REPORT FROM ABROAD: American Visitor Offers Bonus: A Lesson in AI

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Created on Tuesday, 05 November 2024 14:15

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final in a series by Mark Gorman of Sitka, reporting on his mission to Myanmar (formerly Burma) with an international humanitarian relief agency.

By Mark Gorman
    On The Thai-Myanmar Border, October 31, 2024 –– I am at the end of my assignment at the 3,000-student migrant school along the Thai-Myanmar Border. Two days ago, I presented a ten-page, ambitious five-year strategic plan to the school’s leadership. Accompanying it is a management letter suggesting it remain on the shelf until the critical administrative capacity and funding shortages are addressed.
    In early October, the school’s 100 Karen teachers were informed they would receive only half of their monthly salary due to a budget shortfall, reducing their paychecks to $90. Despite this, as I walk through the campus, I see full classrooms, engaged teachers, and polite, happy students —an inspiring world apart.

Karen teachers and students pose for a photo in the 3,000-student migrant school along the Thai-Myanmar border. (Photo by Mark Gorman)

    On this morning stroll, I watch a group of students prepare a breakfast for a communal meal in a massive wok over a wood fire. Nearby, others wash their laundry by a water source in large metal basins.  A campus-wide alarm rings announcing that the 7:30 classes will start in 15 minutes. Students, dressed in the colors designated for the day, fill the mud-packed paths between dormitories and outhouses, many offering a polite “Good morning, sir” as they pass by.
    With my primary assignment complete, I offer to teach an Introduction to AI workshop to interested teachers. This is the third I’ve done this year—one of which was for the Sitka Sound Science Center staff. Given the spartan circumstances of the school, it is fair to question the utility of this workshop. Nonetheless, 14 teachers are waiting for me in the computer room. Each sit at an internet-connected computer. Only three have ever used AI.
    I start with the introduction I have used at the previous workshops: “In ten years remember the 71-year-old white guy who told you to pay very close attention to AI —it’s going to change your world”.          Just then, the power goes off. Thirty minutes later, we are back in business. I ask CHATGPT to create a four-panel cartoon showing Karen teachers learning AI. It does a passable job, yet It captivates the class. I ask for suggestions for the next prompt. “What is the recipe for mohinga (a very famous and complicated Burmese breakfast dish)?” AI puts the Joy of Cooking to shame. The class is thrilled especially when it quickly translates the recipe into Burmese.
    “What exercises and activities can I use to teach grade 12 students about plural and singular nouns?”. The English teacher watches as her question materializes on the overhead screen. CHATGPT immediately produces a lesson plan listing ten exercises each with suggested materials and activities. The teachers sit in awe. They spend the rest of the class testing and learning the limits of this tool. They are quick to understand its power and potential risks.
    I leave the classroom with the teachers. They are gracious with their thanks. I watch nimbus clouds gathering over Myanmar’s Taw Nor Mountains. This monsoon season is nearly over.  The various combatants of this civil war-conflicted country are preparing for a major dry-season offensive. It is anticipated that this year’s fighting will be more intense as the Military Junta tries to regain territory lost in the past 12 months to rebel forces.  Last year’s fighting swelled the school’s population to a bursting point.  All worry about the impact of renewed combat.
    I watch the teachers wander down the trails to their humble dwellings nestled in the surrounding hills. I am encouraged by their resilience, dedication, and modeling of the school’s motto “I Will Be Kind, I Will Be Good, I Will Be a Peacemaker”.