AI in K-12 Education, Recommended order for Cut to the Chase for Teachers Series

 Educators at all positions and grade levels in K-12 education must reconsider if they'll ever include even conversations in the classroom with students about AI. Many schools and teachers are keeping AI entirely out of classrooms, and I am honestly a little baffled why we - as in the collective education system 'we' - are SO far behind in preparing our kids for a completely new, unprecedented world of advanced AI and humanoid robotics. 

Since many/most educators know very little about how AI works, how it is trained, what ethical practices should be employed (outside of "don't cheat"), and what both the present and future consequences to daily life of our students could be, this is why I've put together the following resources. To be transparent, I used AI (ChatGPT 5.5) to write these up; otherwise, it would have taken years to research and write all this. I give credit to all the unknown people who developed the knowledge and resources over decades that then was used to train the AI. 

Recommended order for the Cut to the Chase series: 

- AI 101 for Everyone     

- Mini-Activity Ideas for High Schools, NO EXPERTISE Needed                                                                  

- Lesson Ideas for ALL Grade Levels in K-12 That Include AI                                                                        

- Lesson Ideas for High Schools with Skills Needed for AI and Robotics Embedded, all subjects                   

- Ethics Needed for Students in the AI Era                                                                                                        

- Using EELS (i.e. SEL) to Prepare the AI Generation                                                                                     

- Preparing Globally Responsible Stewards of AI and Robotics: K-12 UN SDG Project Ideas                        

- Suggestions for AP Teachers - Including AI Skills in Lessons without Major Changes                                  

For a better understanding of what our student's futures will likely include: 

- Jobs Analysis and Potential Timetables of AI & Robotics Disrupting Jobs                                                     

- AI 101 for Leaders and Policymakers: 40 Pieces of Legislation to Consider to Guide the AI Future              

- Advanced AI in our World: Human-AI-Robot Complex Systems and What Governments MUST Do

Yes, the pace of reaching a future of advanced AI has been here the last couple years, with initial job disruption primarily in some professional white collar sectors, with many more anticipated to come in the next one to two years. Robots have revolutionized large-scale manufacturing like car and large machinery factories for years already, but humanoid robots already are making a splash in some parts of the world, such as China, and potentially will disrupt more blue-collar jobs. 

WHY ARE WE NOT PREPARING OUR STUDENTS FOR THIS ON A LARGE SCALE? It seems to be a few schools here and there, and a few teachers here and there, but I believe we are dropping the ball. If you are an educator, please take a look at the first couple recommendations, which have numerous examples of what short, 10-15 minutes could look like, just engaging your students to think about these things. Get ideas down. No expertise is needed. Learn about EELS, which are the human skills machines will not have, and that our students must be strongest in, so they can become good stewards of these technologies and use them for the betterment of humanity! Even today's seniors will be coming out of college in over four years - we cannot comprehend how advanced these technologies will be at that time, but it will almost certainly look like a different world compared to today. 

LET'S DO THIS, FOR THE SAME OF OUR KIDS! 

         Graphic from Tlciscreative.com. Expect to see this in just a couple years in some workplaces. 

ChatGPT 6 Astra helps solve parts of the Navier-Stokes equation challenge

 The Navier-Stokes equation is a form of the 2nd law of motion, F=ma, but applied to fluid dynamics. It is a really hard mathematical application, which humans have not been able to solve, despite the best mathematicians and scientists working on it for over a century. Mathematicians used the latest version of ChatGPT (GPT 6 Astra), and solved parts of it, which is also one of the Millennium Problems that are out there for people to try and solve. 

One question is now: what is the future of mathematics? The hardest problems out there...will they be solved with just human ingenuity and genius, or will it require AIs? I suspect both, as long as the temptation to use AI on everything is resisted and humans are given the chance. Certainly it takes humans orders of magnitude longer to find solutions now, and perhaps some problems are just too messy and need numerical solutions (computational science, which has been part of our process for decades). Time will tell. 

