To teach in the time of ChatGPT is to know pain; Ars Technica, April 13, 2026

 SCOTT K. JOHNSON , Ars Technica; To teach in the time of ChatGPT is to know pain

"Let me explain why students are the ones losing the most in this environment and why instructors like me feel pretty much powerless to fix the problem.

Do or do not, there is no AI

Students often carry misconceptions about coursework. They may view an instructor as an opponent standing in the way of the grade they want. And they see “getting the right answers” as the goal of education because that’s how you secure that grade.

But that’s no more true than thinking that logging a count of reps is the goal of bodybuilding. The hard work of lifting weights is the point because that yields physical results. A popular analogy is that using an LLM to write your essay is like driving a forklift into the weight room. Weights get lifted, sure, but nothing is accomplished. I’m not hoping you can answer the exam question for me—I don’t need your essay to get me out of a jam. The process of doing the work was what you needed to walk away with something.

In a recent video about how easy Sora has made it for users to generate relatively realistic but deeply problematic videos, Hank Green rubbed his eyes as he shouted in the figurative direction of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, “The friction matters, Sam!”...

I’m not alone in feeling exasperated by this predicament. A survey of about 3,000 college faculty showed that 85 percent felt LLMs “make students less likely to develop critical thinking abilities,” and 72 percent reported challenges managing LLM use.

Predictably, the response from higher education administrators―who are busy signing contracts for institutional LLM subscriptions to show how future-first their thought leadership is―has been to tell instructors that their job is to teach students “how to use AI effectively.”...

A few months ago, I overheard some college students talking about their classes. One was complaining about an assignment they needed to do that night, and another incredulously asked why they wouldn’t just have ChatGPT do it. The first replied, “This is my major, I actually need to learn stuff in this class. I use AI for my other classes.”"

Iowa can restrict LGBTQ+ books and topics at schools, appellate court rules; Associated Press via The Guardian, April 6, 2026

 Associated Press via The Guardian; Iowa can restrict LGBTQ+ books and topics at schools, appellate court rules

Ruling, vacating lower court’s temporary block, applies to classrooms and libraries up to sixth grade 

"Iowa can enforce a law that restricts teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ topics with students in kindergarten through the sixth grade and bans some books in libraries and classrooms, an appellate court said on Monday.

The decision for now vacates a lower court judge’s temporary blocks on the law.

The measure was first approved by Republican majorities in the Iowa house and senate and the Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, in 2023, which they said reinforced age-appropriate education in kindergarten through 12th grades. It has been a back-and-forth battle in the courts in the three years since lawsuits were filed by the Iowa State Education Association, major publishing houses and bestselling authors, as well as Iowa Safe Schools, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization."

Fostering ethical use of AI in K-12 education; Iowa Public Radio, March 20, 2026

 

Ben Kieffer, 

Samantha McIntosh

 , Iowa Public Radio; Fostering ethical use of AI in K-12 education

"The use of artificial intelligence in school has become more common since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. Today, a majority of U.S. teens say they use AI chatbots for school work, according to the Pew Research Center. 

On this episode of River to River, two Iowa-based educators who are working together in advancing ethical and human-centered approaches to artificial intelligence across K-12 education share their experiences. Iowa State University professor Evrim Baran is the project director of the Critical AI in Education Pathways Initiative, which launched a micro-credential course this month for educators. Chad Sussex founded the Winterset Community School District's AI task force, and has recently expanded into consulting for other school districts around the state.

Then we talk with Rebecca Winthrop, who coauthored a recent report that shares of the potential negative risks that generative AI poses to students, and what can be done to prevent them while maximizing the potential benefits of AI.

Guests:

• Evrim Baran, ISU professor of educational technology and human-computer interaction and Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair, College of Health and Human Sciences
• Chad Sussex, grades 7-12 assistant principal and AI task force leader, Winterset Community School District
• Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution"

‘I wish I could push ChatGPT off a cliff’: professors scramble to save critical thinking in an age of AI; The Guardian, March 10, 2026

 Alice Speri , The Guardian; ‘I wish I could push ChatGPT off a cliff’: professors scramble to save critical thinking in an age of AI

"As pushback grows, so does an emphasis on those intrinsically human qualities that differentiate people from machines – the very qualities a humanistic education seeks to nurture.

