AI Educational Tools: Implement teaching mode with step-by-step engagement

I’m a middle school science teacher, and something is happening in classrooms right now that should seriously concern anyone thinking about where society is headed. Students don’t want to learn how to think. They don’t want to struggle through writing a paragraph or solving a difficult problem. And now, they don’t have to. AI will just do it for them. They ask ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, and the work is done. The scary part is that it’s working. Assignments are turned in. Grades are passing. But they are learning nothing. This isn’t a future problem. It’s already here. I have heard students say more times than I can count, “I don’t know what I’d do without Microsoft Copilot.” That has become normal for them. And sure, I can block websites while they are in class, but that only lasts for 45 minutes. As soon as they leave, it’s free reign, and they know it. This is no longer just about cheating. It is about the collapse of learning altogether. Students aren’t building critical thinking skills. They aren’t struggling through hard concepts or figuring things out. They are becoming completely dependent on machines to think for them. And the longer that goes on, the harder it will be to reverse. No matter how good a teacher is, there is only so much anyone can do. Teachers don’t have the tools, the funding, the support, or the authority to put real guardrails in place. And it’s worth asking, why isn’t there a refusal mechanism built into these AI tools? Models already have guardrails for morally dangerous information; things deemed “too harmful” to share. I’ve seen the error messages. So why is it considered morally acceptable for a 12 year old to ask an AI to write their entire lab report or solve their math homework and receive an unfiltered, fully completed response? The truth is, it comes down to profit. Companies know that if their AI makes things harder for users by encouraging learning instead of just giving answers, they’ll lose out to competitors who don’t. Right now, it’s a race to be the most convenient, not the most responsible. This doesn’t even have to be about blocking access. AI could be designed to teach instead of do. When a student asks for an answer, it could explain the steps and walk them through the thinking process. It could require them to actually engage before getting the solution. That isn’t taking away help. That is making sure they learn something. Is money and convenience really worth raising a generation that can’t think for itself because it was never taught how? Is it worth building a future where people are easier to control because they never learned to think on their own? What kind of future are we creating for the next generation and the one after that? This isn’t something one teacher or one person can fix. But if it isn’t addressed soon, it will be too late.