Teacher Talk Tuesday

Good Morning Y’all,

Let’s be honest—teaching has become a beast since COVID. The pandemic didn’t create the cracks in our education system; it just widened them. I’ve been a teacher for years, and I can tell you the job had been getting more difficult long before anyone knew what COVID was.

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The endless list of demands on teachers, increasing discipline problems in the classroom, and public disrespect toward educators were already pushing us to the edge. And if I’m being 100% real, I almost threw in the towel. I was ready to walk away from teaching and take a less stressful job—like greeting customers at Walmart. The burden felt too heavy.

Then, in November 2022, something changed. I discovered ChatGPT. Initially, I explored it as a teaching tool for my middle school Technology classes. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that while generative AI is an incredible tool, students—especially middle schoolers—aren’t ready for it. AI is too tempting, and kids today are already doing the bare minimum in terms of classroom work and participation. Giving them access to AI would just reinforce that laziness. No, what students need is to develop essential skills—creativity, research, ethics, and personal development—from kindergarten through 12th grade. AI would only shortcut their growth. They simply can’t handle it yet.

But that doesn’t mean AI has no place in education. Quite the opposite, actually. For teachers, generative AI (like ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, Claude, and Jasper AI just to name a few) is a game changer. It’s like having a personal assistant—a virtual aide that can help us juggle the constant barrage of tasks and responsibilities. And it’s this role, as a tool for teachers, that I believe AI can help us reclaim what we’ve lost: our time, our energy, and our passion for teaching.

Lesson Planning Without the Burnout

One of the biggest time drains for any teacher is lesson planning. Every year, it seems like we’re asked to cover more material in less time, and the pressure to differentiate those lessons for a wide range of student abilities just adds to the stress. ChatGPT, and other AI tools like it, can simplify that process. Instead of spending hours each week crafting lesson plans from scratch, I use AI to brainstorm ideas, refine objectives, and adjust activities for different learning levels. This doesn’t mean AI replaces me—it just assists me. I still maintain control over what’s taught and how it’s presented, but I can do it faster and more efficiently with AI’s help.

Imagine a scenario where you’re staring at a blank screen, trying to figure out how to break down a complex concept into digestible steps for your students. With a quick AI prompt, you have a rough draft that saves you time and stress. Instead of burning out over lesson plans, you’re freed up to focus on what really matters—connecting with your students and making learning engaging.

Differentiating Lessons for Every Learner

AI excels at differentiation. It can take a lesson designed for the general classroom and modify it for advanced learners, struggling students, or those with special needs in seconds. In the past, teachers have spent countless hours making these adjustments manually. With AI, those hours shrink to minutes, allowing us to address the needs of every student without sacrificing our own sanity.

Take special education, for example. Crafting an individualized lesson that fits an IEP (Individualized Education Program) takes time—time most of us don’t have. Generative AI can simplify the process, providing tailored lesson suggestions that align with specific learning goals. Again, the teacher still guides the ship, but the AI makes the journey smoother, faster, and less stressful.

Classroom Management and Parent Communication

Anyone who’s been in education long enough knows that classroom management has changed dramatically in recent years, especially after the pandemic. Students are more distracted, less disciplined, and less motivated than ever. This isn’t just my experience; it’s a problem I hear about from colleagues across the country. While AI can’t solve all behavior issues, it can help create structured management plans and provide quick solutions for common classroom challenges.

And then there’s parent communication. How many times have we had to send the same types of emails—whether it’s behavior updates, grade concerns, or general announcements? With AI, we can create customizable prompts that generate well-written, professional messages to parents in minutes. These aren’t generic, one-size-fits-all messages, either. AI allows us to personalize these communications, saving us time without sacrificing quality.

Gaining Back Energy and Reducing Stress

Time is one thing, but energy? That’s something entirely different. Every teacher knows what it’s like to go home at the end of the day feeling completely drained. The physical exhaustion is bad enough, but the mental and emotional fatigue often hits harder. We’re not just managing classrooms anymore—we’re juggling administrative tasks, dealing with increasing behavioral issues, and navigating a system that seems to demand more from us every day while offering less support.

AI can’t fix the system, but it can help us manage it. By handling the time-consuming, repetitive tasks, AI frees us up to focus on what really matters: teaching. And by reducing the load of “busy work,” it gives us back some of that energy we’ve been running on empty for so long. When you’re not bogged down by paperwork and endless lesson revisions, you’re less stressed, more present, and better able to engage with your students.

Reigniting Our Passion for Teaching

When we entered this profession, most of us weren’t here for the paycheck or the prestige. We were here because we wanted to make a difference. But somewhere along the way, with all the pressures and demands, many of us lost sight of that. Generative AI has given me a way back. By lightening the load and making my daily tasks more manageable, AI has allowed me to reconnect with my “why.”

I didn’t become a teacher to fill out reports or craft differentiated worksheets all night. I became a teacher to inspire students, to spark curiosity, and to help them grow into their potential. Using AI to take care of the day-to-day “crap” (academic term, surely) has allowed me to get back to doing what I love—teaching.

Bottom Line Y’all…

I’ll be clear—AI is not a cure-all for the challenges we face in education today. The problems are bigger than any single tool can solve. But generative AI can be a powerful part of the solution. If we use AI as a personal assistant rather than seeing it as a threat or shortcut for students, it can help us regain control over our time, our energy, and our passion for teaching.

The system may still be broken, but with the right tools, we can navigate it more effectively. AI, when used correctly, can help us cut through the red tape, deal with the mounting demands, and get back to what matters most—teaching with purpose and passion.

Until then, I’ll just say: don’t wait until you’re ready to quit. Don’t wait until teaching drains every ounce of joy from you. Get ahead of the beast by leveraging tools like ChatGPT. Let AI handle the grunt work, and start reclaiming your time, energy, and passion. Because if you’re anything like me, you’ll find that the spark you thought was gone is still there—waiting to be reignited.

Let’s take back our classrooms. Let’s take back our “why.”

~Mitch