AIBU Government should be investing in Science teachers before teaching them about AI

[ElfAndSafetyBored]

Just watching the BBC News item about millions being put into teaching kids AI (I paraphrase).

I know AI is going to change things. I’m urging my children to think about that as they begin to think about careers.

But I think AI is turning us into a nation of dummies (using it to write job applications or project ideas at work).

But there are barely any science teachers in our area (SE London) - is that only us? Surely making sure kids have a good grounding in basic science is more important?

It won’t let me add a poll for some reason.

I agree with you.

But promoting and teaching about AI is far easier than trying to convince people to become science teachers in a broken system.

I'd say not just science, but "tech" and manual skills too! We need to properly plan for future workforce needs (for once, we've never done it before in recent history!). That means thinking of things that AI can't do. We currently have a massive shortage in manual tradesmen, car mechanics, and other manual skills, even hair & beauty, and they're the things that AI will struggle with in the short term. Computer-based office jobs and "serving" such as shops and cafes/bars etc will more quickly be taken over by automation. People will need "things" doing such as personal care, repairs to home and car, hobbies, etc., which is where people with "skills" will soon become more in demand. We need to beef up the "skills" training in schools, update science and tech labs, improve woodwork and metalwork teaching so that it's fit for the new World and the kids are taught more than to make a wooden fish and metal trowel! Integrate science and tech more - make the whole thing more of a "hands on" subject rather than an academic subject.

"Teaching" AI will probably end up like the crap "teaching" of computing in schools. The kids will probably know more about it that the teachers. We've had decades to "teach" computing and it's still crap due to lack of specialist teachers, lack of modern equipment, and the fact that kids have already taught themselves from a very young age just by doing it and googling it!

It’s not one or the other, both can be done at the same time so YABU.

The curriculum is already behind the times when it comes to AI and students will miss out because of that. We should have been teaching AI in schools years ago.

How could we have taught AI years ago? I know teachers get blamed for everything but this one is ridiculous!

Of course they can but my point is they are not. My children’s school is failing at science because they can’t get science teachers. My kids have sub after sub. The school are barely putting any kids into triple science, despite having 8 forms in a year. Very few doing double higher either.

I’m saying science first, AI second.

Also, basic AI for all in with the existing Computing classes (practical uses, how and when to use it, pitfalls, how it affects careers); more advanced AI at A level for those interested.

How are we supposed to ‘teach’ something that is bleeding edge technology? With what training and what resources?

Also given AI’s propensity to make shit up and then deny that it did it, perhaps the only thing we should be teaching is ‘don’t trust it’.

I'd love to keep AI out of schools as much as possible tbh

I agree OP. DH is a science teacher. He's rethinking his career right now because he's tried coming back to the UK state system and when he could actually find somewhere that would pay him what he ought to get on the payscale instead of favouring NQTs, they piled on so much bullshit that they've forced him out after a year.

We wouldn't have a teaching retention crisis if: a) experienced teachers were given a fair chance against NQTs in hiring decisions (budget issue; schools can't afford the experienced teachers they need) and b) there were enough experienced teachers to share the TLR workload and c) academy trusts stopped inventing more tick-box crap to pile on teachers.

Some examples of stupid things that have added to DH's workload this year:

• The academy trust deciding all mock and practice exams have to be double marked so every teacher regularly has twice the marking they should have, meaning DH is regularly working until 11pm 5 days a week and about 8-10 additional hours at the weekend to keep on top of it all as well as his own work.
• The timetable being completely changed 3 times so far this year with another change imminent so DH doesn't have the same classes to teach and has to start all over again with his short-term and mid-term planning.
• Parents evenings announced to everyone (teachers and parents) at the last minute, where it's a Hunger Games fight for parents to actually get a slot, meaning DH has to then arrange separate meetings in his own time with the parents who didn't get a slot who he really needs to talk to about their kids.
• As a TLR holder, being given deadlines, meeting those deadlines, then "leadership" changing the goalposts at the last minute and telling him he missed the deadlines because the work he did didn't meet the new criteria that he wasn't psychic and couldn't have magically guessed.

Of the 8 people in his department at the start of the year, 2 are left and 1 is staying on to next year. The others just walked into other jobs (teaching and non-teaching) over the course of the year. Last year, he was at a private school where he worked 8am until 6pm every day of the week then about 2-3 hours at the weekend, which was much more manageable than the 6:30am to 11pm he's working here with an additional 5-10 hours at the weekend. If he was a single parent he would be absolutely screwed. I'm a former science teacher, too, and there are lots of schools that aren't like this, but there are also too many schools like this and not enough schools who care about their staff enough to keep them.

The government needs to fund all these payrises they keep mandating, and schools need to sort their shit out to recruit and retain teachers, but I suppose it's easier for the government to tell them to just timetable some time every week where the kids get a doss lesson pissing around with Chat GPT while a cover supervisor sits at the front checking their emails.

@VeryTeachingProblems

im really sorry to hear your husband’s experience. It sound depressingly familiar to what teachers at my children’s school are going through.

I don’t blame him for looking to move out but I hope he finds a way to stay in his chosen profession as the kids need him.