On Sunday, June 14th Claus-Peter Roeh gave a talk on the challenges of AI and computer-centered methods for students and educators. Mary Anne Kirkwood has kindly provided her reflections on this talk.
A thoroughly comprehensive talk on the importance of children’s development in ascertaining their own way of knowing through active engagement and application. As Claus-Peter demonstrated by walking us through the early to middle school years as a Waldorf educator, Know for yourself should be aligned right next to the axiom, Know thyself. And Claus-Peter showed us just how the AI-fostered way of educating fails to do this, across the board.
Unlike what we have in the USA, forward-thinking countries like Sweden and Denmark tried the screen centered and supported education approach which claimed to promote individualized learning in early education, only to discover the drawbacks and severe consequences before making a complete turnaround. Back to the proverbial drawing board, and perhaps in every sense of the term: Human to human is what’s still very much needed. Lessons learned, but would we listen here in the USA?
A thoroughly engaging talk on a very important subject–whether one is familiar with Waldorf education or not, the dangers of too much dependency on AI is very real and Claus-Peter’s talk demonstrated this clearly.
M.A. Kirkwood, San Francisco, CA