Another good test of Einstein's General Relativity...at the quantum level

 Quantum mechanics and General Relativity are the pillars of modern physics, but are still two distinct theories that physicists since Einstein cannot combine into a single, coherent and consistent theory of nature. But an interesting experiment was recently done and published, where the core concept of GR - the principle of equivalence - was shown to hold for quantum objects. 

At very cold temperatures, atoms behave more like waves than particles. Using special techniques, atoms in this state can be split, with one part suspended by magnetic fields and the other allowed to free Fall. When those two 'pieces' of the atom are recombined, any interference between the states can be measured and compared to predictions from general relativity calculations for these specific conditions. The results show how the GR predictions are correct in the experimental data. This is new layer of confirmation of Einstein's theory, and it will be interesting to see what variations of the experiment are dreamed up by researchers around the world, now that they have knowledge of this, along with new types of questions and scenarios people will develop!

Bill Gates - his essay about the AI future

 Bill Gates was one of the founders of Microsoft, and for a number of years was the wealthiest person on the planet. His take on the Age of AI is certainly an important and credible one that we should at least read what his opinion is. His essay to world leaders about AI is here. 

I tend to agree, and the fact he is emphasizing decisions we make NOW, are vital for the type of future our children will end up with. AI, if done in a pro-human manner with support of the world's nations, could become the greatest chance at equity as humans have ever come. Or, AI and robotics could help bring down human civilization in a worst-case scenario. It really does depend on what we do NOW, since we are already in the Age of AI, and as of right now, behind, some would say woefully behind, in developing policies and laws and safeguards to AI, and equally behind in educating and preparing our kids for their future. Watch some of his comments below.

The "Superman" robot in China - upgrade from 6 months ago

 The last post I put up had some impressive humanoid robots doing martial arts in China. That type of robot has since been upgraded, and its nickname is the Superman robot. Check out this latest iteration of robotics, via China. This is from ABC News.

VIDEO HERE - on Facebook

Or watch it here:

If you haven't seen the latest humanoid robot capabilities, you really should be aware...

 From February, 2026, in China (over the last 6 months, some are likely more capable by now...): 

**Book Series: Achievement gaps, for Teachers...the "Cut to the Chase" series**

 In diverse communities across the US, academic achievement gaps exist. Usually, and including the one I am familiar with in my school district, these gaps are racial in nature; and this is usually tied to socioeconomic status of the families. This is the case in my experience. 

Academic achievement gaps are already present in young children, and often before kindergarten. If a family is low income and struggling (families of color are over-represented in this demographics), the parents cannot afford the types of programs, clubs, sports, music and the arts, vacations, trips to the museum, home libraries, and other activities, that higher income families take for granted. The difference in opportunities at young ages create academic gaps, and by the time these kids get to high school, the academic gaps lead to more opportunity gaps that high schools offer in so many forms, which generally ensure the academic gaps does not shrink, but may still widen. 

The gaps in communities can be generational. These are enormous problems for school districts, as well as society as a whole. I've worked on achievement gaps for some twenty seven years, helping create Project Excite that was working for the students and families in the program Gaps were closing before the kids got to the high school, and they were able to get into the honors and AP pathways and a brighter future than on average. 

I recently used AI to help do a meta-study on what is out there in the literature and online when it comes to achievement gaps. Using this as a foundation, I went ahead and, in the last few weeks, put together hybrid books on various aspects of achievement gaps in communities, and what teachers need to consider and know, and what suggestions and options teachers have to actually work with their students to reduce and eliminate gaps. 

Hybrid books refer to creating a manuscript via one's conversations with their AI, in my case ChatGPT 5.5. Based on the conversational history on these types of topics over an extended period of time, when I asked my AI to write out information and plans and possibilities for an audience of teachers, within minutes I got material for a book. The AI included information it remembers from our discussions, and added new things to think about, some that I almost certainly would not have thought of myself. The AI wrote a book that I could then edit when necessary, but by and large it did a better job than I would have done by myself, and in minutes compared to what would have been many months of research, drafting, editing, and losing sleep and hair! I created, so far, a 4-booklet series I call Cut to the Chase for Teachers for attacking the issue of achievement gaps in so many school, once and for all. 

