Podcast: Before Schools Write the AI Policy, Should They Have a Conversation First?

Only about one in three students say their school has a school-wide AI policy, yet students across the country are already using AI to complete assignments, study for exams, and make decisions about their daily lives. Aleta Margolis, founder and president of the Center for Inspired Teaching, has spent three decades coaching teachers to ask better questions and listen more carefully to students. She argues in a recent EdSurge piece that the policy conversation cannot come first: the human conversation has to.

What the Classroom Conversation Looks Like Right Now

Margolis describes a growing dynamic in schools where teachers are using AI to generate assignments and students are using AI to complete them, raising a deeper question about what teachers and students are actually there to do together. She says co-creating AI guidelines with students, rather than handing down a list of rules, puts everyone on the same team and draws on knowledge that young people already have.

When the Policy Gap Comes Home

A new NPR and Ipsos poll found that 54 percent of teachers worry AI is hurting students’ critical thinking skills, and nearly three in four believe its impact will be larger than the internet or computers. Sarah McKibben, editor-in-chief of EdSurge and the parent of two middle schoolers, is watching that tension play out at her own kitchen table. She sees both the genuine promise of AI as a learning tool and the corners students are cutting when no one has taught them what responsible use actually looks like.

Stories Mentioned in This Episode

What to Do About AI: Begin by Talking About It by Aleta Margolis

NPR / Ipsos Poll: Teachers on AI and Critical Thinking

RAND American Youth Panel: AI Policy Survey

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