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Parent praises no-phone policy and urges caution on classroom digitalization
Summary
At the June 24 meeting, parent Matt Pietering praised Shorewood's no‑phone policy at the high school and urged the district not to "over digitalize" classrooms, warning that text‑based AI tools can undercut student learning and academic integrity.
Matt Pietering, a Shorewood resident, used the public‑comment slot to thank the board for the high‑school no‑phone policy and to urge caution about further digitalization of classrooms. "I encourage the district to not over digitalize classrooms or the experience in the district," Pietering said, adding that while some AI and computational tools are valuable, text‑based tools (which he referenced as ChatGPT) can enable students to outsource their work.
Pietering said he works in industrial and manufacturing computing and has written substantial code, but that experience informs his caution: he distinguished between "good" computational AI (scheduling, automation) and what he described as "bad" text‑based AI that can encourage academic shortcutting. He said he prepared a document in March summarizing concerns and offered five printed copies to board members; staff confirmed sign‑in and accepted the materials for distribution to absent members.
Board members thanked Pietering for returning to speak, noted appreciation for his perspective, and said staff would follow up if appropriate. No formal policy action was taken during the meeting on device‑use or AI; the superintendent later said staff would continue communications and community engagement on related policy matters.