“There’s kind of defeatism, this idea that there’s no stopping technology and resistance is futile, everything will be crushed in its path,” said Clune, the Ohio State professor. “That needs to change … We can decide that we want to be human.”

That idea has also been key to Pao’s approach to teaching in the age of AI.

“You plant seeds and you hope,” Pao said, of efforts that at times feel like fighting windmills. “You hope that in the long term you’re helping them become happy human beings, who are able to take a walk, and experience things, and describe things for themselves.”"

At one Pittsburgh-area high school, students learn how to debate the ethics of AI; WESA 90.5, February 23, 2026

 Jillian Forstadt, WESA 90.5; At one Pittsburgh-area high school, students learn how to debate the ethics of AI

"For their final presentations in the Artificial Intelligence and Ethics course at Avonworth High School last month, students each picked a topic to examine through the lens of AI.

Senior Theo Rose chose to look at AI’s role in the art world. On a slide, she showed several images of AI-generated art...

During the past school year, English teacher Scott Tuffiash launched Avonworth’s AI and Ethics class to get students at his suburban public school talking to one another and thinking critically about the technology around them.

“And that way, it's really like, is this what we want? Is this what we need?” he said.

While Tuffiash said he takes a neutral stance on AI, what students in the class think of this now-ubiquitous technology falls along a spectrum...

Tuffiash also worked with John Slattery, executive director of Duquesne University’s Center for Ethics and Science, Technology and Law, to create an AI-centric essay contest for the region’s high-schoolers.

This school year, students from across Western Pennsylvania were tasked with answering the question: “How do we stay human in the age of Al?”"

Georgia librarians could face criminal charges for ‘harmful materials’; Georgia Recorder, February 3, 2026

 ROSS WILLIAMS, Georgia Recorder; Georgia librarians could face criminal charges for ‘harmful materials’ 

"Librarians and education advocates are warning that a bill moving through the state Legislature could cause Georgia’s librarians to self-censor controversial materials and lead to more challenges on books about LGBTQ people or issues.

Senate Bill 74, sponsored by Sylvania Republican Sen. Max Burns, changes an exemption in state law dealing with the distribution of harmful materials to minors.

Today, the state exempts public and school or university libraries from the ban on distributing obscene media to people under 18. If Burns’ bill becomes law, one would only be exempt if they were not aware of the harmful material, had previously suggested the material be challenged as obscene or had suggested to have the materials moved to an area of the library not accessible to minors."

She Fought a Book Ban. She May Never Teach Again.; The New York Times, January 29, 2026

 

Dana Goldstein

Photographs by Nick Oxford

, The New York Times ; She Fought a Book Ban. She May Never Teach Again.

Summer Boismier, a high school English teacher in Oklahoma, lost her teaching license after she protested a book ban. Now she is fighting to return to the classroom.

"When Oklahoma passed laws that pressured teachers to remove books on race, gender and sexuality from their classrooms, she refused. Other teachers resisted, too — but Ms. Boismier did so loudly. She plastered her 10th-grade English classroom with signs of protest, posted to social media and advised her students on how they could find books online. Eventually she resigned.

She knew that in her conservative state she would be criticized, but the reaction was much more severe than she expected. And in 2024, the state took away Ms. Boismier’s teaching license.

It was an extraordinary punishment. More than 20 states, including Oklahoma, have passed laws over the past five years restricting the curriculum around race, gender, sexuality and American history. Hundreds of teachers have faced discipline or lost their jobs as a result of these laws. But Ms. Boismier is perhaps the only one whose certification has been fully revoked."

