Why We’re Teaching Kids to Write with AI, Not in Spite of It
A teacher recently went viral for saying she’s quitting education because of ChatGPT.
She blamed tech for making students lazy, said AI was destroying comprehension and critical thinking, and called for classrooms to go tech-free until college.
We’ve got a different take.
Here at Nerd Academy, we’re not running from AI, we’re leaning in.
Tech Isn’t the Problem. Our Relationship With It Is.
Let’s be real: yes, some students do use ChatGPT to take shortcuts. But AI didn’t invent the desire to avoid hard work. That’s been around since “copy off your friend’s homework” was a thing.
The issue isn’t the tool, it’s how it’s taught.
We’re not handing students a magic answer machine. We’re teaching them how to think with AI, not just type to it. How to question it. Revise with it. Reflect on their voice compared to the machine’s.
That’s not cheating. That’s metacognition. That’s digital literacy. That’s real-world prep.
We’re Teaching Kids to Amplify, Not Replace
At Nerd Academy, we’re helping students:
- Use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, not copy essays
- Compare their writing to AI responses to strengthen their voice
- Learn how to prompt, analyze, revise, and own their thinking
- See AI as an extension of their brain, not a substitute for effort
Instead of asking “Is this AI-generated?”, we ask, “Did the student think through what the AI gave them? Did they shape it? Did they grow from it?”
Cutting Tech Won’t Solve the Real Problem
Banning tech from the classroom until college won’t build better thinkers. It’ll build tech-illiterate adults who are unprepared for a world that runs on tools like AI.
It’s like saying no calculators until adulthood, no Google until senior year, no tools until you “earn” them.
- We don’t ban books because kids might plagiarize.
- We don’t ban pencils because kids might doodle.
- We don’t ban fire because it might burn.
We teach safety. Teach limits. Teach power.
AI Didn’t Break the System. It Exposed It.
The truth is, if students are turning in essays they didn’t write, or struggling to answer simple prompts, the problem isn’t new. It’s just visible now.
Tech didn’t cause the cracks. It just made them too obvious to ignore.
At Nerd Academy, we’re here to fix those cracks, not run from them.
Final Word
We’re not afraid of the future. We’re preparing kids for it.
We believe students should:
- Think critically
- Write with clarity
- Own their ideas
- And learn how to collaborate—with humans and with machines
If that makes us rebels in the age of resignation? So be it.
We’re not quitting. We’re building.
And AI isn’t the villain. Apathy is.
Want to schedule a tour or see how our students are learning with AI?
Let’s talk. You’ve never met nerds like this.