Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators

The Questions Students Are Asking About AI: and the Mindsets that help Answer Them


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Tricia and Jeff talk about what AI literacy actually looks like in K-12 — past the policy memos, past the vendor pitches, past the "ban it or adopt it" debate that keeps stalling schools out.

They were very excited to receive questions from a student, and they used those as the structure for this conversation.

The conversation uses the Shifting Schools BAKE framework as a loose map: Balance, Adaptability, Knowledge-sharing, Empathy. A mindset-first approach for leaders who want to think clearly instead of react fast.

What Jeff and Tricia get into:

  • How to explain AI to a 10-year-old without overcomplicating it (and why metaphors help)
  • Where kids still need to struggle on their own — and why productive friction is identity-forming work
  • The first habits to teach when a child gets AI access: check it, don't trust it; notice when your thinking shuts down
  • Whether AI can actually make education more inclusive, and what has to be in place before it does
  • The mistakes schools and parents are making right now: banning instead of teaching, adopting without training, treating AI like an IT rollout instead of a relationship shift

Check out the free one-pager:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17ny-mD1QY450NdG5J4gVZzZE01qyFfOM/view?usp=sharing

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Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 EducatorsBy Jeff Utecht & Tricia Friedman

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