AI Is Saving Teachers Time — But Is That the Right Goal?

We take a closer look at one of the most repeated claims in AI and education: that AI is saving teachers hours every week. But instead of accepting the headline at face value, I ask a more important question: what should schools actually be optimizing for?Topics covered in this episode:Why claims about AI “saving teachers time” deserve more scrutinyThe limits of self-reported productivity dataWhy optimizing for efficiency can miss the real point of instructionA classroom example of students using AI feedback on writingWhy AI should function as a thinking partner, not an authorityThe idea of transfer: when AI-supported practice helps students improve independentlyHow structured feedback can build student metacognitionWhy students need to evaluate feedback, not just accept itWhat timely, specific feedback makes possible in writing instructionWhy the best use of AI may be enabling more iteration, reflection, and ownership for studentsWhat educators risk losing when “time saved” becomes the main metricSources:https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/02/22/ai-chatbots-teach-writing/https://danmeyer.substack.com/p/i-dont-believe-this-finding-that