There’s a lot of talk these days about students using ChatGPT—some people think it’s ruining education, and others say it’s just the next step in how we learn. But the truth is more complicated than just “good” or “bad.” ChatGPT and other AI tools are everywhere now. Students use them. Teachers use them. Even the school systems are experimenting with them.
So why does it seem like students are the only ones who are getting accused of using it inappropriately?
Maddie Mathias, a junior at LHS, stated, when discussing the recent rise in ChatGPT, “I didn’t really care about ChatGPT that much last year, but now, I mean, I use it way more.”
Let’s start with what’s really happening in classrooms right now. Teachers are becoming more suspicious than ever. Some of them say they can “just tell” when a student uses AI—maybe the grammar is too clean, maybe the ideas feel robotic, or maybe the student used too many em-dashes (yes, seriously—some teachers think using long dashes is a sign of ChatGPT). But here’s the thing: what if a student just naturally writes like that? What if that’s what they have been taught? What if they have been practicing and actually improving?
It’s getting to the point where students are afraid to sound too smart in their writing because they might get accused of using AI, and that’s not fair. We’re supposed to learn and grow. Isn’t the whole point of school to get better at writing, thinking, and expressing ourselves? So why is good writing suddenly seen as suspicious?
To make things even more confusing, some of the same teachers who are quick to accuse students of using AI use ChatGPT themselves.
Mr. Cangemi, an English teacher at Ludlow High School, commented on where the line of teachers and students using ChatGPT should be drawn: “It’s so new and so complicated…if a teacher can enhance a presentation using the ChatGPT tool, why wouldn’t they?”
Some teachers are writing lesson plans, worksheets, and even grading rubrics using AI tools. One teacher even admitted that they used ChatGPT to write comments on essays because it saved them time. So, if teachers are allowed to use AI to make their jobs easier, why is it a crime when students use it to help with their learning?
Plenty of high school students have busy lives between work, sports, and school. Sometimes, there is simply not enough time for students to complete all their work. But where is the line between helping and hurting students? While using AI for simple, quick, or even “unnecessary” assignments is not necessarily harmful, writing a whole essay or an entire assignment can be. Are students going to start losing the knowledge and patience to properly write?
There’s also the issue of AI checkers—tools that detect whether something was written by a human or a machine. The problem is, they’re not very accurate. Many of them give false positives, meaning they say something was written by AI when it wasn’t, which has already happened to real students. Imagine turning in something you worked hard on, just to be told you “cheated” by a bot that can’t even explain why. That can be damaging—not just to your grade, but to your trust in the whole system.
Mr. Cangemi also stated when asked about the topic of good writing and AI detection, “I don’t trust AI detection at this point–I don’t think we can.”
Students in universities are being accused of AI and losing credit. Some colleges are going as far as expelling students and revoking scholarships, with their full trust in AI detection. AI detectors will call fully human writing AI if it’s advanced or even slightly good.
But even with all these problems, we have to be honest: some students are misusing ChatGPT. They’re copying and pasting whole essays and turning them in without reading them. That’s not learning. And in the long run, it only hurts the student. If you never learn how to organize your thoughts or express yourself, how are you going to survive in college, in a job interview, or even just writing a cover letter someday?
The Ludlow Cub Editor and student at LHS, Emilia Alves, discussed where the line should be drawn with students using ChatGPT, “I think it should stop at getting inspiration ideas, grammar, and explaining difficult concepts–after that point you’re just hurting yourself.”
The thing is, AI isn’t going anywhere. It’s here to stay, just like calculators and the internet stayed. When calculators first came out, people thought they would ruin math. Now, they’re just a normal part of learning. The key is learning when and how to use them. You wouldn’t use a calculator before learning how to do basic math, right? The same thing applies to writing—you shouldn’t rely on AI before you understand how to write on your own.
What schools need to do now is adapt. Instead of just banning ChatGPT and punishing students, they should teach us how to use it responsibly. AI can actually be a good learning tool when used the right way. It can help brainstorm ideas, organize outlines, fix grammar mistakes, and explain hard concepts. For students who struggle with writing, English learners, or even students with learning disabilities, AI can be a support, not a shortcut.
Plus, if teachers are going to use it too, there needs to be more transparency. Let’s not act like it’s only students taking advantage of technology. I’ve seen lessons that were clearly written by ChatGPT. If a teacher uses AI to create an assignment, and a student uses AI to complete it, who is really at fault?
Another issue is trust. There’s already so much pressure on students to do everything perfectly. We’re expected to take honors classes, AP exams, play sports, work jobs, do community service, and still turn in flawless papers. That’s why AI feels like a “solution” for so many. But instead of treating us like criminals, schools should ask: What support are students missing? Why are they turning to AI in the first place?
In the end, it comes down to balance. ChatGPT isn’t the enemy, but it’s also not a magic fix. We have to learn how to use it wisely. Teachers need better ways to teach writing in the age of AI, and students need more freedom to explore and grow without being accused just because they used a dash or had decent grammar.
So maybe the real question isn’t “Is AI good or bad?” Maybe it’s: “Are schools ready to evolve?” Because the future is already here. And we all have a choice—to resist it, or to learn how to live with it.