Ready to Go: Joining the fight to defend libraries, workers, and the right to read; American Libraries, November 3, 2025

 Dan Montgomery , American Libraries; Ready to Go: Joining the fight to defend libraries, workers, and the right to read

"When the interview committee asked why I was interested in the executive director position at the American Library Association (ALA), I replied, doing my best impression of famed mountaineer George Mallory: “Because it’s the ALA!” I was responding, of course, to my belief in libraries and in the right to read, both of which have been under serious attack. And library workers and advocates who defend reading, books, and unfettered access to knowledge are critical to protecting American democracy. So, to be part of the organization most squarely in the forefront of that cause seemed to me an unmissable opportunity, and a great honor."

Oklahoma testing some incoming teachers to spot ‘radical leftist ideology’; The Hill, August 19, 2025

 LEXI LONAS COCHRAN, The Hill ; Oklahoma testing some incoming teachers to spot ‘radical leftist ideology’

[Kip Currier: This is chillingly wild stuff -- administering viewpoint exams to "blue state" applicants who want to become teachers in Oklahoma. Like something out of Lois Lowry's 1993 dystopian novel The Giver.]

[Excerpt]

"A new test will be administered to out-of-state teachers coming to Oklahoma from blue states in a move the state superintendent said is meant to root out “radical leftist ideology” from classrooms.  

The test, set to be administered by conservative educational platform PragerU, will be required for the teachers to receive an Oklahoma certification." 

Virginia teachers learn AI tools and ethics at largest statewide workshop; WTVR, July 23, 2025

 WTVR CBS 6 Web Staff; Virginia teachers learn AI tools and ethics at largest statewide workshop

[Kip Currier: Nothing in this brief article substantively (or even cursorily) talks about the ethics issues of K-12 teachers using AI tools. The piece extolls what can be gained by teachers using AI tools. But what's lost by using these products? What skills do we not gain or hone by relying on AI to think and create for us? What behaviors are teachers modeling for students when they use AI?

Also, was an ethics code or AI code of conduct discussed at all at this two-day gathering of teachers? Does one even exist?

And what about the ongoing problem of AI hallucinations-- i.e. inaccurate and nonexistent information generated by AI? Nowhere in this reporting is the need for proofreading and verification of AI-generated outputs even mentioned.

In the pell-mell rush to adopt AI tools, fueled by AI tech companies, it's vital to remember the need for embracing AI ethics guidelines and guardrails.]

[Excerpt]

"Hundreds of Virginia teachers are getting hands-on experience with artificial intelligence tools, ethics and curriculum integration at the largest statewide professional development workshop focused on AI.

The two-day workshop, hosted by AI Ready RVA, continues Thursday at the VCU School of Business...

"There are tools that allow teachers to create lesson plans or quizzes or rubrics immediately based on a source that they can find online so they don't have to spend hours on Sunday prepping for the week ahead. And so we have a list of various platforms that we're going to be teaching them and practice sessions so that they can master these tools so that way they start the school year really strong," Demetriou said."

Book Bans Harm Kids; Scientific American, November 19, 2024

 THE EDITORS , Scientific American; Book Bans Harm Kids

"Books are a gift, opening a door to the wide world. But not if you live in one of the U.S. communities where local school boards or state officials have cast certain books as scary monsters that harm children with words and ideas.

Organized conservative groups in many communities are censoring books from school and public libraries, claiming that some themes aren’t age-appropriate for children, never mind the context. They target books on health, climate change, psychology, and other science they find distasteful or antithetical to their way of thinking. They try to criminalize teachers and librarians who dare to give kids a chance to indulge their curiosity. Under the guise of protecting children from harm, they vow to defund public libraries and alter school curricula.

But it’s the book bans themselves that cause the most harm, robbing youngsters of opportunities to think critically, explore ideas and learn about experiences different from their own. The people responsible for moving books from classrooms and library shelves are trying to limit the flow of information. Their efforts aim to un­dermine democracy; they would create an electorate of young people who will not question authority, build alliances with people who have less political power, or challenge the status quo. Knowledge is power. Book bans go against the very nature of an open, civil society. Whether through the legal system, the ballot box or our voices, we must uphold educational freedom and support knowledge. We must stop the censoring of books.

