Stale Teachers and Victimized Students Realities and Repercussions

by Katherine Reilly for ELT NEWS

It was the beginning of a new school year and the annual preparations had commenced. It was high time I visited my local bookstore and found solace in the vast, albeit comforting variety of colorful stationery I deemed necessary to carry out my duties. A colorful pencil here, a rubber there… Oh! Here’s something for my junior students! Shiny sticker sheets adorned with the latest of characters that have been popping up on their screens. It takes a lot of effort to keep up with all the latest trends; a rewarding one nonetheless.

As I was waiting patiently in line before the cashier, a shop assistant walked by and wished me a happy and productive school year. Suddenly, the woman in front of me turned and politely asked if I were a teacher. I affirmed her suspicions – we teachers do stand out in crowds, don’t we? After some small talk and introductions, ‘Mary’ as I will be referring to her, shared that she is an English teacher and focuses solely on private tutoring. I myself prefer teaching at schools for personal convictions which I will get into detail below.

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The End Times Are Here AI Chatbots and the Dismantlement of the Authorial Structure

by Katherine Reilly, originally published in ELT NEWS

Perhaps one of the most controversial topics I have ever been called upon to examine is that of the thinking machine. The dominant fear amongst skeptics is one of an artificial takeover via physical altercations, of technology over man. The imagery of science fiction may flood our minds; graphic depictions such as those featured in the popular Terminator film franchise, in which a dystopian future was brought about by our dependence on an entity of our own creation. Look no further fellow educators, for the future is dawning upon us. Whether we realize it or not, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already paved the way to restructuring our lives and the course of events that will follow. No, we are not referring to the potential physical dominance by AI, but rather our compliant cognitive subjugation to it.

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