by Joy Delizo-Osborne, The Hechinger Report
May 7, 2026
We are currently focused on the wrong aspects of AI in education.
The ongoing discourse often revolves around the capabilities of the technology—How quickly can it generate content? How effectively can it personalize learning? How well can it analyze data? However, there is considerably less emphasis on what K-12 students truly require to cultivate critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as the significance of human relationships in that journey.
This gap is particularly clear to me as a parent. My daughter, who attends a top-notch public charter school, experiences selective mutism, meaning she struggles to communicate verbally with adults in many school environments. Yet, every day, I observe educators making concerted (non-digital) efforts to connect with her and aid her skill development, utilizing patience, consistency, challenges, and genuine care. They foster an environment where she feels safe enough to experiment, take risks, and grow.
This experience has underscored a vital lesson for me, both as a parent and as a leader in a K-12 organization: Genuine learning transcends mere access to information or efficiency. It flourishes through human connections—rooted in trust, responsiveness, risk-taking, and the unwavering support of adults who understand how to meet students at their point of need.
Related: There’s a lot happening in K-12 classrooms. Stay informed with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education.
Unless we ground our decisions surrounding the adoption and integration of AI in education technology in this reality, we risk addressing the wrong challenges.
In my capacity as a K-12 instructional provider focused on equipping teachers with high-quality, standards-aligned resources in math and literacy, I often contemplate which materials best facilitate learning while leveraging the strengths of human interaction.
The intricate work of educating children is inherently human. When executed well, it emerges from a collective journey of discovering and experiencing the world together.
As we increasingly embrace artificial intelligence and other technologies in the coming years, it’s crucial that we choose tools, programs, and platforms that allow us to continue fostering enriching learning experiences that enhance our abilities to understand and build community.
The swift integration of AI into K-12 education has the potential to alter much of what lies at the heart of human engagement in learning. But should it?
Certainly, numerous aspects stand to improve thanks to emerging technologies in education. We can envision tools that help teachers assess student work with greater efficiency, platforms offering real-time multilingual support, and adaptive systems that provide targeted learning practices without necessitating extensive manual preparation. Additionally, we can anticipate environments where data becomes more comprehensible, where time-consuming administrative tasks are streamlined, and where students enjoy more opportunities for personalized feedback.
However, in our eagerness to seize the potential of personalized learning platforms, we may be neglecting what truly matters in the educational experience. For instance, a classroom full of students operating independently alongside AI chatbots can lack vital chances to cultivate skills like collaboration, debate, and effective communication.
Achieving academic growth requires more than finding the correct answers. While factual knowledge and procedural skill are crucial for students’ long-term success, equally important is conceptual understanding, demanding engagement with differing opinions, erroneous responses, and productive cognitive struggle.
For this reason, I advocate for an approach to educational technology that emphasizes practicality—what I term “technopragmatic.” I believe we should maintain our momentum in leveraging these innovations, which promise better educational outcomes and can bridge long-standing equity gaps. Yet, we must continue to raise critical questions. We shouldn’t adopt AI-driven “solutions” simply because they are feasible; we should reflect on how we wish to harness new technologies for the benefit of our children and our shared future.
It is essential to ask: Does this technology align with our educational goals?
Related: Schools need more methods to evaluate the effectiveness of AI and educational technology
After years of serving as an educator and principal, I have numerous inquiries about what the ideal classroom will resemble five years down the line. How will the elements of effective classrooms evolve in this new technological landscape? Moreover, how can we ensure that the primary stakeholders—teachers, students, and families—have a voice and agency in shaping the decisions we implement?
In a K-12 system where the fastest-growing student demographic consists of English language learners, research indicates the positive effects of digital tools that assist with translation and comprehension, while also providing engaging and timely feedback for speaking and writing practice.
Nonetheless, while AI can significantly aid multilingual learners, it can also introduce biases, particularly for students with disabilities—further emphasizing that emerging AI tools achieve their greatest effectiveness when complemented by strong teacher support.
Looking ahead, it is crucial that AI platforms and educational technologies enhance rather than replace our teaching and learning methodologies.
If we fail in this regard, we risk creating environments that do not prioritize human flourishing—not just for my child and others with diverse needs, but for all students.
Though artificial intelligence and evolving technologies undoubtedly hold the potential to boost our collaborative, problem-solving, and critical thinking capacities—if we steer them correctly—we must invariably remember that the most crucial elements of learning are the human experiences we share.
Joy Delizo-Osborne, president and CEO of Student Achievement Partners (SAP), a nonprofit dedicated to supporting teachers and educational leaders through research and evidence-based guidance on high-quality, standards-aligned instruction in math and literacy.
Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.
This article on AI and education was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization committed to addressing inequality and innovation in education. Subscribe to Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.
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