Understanding Critical AI in K12 Classroms with Stephanie Smith Budhai and Marie K. Heath

AI permeates K-12 education, but the rush to adopt new tools often bypasses critical questions about equity, bias, and human connection. On this episode of Trending in Education, host Mike Palmer sits down with Stephanie Smith Budhai and Marie K. Heath, co-authors of the new book Critical AI in K-12 Classrooms: A Practical Guide for Cultivating Justice and Joy.

Together, they dismantle the "myth of inevitability" surrounding EdTech and explore how educators can reclaim agency in the face of rapid technological change with AI. From the historical resistance of Sojourner Truth to the concept of the classroom as a "Home Place," the conversation offers a refreshing, techno-skeptical framework that prioritizes student flourishing over big tech's framing.

Key Takeaways:

- Reframing the Narrative: Why "Justice and Joy" must remain central to education, ensuring schools are spaces of affirmation rather than just sites of data extraction.

- The "Home Place" Concept: How bell hooks’ notion of a "Home Place" helps teachers create safe harbors where students can critically interrogate harmful AI outputs and resist standardized bias.

- Sojourner Truth as Metaphor: A look at how Sojourner Truth co-opted and subverted the cartes de visites photography of her day to fund abolition—and how modern students and educators can similarly "sell the shadow to support the substance".

- Pedagogies of Resistance: An overview of culturally sustaining, fugitive, and abolitionist pedagogies that equip teachers to challenge oppressive structures within AI and educational technology.

- The Four Ps of Action: Practical steps for moving forward through Personal, Professional, Pedagogical, and Participatory action.

Why You Should Listen:

This conversation moves beyond the basic "how-to" of generative AI tools. Instead, it tackles the moral and ethical dimensions of bringing powerful, often biased technologies into the classroom. If you are an educator, administrator, or parent looking for a way to navigate the AI hype with your values intact, this episode provides the historical context and practical strategies needed to foster true digital agency.

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Time Stamps:

• [00:00] Intro: Criticality in the Age of AI

• [01:58] Stephanie’s Origin Story: From Nursing to EdTech

• [04:58] Marie’s Origin Story: Reluctant Teacher to Critical Scholar

• [09:25] Writing the Book: Centering Justice in Tech

• [11:20] Why Justice and Joy Matter

• [16:00] Bell Hooks and the Classroom as "Home Place"

• [20:30] Confronting AI Bias: The "High School Boy" Example

• [23:00] Sojourner Truth and Co-opting Biased Tech

• [29:00] The Myth of Inevitability: Do We Have to Use AI?

• [33:00] Culturally Sustaining, Fugitive, and Abolitionist Pedagogies

• [41:40] The 4 Ps: Taking Action Towards Just AI

• [44:00] Conclusion