Editor’s note: This story includes information provided by AI. This information has been labeled.
As far back as 370 B.C, Socrates argued that writing would introduce “forgetfulness in the soul.”
More recently, trains could cause “neurosis” (19th century). Automobiles were a “threat to pedestrians” (20th century). And television would “rot the brain” and “ruin children’s eyesight” (mid-20th century).
Technophobia, anxiety around emerging technologies, is no less true now than it was in Socrates’ time. Enter artificial intelligence, the simulation of human intelligence by machines.
AI: Throughout history, technological advancements have consistently triggered fear, often centering on concerns about job displacement, health risks, moral degradation, or the loss of human control.
Now, though, writing, trains, automobiles and television are central to everyday life. And as to those concerns? The fact is, some people manage innovation well, while others allow it to manage them.
Responsible use of AI is exactly what public schools in Elgin and Patagonia are promoting as teachers and students navigate the landscape together.
“The best teachers are going to use this as a teaching tool to become even better teachers,” said Dan Erickson, superintendent/principal of Sonoita Elementary School District #25. Erickson said staying on top of technological advancements is crucial in preparing students – the next generation of leaders – for the future. But also, it’s an important tool for teachers and administrators like himself.
“Our special education teachers in this country spend countless hours writing IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) for students with special needs,” Erickson said. “I’ve seen ChatGPT write an IEP in two minutes. You just put in the student’s current level of academic performance and what the goals will be and it will create a template for you.”
Erickson uses AI to save time on tasks related to his role as superintendent/principal. “Today I am going to create a letter of recommendation for someone,” Erickson said. “I am going to put in the prompts and ChatGPT will write a better letter than I could write in 30 minutes in two minutes.”
Kenny Hayes, superintendent/principal of Patagonia Elementary School District #6 and Patagonia Union High School District #20, remembers the fears prompted by the introduction of calculators.
“People were afraid everyone was going to lose math skills,” he said.
Instead, calculators have become a valuable tool performing rapid, accurate mathematical operations that save time and reduce human error.
In Elgin, middle school teacher Kyndra Ortiz has embraced Khan Academy – which provides educational tools for those in kindergarten through early collage – and its Khanmigo AI as a tool to support math learning. In Patagonia, paraprofessional Priscilla Carrasco has used AI in her lesson planning to move students from comprehension to critical thinking.
AI: Khanmigo is an AI-powered teaching assistant and personal tutor … that helps students solve problems without giving them the answers, while offering teachers tools to create lesson plans, rubrics and educational content.
Khan Academy, which was launched in 2004, was the brainchild of Sal Khan, who built it to tutor his cousins in math. It later evolved into a collection of YouTube videos and then software that provided instant feedback for students.
“I have them (students) using old-fashioned Khan Academy when they work on mastering content stuff – watching videos and answering questions – to reinforce what they are learning in the classroom,” Ortiz said. But she has also incorporated Khanmigo to help students when they get stuck. Students must phrase the question properly in the chatbot in order to get the needed cue to solve the problem. Thus, the bot is not only assisting in math skills but reinforcing vocabulary skills.
Over in Patagonia, Carrasco used AI recently to create a play and collateral materials aimed at satisfying a specific state-mandated standard.
AI: A teaching standard in education means aligning instruction, curriculum and assessments with specific, state-mandated goals that define what students should know and be able to do at each grade level.
In this case, the standard was the ability to “quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.” Using AI, the lesson took Carrasco roughly 10 minutes to formulate. Had she searched for the materials by more conventional means, it would have taken her at least an hour.
Both Ortiz and Carrasco admit to not being entirely comfortable with AI — especially in the beginning. Both pointed to a familiarity with Photomath, a smartphone app developed in 2014 by MicroBlink, that solved math problems rather than teaching students how to solve those problems for themselves.
Hayes pointed out that the fear of students using advances to cheat was no less true when the internet came into being than it is now with AI. With the internet, the concern was the ease with which students could find answers and copy and paste them into assignments. With AI, the fear was that machines would be used to solve problems rather than support learning.
“Our No. 1 concern as educators is that our students are going to use AI to avoid doing the work,” Hayes said. “Instead, we should be asking ourselves how we can teach students to use AI to further their learning while maintaining academic integrity.”
Certainly, there are other concerns with AI, such as bias.
“There’s bias in AI just like there is bias in everything else,” Hayes said. He illustrated this point through an example provided by Emily Sanders, who spoke at the 2025 School Superintendents Association meeting in New Orleans. Sanders is Deputy Superintendent at Hempfield Area School District in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
“So, the story goes you’ve lived in a library since birth and all you know is the information that’s in that library,” Hayes said. “And a lot of information can be biased. AI is the same way.”
For Hayes, a big win to come out of Sanders’ AI session was the “traffic light strategy.” This strategy, posted in all Patagonia public school classrooms, guides teachers and students alike:
• Red: No AI use on assignments
• Red/Yellow: All AI used on assignments must be cited
• Yellow: Students may use AI under the direction of the teacher
• Green: Students are encouraged to use AI
At Sonoita Elementary in Elgin, the board developed a policy on AI in 2025 based on Arizona Department of Education guidance. The policy’s key takeaways are as follows:
AI: Emphasizes responsible use of AI tools in the educational settings; Encourages integration of AI to enhance learning experiences; Mandates training for staff and students on ethical AI usage; Prohibits the use of AI for cheating or academic dishonesty; Requires parental consent for AI-related projects involving students; Establishes guidelines for data privacy and security in AI applications.
“The more I learn about it (AI), the more I want to learn about it to make sure my team is up to speed on how we can use this to make our school better,” Erickson said. “If you’re afraid of technology and not willing to change with the times, you’re going to be left behind.”
Adds Hayes, “Rather than fight it, we are going to embrace it and teach our kids how to use it right.”