To teach in the time of ChatGPT is to know pain

LLM use is the most demoralizing problem I’ve faced as a college instructor.

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[t3rminus]

Students often carry misconceptions about coursework. They may view an instructor as an opponent standing in the way of the grade they want. And they see “getting the right answers” as the goal of education because that’s how you secure that grade.

Unfortunately, this is how much of human society has decided to structure education.

I would've had an amazing time in school if I had been evaluated based on my understanding or my engagement with the course material. I was a pretty good student with a love of learning and I often went beyond the requirements and narrow topics.

I definitely had some teachers that encouraged this and sympathized when my grades didn't match my effort. It didn't matter that I absorbed related material, engaged in higher-level concepts, or shortcut the repetition and memorization; I had to regurgitate the material we'd been given, exactly as it had been given, or we weren't getting the grade. I wasn't the only one like this in my class either.

The education system we've somehow accepted as the standard in modern society doesn't allow for free thought, outside-the-box thinking, creativity, or forging new paths. The standards are set based on the lowest common denominator, and repeatable, testable metrics. All students must perform the same, and all students must repeat what was "taught", no exceptions.

In this sense, instructors are often made into the opponent by a flawed education system, and "getting the right answers" becomes the only way to succeed.

As much as I hate them, LLMs are simply proving how flawed the system has always been.