Like Sex Ed: If Schools Don’t Teach AI, Students Will Learn It the Wrong Way

 

Teachers are not afraid of AI because they hate technology. They are afraid because they care. They worry about cheating. They worry about plagiarism. They worry that students will stop thinking and start copying. These fears make sense. Anyone who has spent time in a classroom knows how hard it already is to keep learning honest and meaningful.

But pretending AI does not exist will not protect schools. It will only make the problem worse.

Right now, students are already using AI. They are using it at home, on their phones, and late at night when no one is watching. They are learning how to use it from friends, social media, and trial and error. School, which should be the safest place to learn new tools, is often the last place where AI is talked about clearly.

This reminds me of how schools used to handle sex education. When schools avoided it, kids did not stop learning about sex. They just learned about it somewhere else, without guidance. The same thing is happening with AI. If schools stay silent, students will still use it. They will just use it badly.

One big question we should be asking is simple: why are we not teaching prompt writing in schools? If AI is going to be part of our world, then knowing how to talk to it is a basic skill. We teach students how to write emails, how to search online, and how to use calculators. Teaching them how to give clear instructions to AI should not be any different.

Of course, this does not mean letting AI run wild in the classroom. It means setting clear rules. It means talking about what is okay and what is not. It means showing students how to use AI as a helper, not a replacement for thinking.

To do that, schools also need to change how they assess learning. Let’s be honest. The traditional essay is in trouble. If a student can ask a machine to write a five-paragraph essay in seconds, then that assignment no longer tells us what the student knows.

That does not mean writing is dead. It means writing needs backup. Imagine asking a student to explain their essay out loud. Imagine asking them how they prompted the AI. Imagine asking them where the AI might be wrong. Did it miss something? Did it just repeat ideas it already believed? Was it a victim of confirmation bias?

These kinds of questions are powerful. They force students to think. They turn AI into something to challenge, not something to hide behind.

Another truth we need to face is paperwork. Schools are drowning in it. Teachers fill out forms. Students fill out worksheets. Hours are spent grading, copying, and checking boxes. This paperwork steals time from learning and teaching.

AI could help with that. It could help draft feedback, organize notes, and handle routine tasks. When paperwork goes down, thinking goes up. Teachers get more time to teach. Students get more time to learn.

At the heart of school are two big jobs. Schools create knowledge. Schools prepare people for work. Right now, both jobs are harder than they need to be because of outdated systems and endless busywork.

AI will not fix everything. But refusing to use it guarantees we fall further behind.

The goal is not to defend old methods at all costs. The goal is to help students grow in a world that is changing fast. That means guiding them, not scaring them. Teaching them, not banning tools they already use.

If schools lead the way on AI, instead of hiding from it, students will be better thinkers, better questioners, and better prepared for what comes next. That is not something to fear. That is something worth teaching.

 

About Me:

Dominic “Doc” Ligot is one of the leading voices in AI in the Philippines. Doc has been extensively cited in local and global media outlets including The Economist, South China Morning Post, Washington Post, and Agence France Presse. His award-winning work has been recognized and published by prestigious organizations such as NASA, Data.org, Digital Public Goods Alliance, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF.

If you need guidance or training in maximizing AI for your career or business, reach out to Doc via https://docligot.com.

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