Censorship has a shameful history in the U.S. The infamous 1873 Comstock Act made it illegal to mail works considered to be obscene, such as pamphlets about birth control. James Joyce’s Ulysses was banned in the country in the 1920s, and the U.S. Postal Service burned copies. More re­­cent­ly, conservatives have bowdlerized the history and science children learn in schools, altering depictions of slavery, rejecting textbooks that reference climate change and challenging evolution...

Some teachers are keeping canceled books in secret drawers. Some schools in more open districts are introducing the idea of reading clubs focusing on banned books. Librarians are questioning what they are allowed to put on shelves instead of promoting what’s there. Parents who want their kids to have a thorough education are trying to fight back against well-funded and politically motivated advocates of book bans.

The kids who can are speaking up for books and libraries. It is up to us to help them, as well as the ones who can’t. Book bans are antithetical to free speech and free thought. They are antidemocratic, antiscience and antievidence. Reading this editorial with no one looking over your shoulder is your fundamental right. Our children deserve the same."

Florida settles lawsuit after challenge to ‘don’t say gay’ law; Associated Press via The Guardian, March 11, 2024

 Associated Press via The Guardian ; Florida settles lawsuit after challenge to ‘don’t say gay’ law

"Under the terms of the settlement, the Florida board of education will send instructions to every school district saying the Florida law does not prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ people, nor prevent anti-bullying rules on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or disallow Gay-Straight Alliance groups. The settlement also spells out that the law is neutral – meaning what applies to LGBTQ+ people also applies to heterosexual people – and that it doesn’t apply to library books not being used for instruction in the classroom.

The law also doesn’t apply to books with incidental references to LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex couples, “as they are not instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity any more than a math problem asking students to add bushels of apples is instruction on apple farming”, according to the settlement.

“What this settlement does, is, it re-establishes the fundamental principal, that I hope all Americans agree with, which is every kid in this country is entitled to an education at a public school where they feel safe, their dignity is respected and where their families and parents are welcomed,” Roberta Kaplan, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said in an interview."

From ethics to outsmarting Chat GPT, state unveils resource for AI in Ohio education; Cleveland.com, February 15, 2024

Laura Hancock, cleveland.com ; From ethics to outsmarting Chat GPT, state unveils resource for AI in Ohio education

"The state released a guide Thursday to help schools and parents navigate generative artificial intelligence in an ethical manner.

“When you use the term AI, I know in some people’s minds, it can sound scary,” said Lt. Jon Husted, whose InnovateOhio office worked with private sector organizations to develop the guide...

Every technology that’s come into society has been like that.”...

But AI is the wave of the future, and Husted said it’s important that students are exposed to it.

The AI toolkit is not mandatory but can be used as a resource for educators and families.

It doesn’t include many prescriptive actions for how to begin teaching and using AI. Rather, it contains sections for parents, teachers and school districts where they can find dozens of sample lessons and discussions about ethics, how to develop policies to keep students safe, and other topics.

For instance, teachers can find a template letter that they can send to school district officials to communicate how they’re using AI...

“Before you use AI in the classroom you will need a plan for a student with privacy, data security, ethics and many other things,” Husted said. “More is needed than just a fun tool in the classroom.”"

Federal judge blocks enforcement of Iowa’s book ban law; Iowa Public Radio, December 29, 2023

  Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio ; Federal judge blocks enforcement of Iowa’s book ban law

"A federal judge has blocked the state of Iowa from enforcing major portions of an education law, SF 496, which has caused school districts to pull hundreds of books from library shelves.

The temporary injunction prevents enforcement of a ban on books with sexually explicit content, which the judge in the case said likely violates the First Amendment. It also blocks a section barring instruction relating to sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary school, which he called “void for vagueness.”

The decision follows a hearing last week that combined arguments from two separate challenges against the law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May. A lawsuit brought by LGBTQ students calls the law discriminatory while another from a group of educators and the publisher Penguin Random House claims it violates their freedom of speech.

