AI Is Destroying My High School Education and Critical Thinking

I’m a High Schooler. AI Is Demolishing My Education.

Artificial intelligence tools have become a constant presence in classrooms, changing how students interact with their studies. As a senior at a public high school in New York, I see these tools everywhere. I usually avoid using them the way many of my peers do, but escaping their influence feels impossible.

For example, during a lesson on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, I noticed a classmate quietly pull out their laptop, highlight the entire chapter, and paste it into ChatGPT. Within moments, the AI generated annotations that were then used for class discussions and submitted to our teacher. What should have been a thoughtful conversation about slavery and resilience turned into a shallow exchange of AI-produced summaries.

In Algebra II, after homework was handed out, another student snapped a photo of the worksheet and uploaded it to ChatGPT. The AI quickly generated step-by-step solutions and graphs, which my classmate used as their own work. This wasn’t just cheating—it revealed how normalized these shortcuts have become.

Homework deadlines used to create a shared sense of urgency among students. We’d joke about racing against the clock at 11:57 p.m., pushing ourselves to finish on time. Those moments, though stressful, bonded us through a common challenge. Now, AI softens the consequences of procrastination and many students avoid engaging with their assignments altogether.

This shift has weakened the student community and the drive to sharpen our own thinking. Fewer students feel urgency or the need to develop discipline through challenging work and deadlines. Instead, chatbots promise to handle tasks instantly, stripping away the lessons that come from struggle and focus.

What Educators Can Do

• Reconsider Assignments: Design tasks that require personal reflection or unique insights AI can’t easily replicate.
• Encourage Process Over Product: Focus on how students arrive at answers, not just the final response.
• Promote Critical Thinking: Use open-ended questions that push students to analyze and evaluate, not just summarize.
• Leverage AI as a Tool: Teach students to use AI responsibly—for brainstorming or exploring ideas—not as a shortcut.
• Adjust Deadlines and Collaboration: Create opportunities for peer interaction and timed in-class work to maintain engagement.

AI is reshaping student habits, but educators can reshape how AI fits into learning. To explore practical strategies and courses on integrating AI responsibly in education, visit Complete AI Training - Courses for Education Professionals.