Are Good Teachers Still Relevant in the AI Era?

Two middle-aged men A and B, remembering their heydays, talking in a smoking room of the Delhi airport;
they were to board the same flight, their cigarettes were similar, but their apparent psychology was not!

Interestingly, one can easily give way to one’s inner state by way of simple exhalation of smoke;
B seemed to be soaking in every word the upbeat A sincerely spoke…

A blew upwards and sideways, making every waft look like a playfully crafted plume;
B’s however leaked out of his nose and parted lips when he was busy ruminating his gloom…

A’s words had left B in utter shock, for B never realised the urgency of such an existential crisis;
B definitely got a fact-check in this age of shifting attention from books/blackboards to smart(mobile) devices…

B happened to be a hard working school teacher, whereas A happened to be a popular content creator;
A thought it was on him to let B also know the new definition of being good-enough, which is mediocre.

He said, “In this age of Artificial Intelligence, the era of good teachers is sadly gone!
You better learn to make better ‘Chai’, for your pursuit in nothing but a cause forlorn…”

B instantly felt the sting, not merely of insult, but of something deeper twisted and torn;
For somewhere between his chalk and duster, a quiet doubt was now born…

A laughed lightly, exhaling smoke in circles neatly spun;
“Information is infinite now, my friend — and attention spans? Hardly one.”
“Children swipe before they think, they scroll before they see;
They consume without digestion–what survives is rarely literacy!”

“Your blackboard will soon be a thing of the past, your textbooks will soon be worn;
because minds today are overstimulated — restless, rushed, and over-informed.”
B’s silence thickened — his cigarette reduced to ash;
He recalled his classroom’s fading focus, those hurried questions, in a flashback.

A leaned closer, voice now measured, no longer playfully loud;
“In this age of infinite content, the mediocre teacher is swallowed by the crowd…”
“You are not competing with schools alone, but screens that never sleep;
Algorithms that measure every pause, every linger, every mindless leap.”

“The crisis is not ignorance anymore — it is excess without discretion;
Not lack of knowledge — but absence of filtration…”

B inhaled sharply — this was no ordinary scorn;
For A was not mocking his profession — he was warning of a storm.

“Infinite videos, endless reels, pointless podcasts, instant AI replies;
But who will teach them what to trust? Who will decode the disguise?”

“Who will tell them what to ignore, what to question, what to doubt?
Who will anchor them morally when the noise grows loud?”

The smoke now rose from B’s another cigarette, this time steady, deliberate, straight;
For somewhere within that haze, he sensed it is still not too late!

A continued, softer now, the arrogance withdrawn;
“It is not enough to be good anymore — that era is, thankfully, gone.”

“A good teacher explains a lesson; a great one shapes a lens;
A good one finishes chapters; a great one shapes the ends.”

“A good teacher merely informs; a great teacher actively transforms;
A good one makes them survive seasons; while a great one helps them weather storms.”

“In a world where AI can answer in seconds, which is also flawless and fast;
A teacher must cultivate wisdom that outlives trends and lasts.”

“You must be a filter — when content is endless and wild;
A moral anchor — when confusion beguiles the innocent child.”

“A compass — when directions multiply without a north;
A curator of wisdom — separating cheap glitter from real worth.”

B crushed his cigarette gently, no longer feeling crestfallen, disheartened, or forlorn; for what A had meant as provocation had now become a resolve rekindled, reborn!

He realised the matter wasn’t about just book vs screen, but rather about the sudden cognitive shift–
with shrinking patience, fractured focus, and relentless dopamine hits.

The boarding call echoed — metallic, firm, drawn;
Yet within B, a quieter revolution had dawned.
“In this age of AI,” he murmured, steady and warm,
“The role of a teacher is not diminished — it is rather reformed.”

“It is not enough to be good,” he thought, as the smoke slowly withdrew;
“One must be great not just at deliberating and discerning, but also at telling the truth.”

And as both men walked toward the gate, beneath departure’s neon glow;
B no longer feared the future, for he can now see his path to real growth.

~Praveen Katiyar
24-02-2026