The Los Angeles Unified School District (my employer) just experienced a three-day strike (ending March 24, 2023) in which the teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) walked out in solidarity with the Services Employee International Union Local 99 (SEIU Local 99) - representing custodians, bus drivers, plant managers, etc- in sympathy with its call to raise service wages from an average $25,000. Who wouldn't support a living wage for these workers, especially in increasingly expensive Los Angeles? But both unions, although they are paying attention to the present, are asleep at the wheel regarding the imminent future.
Thanks to a job with Cal State Northridge as a student-teacher supervisor, I've been able to observe a variety of post-pandemic, computer based classrooms. What I'm seeing spells the end of the profession.
For instance, last week I observed a lesson on the meanings of "synonym" and "antonym" for a group of frisky 6th graders. It could have been the start of a decent science fiction story.
The student-teacher's first, and almost only task was to induce the students to come to order, fetch their laptops and log-in. This was a none too easy process, but once the kids were staring at their screens they calmed down.
The lesson began with an introductory hip-hop video (quite well done) about what "synonym" and "antonym" mean. When this started and the kids were focussed, the student-teacher's job became one of simple bookkeeping. The hip-hop intro lasted about 10 minutes, followed by a series of interactive activities involving the newly taught skills (this included an engaging explanation of a thesaurus). The student-teacher monitored on her laptop what each student was doing, occasionally prodding a kid to be on-task, but most remained on-task anyway, mesmerized by the "virtual" teacher in their laptops.
The final segment was an assessment. If this was completed an "Exit Pass" was issued. As recess approached, the kids fell into their usual melee at the thought of being released onto the playground. Order was maintained only because no child could leave until their laptop had issued the "Exit Pass." The student-teacher, in a final chore, monitored the exit passes.
Back to UTLA and SEIU Local 99: You are right to fight for the highest wages possible, but insofar as you are successful in this, praise should be muted. You are paying no attention to the real threat. The student-teacher described above could be replaced by an AI based system right now. Every teacher in the world faces unemployment from this technology, yet you call a strike with no mention of what's happening right in front of us.
To be honest, I think I'm begging the question a bit. Other than the brief thrill of carrying signs in front of district HQ saying, "Don't replace us!," I'm not sure what traditional labor action, like striking, can accomplish. The important thing, either through labor or other politics, will be to answer this question: What can a human teacher do that AI driven instruction can't?
One answer that comes to mind: A human teacher can be a human.
