“We didn’t ban calculators. We taught math differently. We didn’t ban the internet. We taught research differently. So why are we trying to ban AI instead of doing the same?” We’ve been here before. I was a young teacher when the internet showed up in classrooms in the 90s. Educators panicked. Teachers worried it would make students lazy, that it would only be used for cheating, and that memorizing facts and dates would go out the window. They were right. Sort of. The internet did change things. But it didn’t destroy learning. It made us rethink what was worth teaching and how we wanted to spend instructional time. It pushed us away from memorizing trivia and toward analyzing, questioning, creating, and connecting. The same thing happened with calculators decades before. There was real fear that students would lose the ability to compute. But what actually happened was that students stopped getting stuck in multi-digit calculations and started spending more time doing real math. They m...
"Bridging worlds with words, we turn tough ideas into something every student can get. Join me in exploring how we make the complex feel like second nature, one student at a time." When teachers aim to make learning more accessible, they often find themselves having to explain ideas and new terms in a way that connects with students. The goal is not to simplify the content but to help students understand complex concepts by gradually moving from everyday language to academic terminology. This thoughtful approach prioritizes depth, over simplicity ensuring that students fully grasp basic concepts before diving into complex topics. It’s more of an art than a science to transform academic ideas into something concrete and accessible. What does that look like for you? Recently, I was exploring ways to help younger students understand the concept of volume. I’ve completed this task many times over the years and it can sometimes pose a challenge or require extra work. This time, ...