Hello young minds! Mark your calendar for January 24th this year, as it might seem like just another day, but it’s actually the International Day of Education. This day was established by the United Nations (UN) in 2018, and it’s to celebrate education as a fundamental human right, and a “ladder” to help people climb out of poverty towards a better and more promising future.
Worldwide, education is in crisis. There are about 244 million children and adolescents that are out of school, and about 617 million children and adolescents can’t read and do basic math. This is devastating! The International Day of Education exists as a reminder to the world that without inclusive, quality education, we can’t break the cycle of poverty or achieve gender equality. The theme for 2026 is really empowering for all students worldwide: “The power of youth in co-creating education.” What this means is that students aren’t just passive learners, but we can be agents of change who should have a "permanent seat” at the table to decide what our learning should look like. We should be involved in what the curriculum is about, and the decision-making regarding our education!
So, why is “co-creating” our education more urgent right now than ever before? It’s because we are in the middle of a radical technological revolution that is changing the very purpose of school. For decades, the K-12 system has been based on an industrial-age model that prioritizes memorization, rigid schedules, and standardized assessments. The biggest force driving this shift is Artificial Intelligence (AI). In the past, a major purpose of school was to provide students with information. However, because AI makes information ubiquitous, memorization is no longer the core skill students need. AI is changing how we learn, how we teach, and what school is all about.
In the last few years, Artificial Intelligence has caused our education system to go through what is known as an “intelligence explosion”. AI is becoming a defining force in education, reshaping how we teach and learn, as mentioned earlier. Some people see AI as a revolution, but there are mixed opinions on how, or even if, AI should be promoted in schools. Some believe we should keep AI at bay to prevent misuse, while others believe that graduating without AI skills will put students at massive disadvantage for the real-world that is normalizing AI in everything.
There are absolutely risks to AI, and we need to be cautious for sure. Here are some reasons as to why she need to be careful on how we handle AI in education:
- Cognitive Atrophy: This is the fear that our brains might get lazy. If we become dependent on AI for writing and problem solving, we might weaken our ability to think deeply or remember information.
- Moral Passivity: There’s a danger in trusting algorithms more than our own judgement. For example, if a school uses AI to predict and screen which student might fail, it could end up removing hope or resources from those who need them most. AI isn’t a be-all and end-all, and we should always use our better judgment when it comes to it.
- The Digital Divide: If only certain schools can afford to advance with AI, it widens the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots,” leaving many students behind and at different playing levels.
Though it can be argued AI isn’t completely horrible. There are some pros to AI. AI can be a direct mediator or a personalised tutor that adapts to how you learn in real-time. It can handle low-level administrative tasks, freeing teachers to focus on mentorship and deeper engagement with their students. Learning AI literacy, which includes engineering, design, and computational thinking, is becoming essential for solving complex, real-world problems in the future. K-12 AI education has become increasingly essential to preparing children early for social and technological changes. I would only imagine if educators in the 1990s were having the same conversations regarding the world wide web, and its hindrance on their students, as we are now on Artificial Intelligence.
The world has changed much since the 20th century, and the internet is a skill that everyone should be familiar with, and my question is, will AI be as commonplace and normalized as we are with the internet today? We would argue that every student should be experts on how to use technologies such as a computer, and how to navigate and utilize the internet. I think AI is going to be the new common, and it’s inevitable. The least we can do is teach AI literacy to our students, and teach them how to use it safely and always use their judgement in its use.
One of the biggest debates regarding Artificial Intelligence, is how it impacts our creativity. New research from Wharton shows that while AI can help you sharpen a single idea, it can actually “flatten” how a group thinks. It generalizes collective thought. In one experiment, when students were asked to invent a toy, 100% of the human-only ideas were unique, while only 6% of the AI-assisted ideas were original.
In an AI-powered world, information is everywhere, so memorizing facts isn’t the core skill anymore. Instead we need to focus on various things such as critical thinking, independent judgement and technical democracy. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze, evaluate, and create rather than just recalling what a chatbot told you. Independent Judgement is about making sure we don’t surrender our own ethical reasons to a machine. AI doesn’t know us, and doesn’t know the context, we do, so whenever it generates something, we have to employ our judgement and deconstruct every response we get from AI. Lastly, technical democracy is learning to think critically about how technology impacts our society and politics. Who is behind AI, and which world powers are using it, and for what purposes? Everything is political, and AI is no exception.
As youth, we make up more than half of the global population, and our future depends on the choices made today. We shouldn’t be passive users of technology, we should be co-creators of it. We have the power to ensure AI serves humanity and artistry rather than replacing it. Artificial intelligence can provide the knowledge, but only you can provide the wisdom to apply it. Use this newfound technology to build the foundation, but always be the one to lay the final brick. Artificial Intelligence can show you the fastest route and keep you from getting lost, but if you never look out the window or decide to take the “scenic” path, you’ll miss the entire journey and eventually forget how to find your way home without it.
Sources
Buehler-Hoard, C. (2025, March 20). Rethinking K-12 Education in the Age of AI. OLC Insights, Online Learning Consortium.https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/olc-insights/2025/03/rethinking-k12-education-in-the-age-of-ai/
Crabtree-Ireland, D. (2025, January 21). Labour leaders: Artificial intelligence must serve human creativity, not replace it. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/artificial-intelligence-must-serve-human-creativity-not-replace-it/
Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies. (n.d.). 2026 International Day of Education. Liu, X., & Zhong, B. (2024). A systematic review on how educators teach AI in K-12 education. Educational Research Review, 45, Article 100642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2024.100642 McRae, P. (2025, Winter).
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing education. ATA Magazine. The Alberta Teachers’ Association., https://teachers.ab.ca/news/artificial-intelligence-revolutionizing-education-0 Murray, S. (2025, July 1).
Does AI limit our creativity? Knowledge at Wharton, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.,https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/does-ai-limit-our-creativity/ UNESCO. (2026, January 23).
International Day of Education 2026: The power of youth in co-creating education. UNESCO Digital Library. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000396769.locale=en
