Part 10 of 19 in Why Schools are Broken: and How to Fix Them← Part 9Part 11 →
This chapter explains how AI tutors can provide personalised explanations, practice, feedback, and flexible learning outside fixed classroom hours. It also shows why caring adults remain essential for guidance, motivation, values, and relationships.
- AI tutors can adapt explanations, pace, questions, practice, and feedback to each learner.
- AI can connect school subjects to local examples, interests, apprenticeships, and real-world activities.
- Flexible AI-supported learning can reduce wasted time and avoid fixed classroom schedules.
- AI can give incomplete or incorrect answers and cannot replace mentors, community, or moral example.
- AI can free adults from repetitive explanations so they can focus on mentoring and relationships.
Paul Goodman wrote before the personal computer, let alone artificial intelligence. Yet his core complaint—that mass schooling cannot provide the individual attention and real-world relevance young people need—points directly to what AI can now offer.
What an AI Tutor Can Do
A well-designed AI tutor can:
- Explain a concept in multiple ways until the learner understands it.
- Adapt instantly to the learner’s pace and current knowledge.
- Ask Socratic questions that force the learner to think rather than memorise.
- Provide unlimited practice and immediate feedback.
- Connect abstract ideas to the learner’s own environment and interests.
- Be available at any hour, in any language, at near-zero marginal cost.
In India, tools such as the free AI tutor at cbse.eklavya.io already demonstrate parts of this promise for the CBSE syllabus. Parents and students can use conversational AI to explore topics deeply, generate practice questions, or get explanations tailored to a child’s level. The same technology can support apprenticeships by helping a young person understand the theory behind a practical skill, or help a parent design a learning plan around real-world activities.
How AI Addresses Goodman’s Specific Complaints
Goodman complained that mass schooling could not give individual attention. AI can. He complained that schooling was disconnected from real life. AI can help bridge that gap by generating explanations linked to local examples, or by helping a learner research a question that arose during an apprenticeship. He complained that too much time was wasted. AI can compress the time needed to master basic skills so that more time remains for real-world activity.
Importantly, AI does not require the learner to sit in a classroom for fixed hours. A young person can study a concept for twenty minutes when curiosity strikes, then return to practical work. This flexibility is closer to the natural rhythm of learning than the rigid school timetable.
Limitations and the Continuing Need for Humans
AI is not a complete solution. It cannot provide the warmth of a good mentor, the discipline of a shared project, or the moral example of an adult who lives with integrity. It can hallucinate or give incomplete answers. Young people still need human guidance to evaluate what the AI says, to stay motivated, and to connect learning to purpose. The best use of AI is therefore as a powerful tool in the hands of caring adults and motivated learners, not as a replacement for community.
AI Does Not Replace Adults; It Multiplies Them
Goodman wanted more adult attention, not less. AI can free adults from the repetitive task of delivering basic explanations so they can spend time on mentoring, discussing values, arranging real-world experiences, and building relationships. A parent or a community educator armed with a good AI tutor can support far more children effectively than a traditional classroom teacher working alone.
Frequently asked questions
What can an AI tutor do for students?
It can explain concepts in multiple ways, adapt to a learner's pace, ask Socratic questions, provide practice and immediate feedback, and connect ideas to interests and surroundings.
Can AI tutors replace teachers or parents?
No. Young people still need human guidance, motivation, help evaluating AI answers, moral example, and connection to purpose.
How can AI make learning more flexible?
A learner can study for twenty minutes when curiosity strikes and then return to practical work, instead of following fixed classroom hours.
How can adults use AI tutors?
AI can handle repetitive basic explanations, allowing parents and community educators to spend more time mentoring, discussing values, arranging real-world experiences, and building relationships.