Enforcement provisions in the law that apply to book removals were set to take effect January 1...

Judge Stephen Locher said in his ruling released late Friday afternoon that the court was unable to find another school library book restriction “even remotely similar to Senate File 496.” Where lawmakers should use a scalpel, he said, SF 496 is a “bulldozer” that has pulled books out of schools that are widely regarded as important works.

“The underlying message is that there is no redeeming value to any such book even if it is a work of history, self-help guide, award-winning novel, or other piece of serious literature,” Locher wrote. “In effect, the Legislature has imposed a puritanical ‘pall of orthodoxy’ over school libraries.”"

'Real MVP': A professor gives a shout out to the student who nods along in class; NPR, December 18, 2023

 Autumn Barnes, Kristin Wong, NPR; 'Real MVP': A professor gives a shout out to the student who nods along in class

"The moment also gave her an idea about how she could pass the kindness along. 

"We sit in meetings for work all the time. We can now think about what little gestures like nodding may mean to someone presenting material to us," Middlewood said...

Later that semester, Middlewood thanked her unsung hero in a tweet by saying, "To the student in my Monday morning class, who nods as I talk, please know that you are the backbone of this class. You're the one keeping us going. Real MVP.""

North Carolina bans ‘Banned Books Week’ but retracts after media backlash; The Guardian, September 30, 2023

 Edward Helmore, The Guardian ; North Carolina bans ‘Banned Books Week’ but retracts after media backlash

"North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district appears to be a bit confused as to where it stands in the ongoing battle against books around the US: they banned educators from participating in a weeklong series of events drawing attention to banned books and then … said there was no ban."

Anatomy of a Book Banning; The Washington Post, June 24, 2022

Dave Eggers, The Washington Post; Anatomy of a Book Banning

A South Dakota school district planned to destroy Dave Eggers’s novel. He went to investigate.

[Kip Currier: The 6/24/22 Washington Post article, Anatomy of a Book Banning, is an extraordinarily thought-provoking, illluminating "call-to-action" perspective by noted author Dave Eggers (The Circle, 2013). This article -- a proverbial "canary in the coal mine" on censorship realities and exigencies in present-day American school districts -- is relevant to all information professionals. This first-hand account also sheds light on a variety of stakeholders and communities, with particular pertinence to school libraries, teachers, students, parents, and all societal members concerned about informed citizenries and civil liberties.

Although information professionals are increasingly being asked to do more with less resources, less time, less compensation, less acknowledgement -- experiencing burgeoning compassion fatigue and the trauma of library work -- I would suggest we need to think even more strategically, both short-term and longitudinally, about what we can do to add our voices, ideas, passions, stories, and expertise to these bedrock issues of intellectual freedom, access to information, and the right to self-determination and pursuit of each person's happiness. To that end, more of us may need to consider running for and serving on school boards and other boards that make consequential decisions about many information-related matters that are within the wheelhouses and bailiwicks of librarians, archivists, data/information/computing/museum professionals. Or getting more involved in getting behind candidates and already-serving members of boards who support and lead on the kinds of issues that are integral to us and implicated by stories like this one by Dave Eggers.]

"South Dakota’s Codified Law 22-24-27 prevents the distribution to minors of sexually explicit material that is “without serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Given that all five books are literary works that have only a few pages (or just a few paragraphs) of sexual content, the law does not apply in this case. Court rulings, including Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982), have further found that books cannot be removed from school libraries simply because certain individuals think they’re offensive.

Unspoken in much of the debate is that the vast majority of books assigned to high-schoolers also contain material that would probably be deemed objectionable under the same standards. The students of Rapid City are still allowed to read “Oedipus Rex,” in which the protagonist kills his father and then sleeps with his mother. They are still allowed to read “The Great Gatsby,” which contains alcoholism, adultery and murder. “Romeo and Juliet,” which remains on reading lists and on the shelves of all three Rapid City public high school libraries, centers on a torrid love affair between teenagers, both of whom kill themselves." 

