Start the Year Ready

This is the conversation we can’t escape.

If you’ve stepped foot in a school’s teachers’ lounge in the last few years, you’ve probably heard the words cheating and AI mentioned more than a handful—perhaps a hundred—times. Not without reason. Generative AI has dramatically changed the landscape of education at every level. Teachers are grappling with this seismic shift while trying to keep up with a job that is already overwhelming.

While I share these concerns, I want to pose a different perspective:  let’s shift our attention—and our invaluable energy—away from cheating and toward missed learning opportunities.

Ask a student to memorize a formula, and AI can do it faster. But ask them to apply it to a real-world problem, and that’s where the future of rigor lies.

Imagine this: Your students burst into class, eager to tackle the day's challenges. They collaborate. Celebrate. Create. It’s the ideal classroom. And it’s not just a dream — it’s a reality you can have when you bring gamification into your teaching.