Submitted by Brian Raabe
I’ve heard summer school in Greenwich euphemistically referred to as “Camp Cos Cob.”
Amusing.
Greenwich Board of Education members might benefit from a busy summer of study.
Their last meeting was not inspiring.
Arguing over protocol surrounding the Superintendent’s contract extension.
Trying to table the discussion.
Failing.
Voting.
Then failing to extend the contract.
Toni Jones’ track record of accomplishment notwithstanding.
The evening included one BOE member talking about bringing in lessons “I have learned in the corporate world.”
“The DOGE is strong with this one,” to misquote Star Wars.
The mood music was a general lack of seriousness while members scrolled on cell phones and laptops like teenagers.
And now it’s summer.
Sobering times and we have certain members of the Board flying at tree top level (at best) versus surveying the forest.
And that forest is AI.
https://greenwichfreepress.
There was a striking clip making the rounds recently of garment laborers across a large factory floor with cameras on their foreheads and surrounding their work stations.
https://www.instagram.com/
The idea was to feed every movement into an algorithm for training robotic replacements.
I wondered, what if AI were ascendant when we manufactured buggy whips. Yes, we could replace all the buggy whip laborers, but where would the innovation be from there.
Would we be complaining about Town of Greenwich speed cameras violating our privacy while in our horse drawn carriages.
Will AI create remarkable efficiencies while essentially freezing the current state in amber?
AI is a disruptor in so many ways not the least of which may be simple progress, innovation.
The kind of thing one learns in school – creative, critical thought.
Who knows.
But for something so disruptive that the Federal Government is banning the export of certain versions of Anthropics’s latest engine on national security grounds, shouldn’t we have a real plan for students?
A deep, thoughtful plan.
Shouldn’t the BOE be handing their phones in before meetings to discuss that?
The sad reality is that half the group isn’t up to the task.
The goal seemed securing the seat. Not maximizing it.
Or their version of maximizing the seat is firing the longest tenured Superintendent we’ve had in decades.
Here is the current AI policy for Greenwich Schools:
It references adherence to law and privacy. (The law is very far behind AI.)
And the document is nonsensical. Where it references “supervised student use” it takes one here:
https://www.lawinsider.com/
Which states:
“Supervised student means a law student at the S.J. Quinney College of Law who, under the supervision of a member of the Utah State Bar, participates in the law clinic established under this chapter.”
What the heck.
The entire document is thin soup.
And the press has celebrated it, only because it succeeds in jumping over the brick of “better than nothing.”
We have six pages more than nothing.
A circular, confusing document – unless, instead of trying to get ahead of AI and how It can help or hurt students, one simply wants a document that – if adhered to and is vague enough – will keep the town from losing lawsuits.
There it may be useful.
In educating kids, it is not.
And don’t blame school management.
The BOE / Town has sued itself, made clear its disdain for Dr. Jones, and defunded education.
Under constant assault you expect an AI strategy too?
So as summer rolls in, AI learns, and various BOE members will be doing whatever they do with their idle time.
In the fall kids will come back.
And the policy document will still be circular:
“Review your School’s student and faculty handbooks and policies. GPS expects that schools will be developing and updating their policies as we better understand the implications of using Generative AI
tools. In the meantime, faculty should be clear with students they’re teaching and advising about their policies on permitted uses, if any, of Generative AI in classes and on academic work. Students are also encouraged to ask their instructors for clarification about these policies as needed.”
A cul-de-sac policy partnered with some members of the BOE that do little to move students forward.
And in September “is your homework done?”
”Of course.”
AI will be better at covering its tracks.
Grab your buggy whips.
Maybe watch “Planet of the Apes” (the original).
Ask yourself how many generations of failing to educate and innovate before we return to the land.
We’re in the first generation right now. It is happening.
It doesn’t take artificial intelligence to see we have members of the BOE that aren’t up to the task of addressing the issue.
Just intelligence.
See also:
Inside Greenwich High School’s AI Reckoning
By Kaevel Sandhu, GHS class of 2028