NCAC Launches Book Challenge Crisis Hotline and Censorship Database | News Bites; School Library Journal, February 10, 2022

 SLJ Staff , School Library Journal ; NCAC Launches Book Challenge Crisis Hotline and Censorship Database | News Bites

"In response to the rising number of book challenges and attempted book bans in K-12 libraries and classrooms, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has launched a Book Challenge Crisis Hotline and a Youth Censorship Database and Map.

The hotline allows educators to report an incident to an NCAC staff member, ask questions, and get the answers needed to help defend the right to read. The virtual meetings are confidential, and no information is shared without permission.

In addition to the hotline, the NCAC has launched a searchable database and map intended to create a better understanding of the attempts to censor intellectual freedom and access in K-12 schools and libraries. The information can be filtered by the type of censorship—be it a book challenge, attempt to remove artwork or a display, or hinder the freedom of expression in appearance, at an event, in a yearbook, or on social meeting—as well as the year, age level of those impacted, and who filed the complaint.

To report attempted censorship without using the hotline, educators can fill out a form online."

PLA responds to growing intellectual freedom challenges with virtual townhall; ALA News, February 22, 2022

ALA News ; PLA responds to growing intellectual freedom challenges with virtual townhall

"For Immediate Release

Tue, 02/22/2022

Contact: 

Samantha Lopez

Manager

Marketing and Membership

American Library Association

slopez@ala.org

CHICAGO — As libraries continue confronting unprecedented attacks on the freedom to read, the Public Library Association (PLA) will offer a virtual townhall event, Facing the Challenge: Intellectual Freedom in Libraries, on Friday, March 4, from 1–2 p.m. Central time.

During this free session, panelists will participate in facilitated conversations that explore effective responses to the coordinated attempts at censorship currently sweeping the nation. A moderated chat will follow, inviting attendees to pose questions and share insights based on personal experiences. Due to high demand, PLA will accept up to 1,500 registrations, but only the first 1,000 viewers will be able to attend live. The webinar room will open about 15 minutes before the start of the event, and we recommend you arrive early. The on-demand recording will be available in the ALA eLearning site within 1–2 business days. Learn more and register for this event.

As those who have faced book banning attempts and related legislative efforts know, the experience is often isolating and stressful. The virtual townhall will provide an opportunity for public library professionals to connect in the face of these difficult experiences. At the conclusion of the event, participants will be able to:

• Support colleagues in local school libraries who are facing challenges;
• Advocate for the role of public library staff in making selection decisions and managing requests for removal, in accordance with established library policy; and
• Amplify and support community voices not heard during challenges, especially from historically marginalized groups and students.

Townhall panelists include Deb Sica, deputy county librarian at Alameda County Library (Freemont, CA); Cindy Hohl, director of branch operations at the Kansas City (MO) Public Library and immediate past-president of the American Indian Library Association (AILA); Kathy Carroll, school librarian at Westwood High School (Blythewood, SC) and immediate past-president of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL); and Melanie Huggins, executive director of the Richland Library in Columbia, SC and president of the Public Library Association (PLA).

Facing the Challenge: Intellectual Freedom in Libraries is presented by the Public Library Association (PLA) with support from the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund.

PLA will also be hosting an Intellectual Freedom Forum on March 24 as part of the upcoming PLA 2022 Conference in Portland, Ore. This forum will give attendees an opportunity to share resources and build connections in support of intellectual freedom. Forum sessions include: Ask a Lawyer, Peer-sharing roundtables, and 1-on-1 appointments with ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

About the Public Library Association
The Public Library Association (PLA) is the largest association dedicated to supporting the unique and evolving needs of public library professionals. Founded in 1944, PLA serves nearly 10,000 members in public libraries large and small in communities across the United States and Canada, with a growing presence around the world. PLA strives to help its members shape the essential institution of public libraries by serving as an indispensable ally for public library leaders. For more information about PLA, contact the PLA office at 1 (800) 545-2433, ext. 5PLA, or pla@ala.org."