I recently had the opportunity to interview Amy Brown, a teacher who has led the AI Task Force at my kids’ school for the past several years.. I have been very pleased by the way that our school, Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy, has handled AI with our kids, and I wanted to see what we could learn from her as Christian parents navigating AI with our kids.  I think you will glean a lot from her responses! 

Tell us a little about you and your family and your role at Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy. 

I have been married for 27 years to my patient and loving husband, Luke, and we have two college-aged boys and one high school age daughter. This will be my 11^th year teaching at Legacy where I’m the high school science department head, high school programming and engineering science teacher, and the high school robotics coach.
 

Tell us more about your role as the AI Task Force Lead at your school and some things you have learned about AI through this role.

Last year I served as the AI Task Force Lead at Legacy for its inaugural year, and here’s a bit about what that looks like, along with some of what I’ve learned about AI in the process: 

Legacy’s AI Task Force is a small group of middle school and high school teachers and administrative staff who guide the formal policy development and research efforts regarding artificial intelligence in the school. We have formal meetings each month and informal communication throughout the month to share new AI tools, ideas on improving our policies, and what we are seeing from other teachers and students regarding AI usage. We have a list of short-term and long-term goals we are working toward. I’m still on the task force this year, but Legacy’s high school curriculum coordinator is now in charge of the task force to help us implement our new plans across all of high school. 

Since you are clearly knowledgeable about Artificial Intelligence, can you give us a brief description of AI to help us understand it better? 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems and software designed to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, and decision-making. 

AI has existed for decades, particularly through classical machine learning, which excelled at processing large amounts of numerical data, recognizing patterns, and making predictions. 

What has captured widespread attention in recent years are Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Gemini, and GitHub Copilot. These models are revolutionary because they can process and generate natural human language with remarkable fluency.

Unlike earlier AI systems, LLMs work by: 

• Tokenizing text (converting words and characters into numbers)

• Recognizing patterns across massive datasets

• Predicting the most likely continuation of a sentence, paragraph, or even a multi-page response based on a prompt. 

Powered by advanced artificial neural networks, LLMs represent a major leap into generative AI. This technology is capable of creating new, original content. Beyond text, generative AI now produces images, video, and audio. 

Can you help us understand why AI can be a great tool but a dangerous shortcut for our kids? 

Artificial Intelligence is transforming how professionals work across every industry. It helps streamline repetitive tasks, generate new ideas, and even complete or perfect deliverables more efficiently. For experienced professionals, AI can be a powerful productivity booster because professionals already understand the underlying concepts and can evaluate whether AI’s output is accurate, ethical, and useful. 

The problem we see with students using AI is that they bypass the learning process and never develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Using AI on homework might result in higher homework grades and less time spent on assignments, but those same students often don’t actually know the material the next day in class, and it shows in lower scores on in-class tests and quizzes. Overall, their learning and thinking skills are diminished because they’ve outsourced the most important part of school: developing their curiosity and their minds. 

How does your school approach the use of AI from a Biblical worldview, and how can we as parents do the same?

At Legacy, we approach technology and all learning through the lens of a Biblical worldview. God is the Creator of all things, including knowledge, wisdom, logic, and creativity. He is the source of all reality and has revealed truth through His Word and creation. Since we are made in His image, students are called to engage with truth, not outsource it. 

When we allow a machine to think for us, rather than seeking understanding and wisdom through study and effort, we bypass the very process that God designed for intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth. Scripture calls us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). That includes engaging our minds fully in the learning process. Academic integrity isn’t just a classroom expectation; it’s an act of worship, a reflection of our character, and a way to honor God with the gifts He’s given us. 

A Good Rule of Thumb 

If a student is using AI to avoid thinking, they are using it the wrong way. 

If a student is using AI as a tutor to build their thinking, they are using it wisely. 

How do you practically apply this Biblical approach in the classroom?

To help realign teacher and student goals, Legacy is rolling out a new grading policy for high school by the end of this year, currently being piloted with a dozen high school teachers. 

As one of the teachers piloting it, I still assign homework so students can practice and learn at home, but I weigh that at-home work very little or not at all. Students understand that work sent home is meant for learning, because the next day in class they have to prove they actually learned it. 

Each class period, I give a quick check covering the material assigned for homework the night before, and that check counts as a full daily grade. This has greatly reduced students’ incentive to use AI to complete homework, since they know it won’t help their grades. They have to actually learn the material to earn the grade they want. 

Acceptable Use of AI in Assignments at Legacy 

Students may:

• Request AI to explain a general concept to understand the material further.

• Ask AI to generate additional problems beyond what was assigned, for extra practice with challenging concepts. 

Students may not:

• Upload or paste entire assignments into AI tools.

• Ask AI to complete or fix an assignment.
 
• Submit AI-generated work as their own. 

How can we help our kids navigate AI in God-honoring ways within their education?   

For Students, Learning to Think Is the Goal 

As students, their goal isn’t to complete the work, but to develop skills through the process. When they let AI write or generate answers without grasping the underlying logic, they miss the opportunity to develop core skills like problem-solving, resilience, and independent thinking. 

AI can be a tool for critical thinking: helpful after students build foundational knowledge, but harmful if used before students learn how to think things through themselves. 

Homework is designed to help students practice and internalize what they’re learning. Using AI to complete homework short-circuits that process.

As author Ted Chiang put it in 2023, “using ChatGPT to complete assignments is like bringing a forklift into the weight room,” and you’ll never build cognitive fitness that way. You may lift every weight, but you’ll have no personal gain to show for it. Struggling through challenges is where the real learning happens. Struggle builds critical thinking skills, perseverance, and confidence that students need for college, careers, and real-world problem-solving. 

Are there any resources you would suggest to help parents navigate AI with their children? 

Read articles, listen to podcasts, and talk to others about AI. As parents, we need to know what’s out there. You can’t know it all, but don’t let that stop you from learning as much as you can. 

There are also many great AI tools to help students actually learn. I encourage my older high school students to use those, though the younger the student, the more caution I’d have. A great starting point is Gemini Notebook. This tool lets students upload content like a document, website, or video link, and it will generate quizzes, slides, podcasts, and more to help them learn the specific material they uploaded. 

Thank you, Amy, for helping us understand AI and how it impacts our children from an academic and spiritual standpoint.  Thank you for the tips to help us navigate AI use with our kids and provide ways to keep our kids accountable to learning and doing their own work. I believe the more we as parents understand AI and how it can negatively affect our kids, the better equipped we will be to help them navigate it wisely. We can help our kids recognize when AI may hinder their learning and encourage them to honor God by loving and serving Him with both their hearts and their minds.