Mission & Academics Blog
Starting a Conversation: How Classical Education and AI Can Coexist
Anyone who knows me well knows that I enjoy technology and love to give new tech a try - experimenting, evaluating, and, basically, just tinkering with it. I still remember my first laptop, my first iPad, and my first smartphone - I loved playing with all of these innovations and seeing how they might be used. Then, along came ChatGPT, and while I did find ways to use it, I recognized right away that it presents some real challenges in the field of education. Of course, there is the issue of integrity - will students use it in the wrong ways and hand in work that is not theirs? This is a matter of character, and yes, it happens. It is a huge temptation, and young people are still growing and developing their character. Then, there is the issue of cognitive outsourcing. As teachers, we know that whoever does the thinking gets the learning. We don’t want to hand over the effortful retrieval of information and the thinking about connections, deeper meaning, and possibilities to artificial intelligence, and watch our students become increasingly passive.
Yet, we all know that AI is here to stay - it will be ever-present in the lives of our young people. So, what is the solution? How does AI fit into the classical curriculum we love and recognize as the key to human flourishing for our children? How do we counter the concerns around cognitive outsourcing? We know that a strong, knowledge-rich curriculum, such as we offer at Brookfield Academy, is an important first step. It is a great start. But there is so much more to consider.
So, can Artificial Intelligence and Classical Education coexist? Well, a teacher here on campus shared a new book with me, and I am so excited to dig into it and want to invite others to do the same. It is called Timeless Learning: Raising Thinkers with Classical Education and AI. I think this is an intriguing and hopeful text. It starts with an essay by Dorothy Sayers, written in 1947. This essay was a key document behind the founding of Brookfield Academy. New teachers are provided with a copy every year. Sayers describes the ancient formula of the Trivium: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric, the foundation for a truly classical approach to teaching. From there, the text promises to show how we can remain steeped in the trivium even in our new AI world.
I plan to offer discussions of the book, Timeless Learning: Raising Thinkers with Classical Education and AI, for both teachers and parents in the fall. No doubt this topic will require a great deal of conversation among all of our stakeholders. It is important and worthy of our attention. We always strive to be intentional in our approach to instruction. With that in mind, we must read and learn as much as possible. Grab a copy of this text for the summer, and join the conversation in September.
I plan to offer discussions of the book, Timeless Learning: Raising Thinkers with Classical Education and AI, for both teachers and parents in the fall. No doubt this topic will require a great deal of conversation among all of our stakeholders. It is important and worthy of our attention. We always strive to be intentional in our approach to instruction. With that in mind, we must read and learn as much as possible. Grab a copy of this text for the summer, and join the conversation in September.
