Name: Teacher challenges students to write without ChatGPT as a crutch
Uploaded: 2025-11-04T02:19:21.394Z
Duration: 2 min 35 s
Description: At a high school in Queens, New York, one teacher challenges his students to write essays without help from artificial intelligence -- then brought it back as a learning tool instead of a crutch.

At a high school in Queens, New York, one teacher challenges his students to write essays without help from artificial intelligence -- then brought it back as a learning tool instead of a crutch.

Queens

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

At Townsend Harris High School in Queens, New York, English teacher Brian Sweeney required students to complete their essay test in class using pen and paper, rather than as a take-home assignment. This change was prompted by concerns over students using AI programs like ChatGPT to complete their work, with the goal of accurately assessing students' writing skills.

The school allows AI use only if disclosed, and Sweeney later had students use ChatGPT to analyze, but not fix, their writing. Experts cited in the report warn that overreliance on AI can hinder learning and brain development, emphasizing the importance of using AI as a tool rather than a replacement for original work.

Teacher challenges students to write without ChatGPT as a crutch

Hello. Take this as you come in. Brian Sweeney's English class at Townsend Harris High School in Queens, New York, is about to take its first essay test of the year. Forty minutes. Get going. Normally, this would be a take-home writing exercise. Not anymore. The reason, he doesn't want anyone using programs like ChatGPT to do the work. We just had them write it in class on a piece of paper. Old school. That's right. What was the goal of this? You just want to know where they're at in terms of their writing abilities. Fewer than half the school districts in the U.S. have a policy governing the use of AI. Here, it's only allowed if it's disclosed. We've talked a lot about AI since day one. Sweeney hopes he's found a middle ground. I've never done it this way before. Austin Yang and Sid Singh, both 15, started with mixed feelings. If you did the assignment at home, would you have been tempted to use AI? I mean, yeah, a little. This is our moment. We can use it just to sell more widgets, or we can use it to actually transform school for the future. I'm Alex Katron. Alex Katron trains teachers to balance AI with traditional lessons in the classroom. If a student uses AI to replace their work, what are the developmental consequences? They're probably not learning about whatever the topic is. In fact, one study compared students using AI to help write an essay, with others using Google and a third group with no computer. The AI group exhibited the weakest overall brain activity and ultimately performed the worst. If you read and write every day, it's going to make your brain healthier and stronger. And we just need to be making that case more strongly than we ever have. We'll try and have a mixture of things. Sweeney split his exercise in two. After the initial handwritten test, he had students run other writing through ChatGPT. How do you want them to use this differently? Do not fix my writing, but instead identify weaknesses in my writing style. Something that a tutor would walk you through. That's right. Thank you. Have a good day. The solution for Sweeney, use AI only as a tool, not a crutch. If you don't learn how to use it as a tool, you just use it as an easy way out. You'll never really develop your own skills. AI is here. It's being shoved into our faces everywhere. So we might as well use it to help us rather than harm us. The real goal is to embrace the future without forgetting the past. For Eye on America, I'm Meg Oliver in Queens, New York.

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Teacher challenges students to write without ChatGPT as a crutch

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Rise of AI