I am a parent struggling, really struggling with how we are handling AI in schools. I have an 11th grader and a college sophomore. As a person who totally focused on the grades and protecting the GPA when I was in college, I was initially appalled that students wanted to use AI in class. It's cheating!! But I can't say that now. The questions you raise here are all things I've been thinking, especially as I work in tech and we are actually monitoring employees' AI usage and telling them to "Use it more; it will make you more productive!"
Please continue having this conversation and raising these issues. Education (not just higher ed) will need an overhaul during this age of AI, and I love the measured approach you are taking.
"...why do I have to do this work this way? Why do I need to write this particular paper in this particular form? Why do I need to read this much material if a tool can summarize it? Why do I need to do the first draft alone if I am going to be entering workplaces where AI is increasingly part of the workflow? Why am I being told not to use the tools that the same institution, the same employers, and the same world are telling me are going to matter? Why am I paying this much to be told to pretend the world outside the classroom does not exist inside the classroom?" <---- this part!
Thank you so much Melissa--I appreciate you reading and responding...I think that is a real challenge and bind for higher ed...I'm hoping in the next piece to share some forward looking thoughts on how to find our way through this...but it will continue to be a struggle! Thank you!
I think the struggle is threefold. Students are demanding economic security, employers are demanding job-ready professionals, and universities have struggled to bridge those demands while clearly defining the outcomes they can realistically guarantee.
The challenge is that each group is operating from a different set of desired outcomes. Students want a reliable return on a significant investment, employers want graduates who can contribute immediately, and institutions are trying to balance both expectations while navigating rapid technological and economic change. That gap has only become more visible with AI, which is forcing all three groups to reconsider what education, preparation, and workforce readiness actually mean.
100%! Not only the students, but we ask the faculty (and staff) to buy into this audacious act as well. Million dollar question is how do we change it? All of these systems and institutional processes are so baked in -- they feel impossible to change. (BTW I feel much the same about the topic of high stakes testing in K-12.)
Lance - I cannot argue against the case you make about the compromised value proposition or the inherent opaqueness of HE as a consumer commodity. I agree.
The only other perspective I can offer that justifies the rationale for the cost and uncertainty of the HE investment is that it is one of the safest ways for families to invest in the transition of their children from childhood to "apprentice adulthood," as my father used to call it. How much would you pay to get your kid out of the house, operating semi-independently, living in a relatively safe supervised community, and doing something constructive (whether they learn anything practical or not)? How much different is the cost of feeding, housing, transporting, educating, and mentoring that child into adulthood on your own rather than outsourcing it?
As the parent of two college-age kids, I can attest that there is a certain point where, for my own sanity, I need to GET THE DAMN KIDS OUT OF THE HOUSE and on a pathway to maturity. I want my sanity back from pre-kids days. I want my own life back somewhat to who I was before kids.
How much would I pay for that relief? I can't put a figure on it, but the margin between them NOT going to college and them getting out on their own can be managed against what my personal happiness is worth - not to mention my marriage.
The problem here is that we never acknowledge that college is not necessarily there for education - it's a socially acceptable facility for a life transition to adulthood. What students get out of it intellectually and in financial security is mostly a matter of their own motivation. I do not hold a college responsible for that. It is an opportunity for its enrollees - take it or don't.
Great post and a super analogy! Going deeper, the requirements of how that fit or dream home looks are themselves changing. That complicates the mix.
A once in 5 years curriculum review that lasts a year, it's probably not going to cut it.
I am a parent struggling, really struggling with how we are handling AI in schools. I have an 11th grader and a college sophomore. As a person who totally focused on the grades and protecting the GPA when I was in college, I was initially appalled that students wanted to use AI in class. It's cheating!! But I can't say that now. The questions you raise here are all things I've been thinking, especially as I work in tech and we are actually monitoring employees' AI usage and telling them to "Use it more; it will make you more productive!"
Please continue having this conversation and raising these issues. Education (not just higher ed) will need an overhaul during this age of AI, and I love the measured approach you are taking.
"...why do I have to do this work this way? Why do I need to write this particular paper in this particular form? Why do I need to read this much material if a tool can summarize it? Why do I need to do the first draft alone if I am going to be entering workplaces where AI is increasingly part of the workflow? Why am I being told not to use the tools that the same institution, the same employers, and the same world are telling me are going to matter? Why am I paying this much to be told to pretend the world outside the classroom does not exist inside the classroom?" <---- this part!
Thank you so much Melissa--I appreciate you reading and responding...I think that is a real challenge and bind for higher ed...I'm hoping in the next piece to share some forward looking thoughts on how to find our way through this...but it will continue to be a struggle! Thank you!
Sums up where we're at without pulling punches--yes, indeed.
Hi Lance,
I think the struggle is threefold. Students are demanding economic security, employers are demanding job-ready professionals, and universities have struggled to bridge those demands while clearly defining the outcomes they can realistically guarantee.
The challenge is that each group is operating from a different set of desired outcomes. Students want a reliable return on a significant investment, employers want graduates who can contribute immediately, and institutions are trying to balance both expectations while navigating rapid technological and economic change. That gap has only become more visible with AI, which is forcing all three groups to reconsider what education, preparation, and workforce readiness actually mean.
100%! Not only the students, but we ask the faculty (and staff) to buy into this audacious act as well. Million dollar question is how do we change it? All of these systems and institutional processes are so baked in -- they feel impossible to change. (BTW I feel much the same about the topic of high stakes testing in K-12.)
Lance - I cannot argue against the case you make about the compromised value proposition or the inherent opaqueness of HE as a consumer commodity. I agree.
The only other perspective I can offer that justifies the rationale for the cost and uncertainty of the HE investment is that it is one of the safest ways for families to invest in the transition of their children from childhood to "apprentice adulthood," as my father used to call it. How much would you pay to get your kid out of the house, operating semi-independently, living in a relatively safe supervised community, and doing something constructive (whether they learn anything practical or not)? How much different is the cost of feeding, housing, transporting, educating, and mentoring that child into adulthood on your own rather than outsourcing it?
As the parent of two college-age kids, I can attest that there is a certain point where, for my own sanity, I need to GET THE DAMN KIDS OUT OF THE HOUSE and on a pathway to maturity. I want my sanity back from pre-kids days. I want my own life back somewhat to who I was before kids.
How much would I pay for that relief? I can't put a figure on it, but the margin between them NOT going to college and them getting out on their own can be managed against what my personal happiness is worth - not to mention my marriage.
The problem here is that we never acknowledge that college is not necessarily there for education - it's a socially acceptable facility for a life transition to adulthood. What students get out of it intellectually and in financial security is mostly a matter of their own motivation. I do not hold a college responsible for that. It is an opportunity for its enrollees - take it or don't.