There is a lot of discussion about education and the future of teaching, and of that discussion, much is horribly flawed!
Back in 2013 I was asked by an education authority on my thoughts of using technology to deliver a teaching ration of 3000:1. Let that sink in for a second. That is the equivalent of the population of Hay-on-Wye.
I’m sure you can imagine my take on it. Whilst technically possible; how tedious, and counter productive a learning experience would that be for a child; and how unrewarding for the teachers and teaching assistants of this world? I made my point clearly, in a calm tone, and the topic was shelved, never to be mentioned again.
Now in 2026, technology and teaching is right at the fore of discussion once again. This time it comes in a different form. The teacher robot. Typically a vaguely humanoid form, with some deliberately being depicted as female, and all with the goal of intensifying and delivering a consistent teaching experience. This is often pitched as freeing up the mundane work from the teachers, and allowing for more time to be spent working alongside the students. Is that what it is really about, or is there something deeper at work?
Teaching, for most, is a vocation. There is a genuine desire to set the coming generations up with the best chance in life, and the actual teaching is the part that brings out the best in the teaching staff. The mundane tasks that prevent teachers teaching and engaging are more generated by the way our schools have become so formulaic, so target driven, and process based. That should be the primary focus for the use of technology, not the teaching. A robot would have access to all the information it needs to be able to impart it to a room full of students, but it won’t be able to cope with different learning ways, different learning speeds, the ‘I just don’t get it’ or indeed the child who’s mind is on other, more serious, things.
Children need inter-personal, communication, information literacy and critical thinking skills for the world. How demoralising would it be for a student to spend six or more hours every day, being talked at by a humanoid robot. The technical capability to deliver the content certainly exists, but that does not provide a conducive learning experience for the child. All those questions, sparking interest, making the class laugh, building relationships that can change a child’s life. None of that will come from a humanoid delivered experience. If you want to just hit as many students with standard issue, impersonal content, then just play them videos and be done with it. If you want teachers and teaching assistants to become nothing more than crowd control, then go ahead.
Technology is great, and it has amazing potential to enrich the lives of the majority of people, but again, it has to be used in the right way for the right thing.
At a time when technology is advancing rapidly, the human component of teaching should be front and center, first and foremost. Bring technology into the lessons, support the educational establishments and staff to learn the new ways; but don’t under any circumstances look to inspire a child using a robot teacher.
