems can arise when teachers begin to blindly trust them. While AI can be used to help with the comprehension of topics, it is important to remember that students need to learn from a human being first and foremost, especially human beings who trained for years to teach these topics.
The results of a survey presented by Ms. Wendy Stover and Mr. Michael Botti at the February 4th, 2025, North Penn ECI meeting found that there had been a significant increase in AI use by teachers at all levels of North Penn’s education system. In Fall 2023, 40% of NPSD teachers from all grade levels used AI in some capacity, and in Fall 2024 that number rose to 70% of NPSD teachers.
Despite the evidence of its growing use with teachers, should educators continue to ban AI for their students completely? That all depends on the teacher’s personal standards of AI and how they approach its use in their classrooms.
“I think [students] will find ways to use [AI] regardless. So I think it is incumbent upon teachers and administrators to acknowledge that it exists, that students will use it, and that we need to help them know its advantages and dangers,” Gillespie said.
“I think there needs to be a balance…I obviously want students to be able to read, write, and speak Spanish without the use of AI,”Atkiss said. “I think as AI progresses, I will really need to look at my lessons and see how I can use AI to enhance students’ experience while still holding them accountable to do the work with their own brain power.”
The majority of arguments surrounding teacher AI use stem from the mindset of ‘if I can’t do it, why should they be able to?’ While this mindset normally sets a dangerous standard of a lack of empathy, it might have some merit in this context. Some find it hypocritical that an educator could spend a large amount of time emphasizing the negative aspects of AI use to their students, and then turn around and use it themselves. Others, however, believe there is a difference between someone who is learning the content using AI versus someone who already knows it.
“Teachers, and adults in general, have access to all kinds of privileges that aren’t afforded to young people,” Gillespie said. “I don’t think AI is a fundamental human right but rather a potential prerequisite that can be used in certain circumstances when expectations are clear.”
“I have personally used AI to help me make worksheets and quiz questions,” Atkiss explained. “I always modify them to fit what we specifically learned in class but having that AI tool saves me so much time.”
It’s no secret that students tend to use AI to cheat on assignments or cut corners in their learning. This flaw in education was responded to quickly by districts, who have long since blocked AI websites like ChatGPT on school computers or have begun to implement AI detectors on online assignments, such as Turnitin.
However, in an attempt to mitigate cheating via these chatbots, these AI detectors, which are artificial intelligence themselves, have also complicated teachers’ reliance on AI to help oversee student performance and academic integrity. Multiple accounts of false reports have shown that AI detectors often fail to report AI use accurately. More often than not, these detectors have been known to give false positives, which can be detrimental to a student’s career if falsely accused.
“I don’t rely on AI detectors. They are too unreliable on both sides of the equation. There may be false positives just as they may pass over clearly computer-generated passages,” said Gillespie.
“[Do I] rely on AI? No. Computers make mistakes…I have become very good at knowing what my individual students are able to produce versus what a computer can,” said Atkiss. “I set my expectations on what the student’s level is and not what AI can produce.”
As tempting as it is to wish to return to a world where AI didn’t exist because it changes education, doing so is akin to wishing computers weren’t used in education because of the advantages they give modern-day students. Education, if it is to be a reflection of the modern world, must continue to adapt to the changing times. Trying to prevent teachers from using AI will be no more successful than trying to prevent students from using it.
However, it is important that standards are set on both ends of the education system, and ensure that AI is used as a balanced tool by both students and teachers alike. In a world where teachers are constantly forced to keep up with students’ methods of cutting corners, trying to stop them from using the same tools will only hurt both teaching and student learning. So, should teachers use AI? There is no concrete answer, but there is a concrete question teachers should ask themselves before using it: “How can AI help my students, and how can I help my students?”