These are formatted in a style heavy in bullet points and statements of the key ideas - with no fluff or countless pages of descriptions, anecdotes, stories, and so on - so that readers can get through it in about an hours worth of time. I recommend reading and using these together with colleagues, or for PD sessions, to get A LOT of ideas and options for some aspect of AI, so that you can then create something specific for your classroom and community. In fact, teachers can use their own AI platforms to take the different options mentioned in the books and quickly write lessons and activities for your students. These books have laid out examples of K-12 planning, for teachers, administrations, and department chairs to consider and help plan specific pathways that are best-suited for your students and district. Again, there are A LOT of ideas, topics, and issues in these books that can help guide your thinking at any school, for any grade level, and for any subject areas you teach or work with students. 

I think these will be quite useful - now - for teachers of all grade levels and subject areas! 

• Cut to the Chase for Teachers: What we know about Racial and Socioeconomic Achievement Gaps in K-12 Education   
• Cut to the Chase for Teachers: Using EELS to Reduce K-12 Achievement Gaps
• Cut to the Chase for Teachers: Effects of Stereotype Threat on K-12 Achievement Gaps 
• Cut to the Chase for Teachers: Effects and Use of Multiple Intelligences in Reducing Achievement Gaps                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

New movie worth seeing, about Pros and Cons of AI - well done

 If you have Peacock, streaming now is a newly released movie called "The AI Doc, or how I became an Apocoloptimist."  Check out a trailer here. 

**Book Series: AI in Schools for teachers - the "Cut to the Chase" series**

 Artificial intelligence, AI, and more advanced robotics are two technologies that have already been changing parts of the world for many people. Whether it is social media algorithms, causing changes in the job markets of numerous fields, allowing for new types and areas of computational and experimental research, changing how wars are fought, and countless other areas of life, AI is advancing in its capabilities and 'intelligence' so rapidly that we cannot honestly or reliably have a chance to predict what the world will look like in 6 months time. 

As a teacher of junior and seniors in high school, I have no good answers when they ask, worriedly, what they should study or what the status of their field of choice will be in four or five years when they are coming out of college - no one has good guesses as to what jobs will be available years from now. But this is the world our children are inheriting, one of unprecedented and rapid change and unpredictability. 

What and how should we be teaching them? While schools are mostly still working in the spirit of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, we have not been trained or have any national guidance as to what changes need to be made to the K-12 educational system. I am fairly confident what we are doing now is not optimized for a child's success in the future. While there are wonderful pockets of work being done by organizations here and abroad for AI in schools, it has not filtered down to the individual school and classroom level at the great majority of schools in the US. Some teachers use it in the classroom, but the great majority do not, certainly in my experience. This, again, is mostly due to a lack of knowledge and training for AI in the classroom, and not having a plan of any kind. In fact, ask ten people what they think AI means, and you'll get ten pretty different answers! By the way, here is a possible classroom policy for students and the use of AI, especially for middle school and high school. 

I went ahead and, in the last two weeks, put together hybrid books on various aspects of AI in the classroom, and what teachers need to consider and know, and what suggestions and options do teachers have to actually work with their students and begin to give some experience, and develop necessary skills, for them to handle advanced AI and robotics in the next decade or so. Hybrid books refer to creating a manuscript via one's conversations with their AI, in my case ChatGPT 5.5. Based on the conversational history on these types of topics over an extended period of time, when I asked my AI to write out information and plans and possibilities for an audience of teachers, within minutes I got material for a book. The AI included information it remembers from our discussions, and added new things to think about, some that I almost certainly would not have thought of myself. The AI wrote a book that I could then edit when necessary, but by and large it did a better job than I would have done by myself, and in minutes compared to what would have been many months of research, drafting, editing, and losing sleep and hair! I created, so far, a 12-booklet series I call Cut to the Chase for Teachers for AI in the classroom. 

