The four arguments tackled:

Schools need to prepare students for the jobs of the future.

AI is a tool, just like a calculator.

AI won’t replace teachers, but it will save them time and improve their effectiveness.

Students are already using AI, so we have to teach them ethical use.

The value of higher ed in the U.S. has been perpetually under debate since its inception — Was it to maintain public order via Christianity? Teach people to read? Run a new country? All of the above? The debate itself is the point — the contested question of what education is for. Not a bad thing.

But best part was the student who noticed surface area was 6*(area of square) and volume was (area of square)*height. Based on this, she explained that SA would be larger for cubes w/ sides less than 6, equal at 6, and V larger than SA with sides more than 6.

Most groups immediately checked small cases and determined it was never true. After prompting to check larger cases, they revised answer to sometimes.

I do this in my elementary math content course! Great way to make connections between expressions and diagrams and understand what each number represents.

If we really care about helping young people be "good at math", then that means caring about more than correct answers. We have to care about where they are heading next, and that means caring about the unintended consequences of what we tell them now.

Conceptually, area is the number of 1 cm by 1 cm squares that fit inside a 2D (flat) object. So, saying the area is 2 square cm reinforces that idea (counting squares). As others have said, some students hear 2 cm squared and think it’s saying (2cm x 2cm).