By: Kristi Dunn, Contributing Opinion Writer
As a parent, I want the same thing every mom or dad wants—schools where our kids feel supported, challenged, and prepared for the real world. I’ve watched our teachers work tirelessly, often with too few resources and too many demands. They’re grading papers late at night, creating lesson plans over the weekend, and somehow still finding the energy to encourage our kids when they need it most. They deserve every tool we can give them to make their jobs easier and their impact greater.
Artificial intelligence—AI—can be one of those tools. And here’s the truth: it’s already helping Tennessee teachers right now. According to a 2025 survey done by the Tennessee Department of Education, 40% of our teachers and 60% of our administrators report using AI in their work. This isn’t some distant future—its already here, making lesson planning faster, helping break down complex topics for students, and taking time-consuming tasks off teachers’ plates.
I know some people hear “AI” and worry about cheating. But let’s be honest kids have been finding ways to cheat for as long as schools have existed. Cheating didn’t start with AI, and banning this technology won’t make it disappear. What it will do is deny students access to the very tools they’ll be expected to use in their future jobs. Whether it’s medicine, engineering, design, business, or any other field—AI is going to be part of their professional lives. Our schools should be teaching them how to use it wisely, not pretending it doesn’t exist.
The best AI tools don’t replace teachers—they make them more effective. They give teachers real-time insight into which students are struggling and where, allow them to personalize feedback for each child, and free up their time to focus on what no computer can do: inspire, encourage, and connect. My own kids do their best work when their teachers have time to truly engage with them, and if AI can give teachers more of that time, I’m all for it.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be careful. Like any tool, AI has risks, and we need to set thoughtful guardrails. But we can’t afford to regulate it so heavily that it never has a chance to help our classrooms. Our kids will compete in a world where AI is a given—Tennessee students deserve to be ready for that world.
At the end of the day, this is about opportunity. Education is the foundation for our children’s futures. If we want them to succeed, we need to give our teachers every possible advantage to help them grow. AI is one of those advantages. Let’s not take it away before we’ve even seen its full potential.
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Kristi Dunn is a mother, health care worker, and activist based in Wilson County, Tennessee.