I think these will be quite useful - now - for teachers of all grade levels and subject areas! 

You can access them here:

• Cut to the Chase for Teachers: AI in Schools                                                                                
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: Using EELS to Help Prepare the AI Generation                                        
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: Thoughts on Implementing K-12 Curricula to Prepare the AI Generation  
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: The Ethics Needed to Prepare the AI Generation                                     
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: Preparing Globally Responsible Stewards of AI and Robotics          
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: Lesson Ideas for all K-12 Grade Levels that Incorporate AI as a Tool
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: Preparing Globally Responsible Stewards of AI and Robotics K-12 SDG Project Ideas
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: AI 101 for Everyone
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: AI 101 for Leaders and Policymakers
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: Jobs Analysis - Forecasts and Possible Timetables for AI and Robotics Displacing White- and Blue-Collar Workers
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: Suggestions for AP Teachers - Include AI Skills and Knowledge Without Major Changes
• Teachers, Let's Cut to the Chase: Lesson Ideas for High School - With Embedded Skills for AI & Robotics Future Teachers can do NOW

These are formatted in a style heavy in bullet points and statements of the key ideas - with no fluff or countless pages of descriptions, anecdotes, stories, and so on - so that readers can get through it in about an hours worth of time. I recommend reading and using these together with colleagues, or for PD sessions, to get A LOT of ideas and options for some aspect of AI, so that you can then create something specific for your classroom and community. In fact, teachers should use their own AI platforms to take the different options mentioned in the books and quickly write lessons and activities for your students. These books have laid out examples of K-12 planning, for teachers, administrations, and department chairs to consider and help plan specific pathways that are best-suited for your students and district. Again, there are A LOT of ideas, topics, and issues in these books that can help guide your thinking at any school, for any grade level, and for any subject areas you teach or work with students. 

I hope you find any of this useful, as we all must consider tweaks and modifications to how we do school, because the world our students will live in is NOT at all what we were thinking about just five years ago! 

Consider that the decisions humans make today about how to proceed with and use AI, will determine how beneficial or harmful these advanced technologies will be for our children. We must consider how we will help them TODAY...for their sake! 

I'm always interested in feedback on this, and if it is at all useful in helping fellow educators and colleagues find their way in how they want to help their students for a scary, fascinating, and unpredictable future; mvondracek@comcast.net. 

Social Science/biology/health science research topic

 An interesting process happens with trees and forests. Trees emit chemicals called phytoncides. When we breathe it in, it goes into the bloodstream and has remarkable effects on our bodies and health - phytoncide activates our immune system to produce more white blood cells of the natural killer (NK) variety. These can hunt down stress hormones, destroy virus-infected cells, and go after cancer cells in tumors!

Scientists have measured around a 50% increase in anti-cancer proteins after just 2 days hiking and being in forests, and this increase lasts nearly one month. Forest air lowers cortisol, blood pressure, and helps one de-stress by helping activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Fascinating! Again and again, we find Nature provides everything we need for good health, if we just recognize and accept it, and take advantage of the cycles that exist today through evolution. Life evolved that best fits into the natural environment and ecosystems that exist on earth, and forests are a big part of this. 

For research, the first thought that I had with this information is to do studies of cancer rates (overall and specific types) dependent on where people live - rural vs suburban vs urban. And break it down to longtime residents near or in forest compared to longtime residents living in desert environments and urban environments, etc. Are there statistically significant differences between cancer rates, blood pressure conditions, stress related issues, and so on? This is a challenging study to do since there are SO MANY possible factors that affect health that need to be considered - we would need to learn how statistics helps do this for complex systems and studies, but it could also help guide health policy and recommendations for different regions of the country. 

Just putting this out there! Physical experiments can also be done on any variety of plants, investigating what chemicals are released to their surroundings and if any of them are beneficial to human health.