As I near the third Tuesday of November, I continue my "#techtiptuesday - Technology I’m grateful for this month." This week, I want to highlight AI writing tools. While it may not resonate with everyone, this technology has been immensely helpful as I navigate the challenging Scholastic article in the fourth-grade magazine, where two students debate whether music should be taught in schools.

As a music educator, I found this article particularly perplexing and felt somewhat targeted by its content. It’s confusing why Scholastic would question a subject that those of us in music education tirelessly champion. Since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, funding has been increasingly directed toward STEM fields. Those of us teaching music have since committed ourselves to demonstrating that music is a fundamental subject that enhances not only musical abilities but also skills in reading, writing, mathematics, discipline, work ethic, teamwork, collaboration, emotional balance, and much more.

The impact of this article on music educators has been significant. By presenting a debate on a topic that should be universally accepted—much like asking if math or science should be taught—Scholastic has effectively undermined a subject that deserves unwavering support. As highlighted by girlconductor on Instagram, illustrates that some discussions should never be up for debate, and maybe the topic of debate should be, “Should we have a book fair or should we not have a book fair in our schools?”

AI Writing Tools: ChatGPT, Magic Write (Canva), and Magicschool.ai

When faced with difficult topics that may provoke a defensive reaction or our reactions are deemed "too passionate," it's essential to take a step back. Words hold significant power, as highlighted in this article. If we wish to respond, we must strike a balance between passion and professionalism.

AI writing tools can help you express your opinions in a professional manner, ensuring your voice is heard.

Canva offers Magic Write AI tools that allow you to write a paragraph and ask it to be rewritten, make it more fun, shortened, or even adapted to mimic another person's voice.

Magicschool.ai can analyze an email that has left you feeling defensive and generate a more professional response than you might be able to craft at that moment.

For this instance, I opted for ChatGPT to evaluate everything and create a response that I could modify and refine. Below, you'll see the prompt I used:

“You are an elementary music educator. Write a professional and accurate response with research data to support why music should be taught in schools. Include how studying music in elementary school can assist a student's discipline, work ethic, reading skills, and math skills, help them to understand their emotions, and give them a reason to want to go to school every day. Your audience is parents of elementary students and Scholastic Inc. publications. The statement given to you by Scholastic's "Debate It!" article was that in recent years, many schools have cut their music programs to save money and use that money to pay educators who teach other subjects like math and reading; however provide no proof of this. They also state that music in Albuquerque Public Schools has been increased, and music can improve attention spans and boost confidence. Scholastic asks two fourth graders to debate whether music should be taught in school. Kaleeyah says yes, as music classes help her state of mind and mood, and she learns how to work together as a team to perform in an ensemble. Her study of an instrument has helped her in learning how to work hard to improve her skills. Aaron feels that music should not be taught in schools because it is too expensive, and the money can be used to buy new textbooks and computers, and the time could be spent in science and math classes.”

Even though this prompt is lengthy, I've learned the importance of being detailed in my prompts. This helps ChatGPT, or any AI tool, generate responses that align more closely with my intentions. From this response, I can make adjustments and subsequently submit it through Scholastic’s Form to Contact a Representative found here: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/contact-us.html.

I urge everyone to express your thoughts through writing or video in response to Scholastic. Our collective voices hold significant power and our words matter. They must recognize the irresponsibility they displayed during this debate and take a step back to discover a way to make amends.

Music:

What Does Anybody Know About Anything by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/dtv/

Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/