Teacher on AI: ‘For me, it’s my archnemesis’
A Cork teacher has described artificial intelligence (AI) as his “archnemesis” when it comes to educating his students.
English teacher at Skibbereen Community School, Conor Murphy, said he is very wary of using AI in teaching and that “he’s not going near it until it settles down”.
“I've had students come in with bizarre points or some ridiculous phraseology,” Mr Murphy told the Cork Independent.
“The core of my teaching from 1st to 6th year is trying to develop two main things: I want my students to use critical thinking, and also creating their own voice, they're learning how to write for themselves and as themselves, express themselves in their own way, and AI is destroying both of those things.
“For me, it's my arch nemesis, it's the anti-English teacher and I'd be very wary of using it at all,” he added.
Mr Murphy is an Executive Standing Committee member for the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI). His comments on AI in education come as 500 second-level teachers from around Ireland gather in Wexford for the 2024 ASTI Annual Convention to discuss the future of teaching.
Teacher supply crisis
As well as AI, another key issue dominating discussion at this year’s convention is the ongoing crisis around teacher recruitment and retention in Ireland.
The ASTI has demanded radical action in order to curb Ireland’s teacher supply crisis, including the need for better pay and permanent roles for newly qualified teachers, as well as to address workload and work intensity in teaching, and the cost of living and housing crises.
“I don’t think teaching is the attractive job that it once was many years ago,” continued Mr Murphy, who started teaching 25 years ago.
“When I started teaching, your mum would say, ‘God, that’s a great job, well done’. It used to mean something and maybe a bit of respect and a bit of stature. These days, that’s all gone,” he added.
In 2011 and again in 2012, specific pay cuts for new entrants to the teaching profession were imposed by the Irish government creating a pay gap between the salary of new-entrant teachers and those who entered the profession before 2011.
Mr Murphy said the vocational aspects of the job often clash with the practical aspects like pay and working conditions.
“You’re looking out for the students and the vocational aspects and you want to do your best for them all the time, but you also want to get paid a suitable amount for the job you’re doing,” he said.
When one of his students expresses an interest in becoming a teacher, Mr Murphy said he tells them to “absolutely go for it” despite the difficulties the profession currently faces.
He said: “Personally, I think it’s a fantastic job. It’s like anything – If you want to do something, that’s the thing you should do. I love my job, I love teaching, I love every aspect of it. So, I’m not going to put somebody off a job that they want to do and aspire to.”
Speaking at the 2024 ASTI Annual Convention, ASTI President Geraldine O’Brien said newly qualified Irish teachers are moving abroad because they don’t feel valued.
Addressing the Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, Ms O’Brien said the ASTI was very disappointed to learn that the Department of Education had not sought any funding from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to induce teachers back from countries such as Dubai or the United Arab Emirates.
“Currently, on returning to Ireland they must recommence their careers in Ireland at the bottom of the teachers’ pay scale, irrespective of their significant experience attained in teaching diverse curricula abroad,” said Ms O’Brien.