Whole School Assembly - Robot Teachers

The pupils gathered in the hall for our whole-school assembly, hosted by Mr Wilson. He was extremely impressed with how sensibly the pupils had entered the hall and taken their places, ready for him to begin. He asked everyone to consider whether it would be a wise choice or a poor choice to have robots taking the place of teachers, and to share their thoughts after watching an episode of Bluey.

The video showed Bluey being very efficient at tidying up. However, because he followed instructions too literally, he also ended up putting the children into the wastepaper basket!

When the question was opened to the pupils, we discovered that they thought robots would be useful for tasks such as: doing homework, carrying them around, having an umbrella arm for rainy days, tidying bedrooms, and completing chores. On the other hand, they felt that robots as teachers might lead to problems such as: being thrown into the wastepaper basket, becoming lazy and less energetic, missing out on discovering knowledge for yourself, and lacking understanding of how things are done—because the robot would simply do everything for you.

The final conclusion everyone agreed upon was that technology has its place, but teachers understand how we feel when we are not at our best and can offer support and kindness—whereas a robot simply follows instructions. We also considered that we should treat AI with respect and be thoughtful in how we give instructions, as its responses reflect the way we speak to it.

It was an interesting and thoughtful assembly for everyone to reflect on, as Mr Wilson wished us all a good week ahead.