We still need to learn

 

MacKenzie Price

@mackenzieprice

·

1h

Most people think AI means we don’t need to learn anymore. But that idea crumbled last month when I sat across from Stanford Graduate School of Education Dean, Dan Schwartz. Dan read this to the audience: “The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange things into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step; otherwise you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many…” No one really understood it. Then he gave them one line of context: “This is about doing laundry.” And suddenly it all made sense. Same paragraph. Same words. But once you *knew* what it was about, your brain could organize the information. Dan looked at the audience and said, “If you don’t know enough, the AI’s output is just words and sentences. You might *think* you understand it, but you don’t.” And he’s right. AI doesn’t eliminate the need to learn—it makes real knowledge more important than ever. This is a conversation we’re constantly having at Alpha. Because when a kid asks ChatGPT a question, how do they know if the answer’s even good? How do they know when to push back or ask more? It all comes back to this: you need knowledge to interpret the output. That’s why we still teach writing. That’s why we teach proportionality. That’s why we want kids to understand germ theory, gravity, and the Bill of Rights. Not because they’ll regurgitate it on a test, but because they’ll need that knowledge to make sense of the world (and the tools) around them. AI will make learning faster, more playful, and more personalized. But it won’t replace the need to learn. It’ll just expose when we haven’t. And as Dan reminded us on stage, the real purpose of education isn’t just facts or grades. It’s helping kids build meaning, curiosity, and the wisdom to use their tools well. Deep thanks to Dean Dan Schwartz for sharing his time and expertise with Alpha and our community.