We Teach Literacy. We Teach Maths. Why Not AI?
"AI should be embedded across the curriculum." It’s a phrase we hear more and more and on the surface, it sounds logical. After all, AI is already turning up in English essays, science reports, even digital art. But after nearly two decades in schools, I’ve learned that when responsibility is spread too thin, essential skills fall through the gaps. And that’s the risk we’re taking with AI right now. Without clear ownership and structured teaching, we risk turning a critical new literacy into background noise. When something is everyone’s job, it often becomes no one’s priority.
We’ve seen this before. Take literacy. While all teachers are expected to support reading and writing in their subjects, we still teach literacy explicitly. We teach phonics, reading comprehension, and how to structure writing. We build a strong foundation before asking pupils to apply it across the curriculum. We don’t assume children will “pick it up” just because they encounter text in different lessons. So why are we treating AI differently?
AI is not just a new tool—it’s a new literacy. Pupils need to learn how to ask effective questions, check sources, understand AI bias, and decide when to use AI and when not to. They need to be taught to think critically about AI-generated content, not just how to generate it. These are foundational skills for the future, and they won’t develop by chance. Exposure alone isn’t enough.
Yet in many schools, AI is arriving in fragments. A handful of enthusiastic teachers experiment with tools like ChatGPT or Canva. Pupils might dabble with AI in the odd homework task or classroom activity. But without structured teaching, this remains surface-level and as with other subjects and topics, leads to curiosity without competence.
Scattered use doesn’t build deep understanding. It doesn’t equip pupils to question, adapt, or apply AI effectively. And that’s a serious risk. Because the future won’t reward those who’ve simply “used AI”—it will reward those who understand how to harness it. Schools that don’t prepare pupils for this reality risk leaving them behind, not just academically—but professionally, socially, and economically.
We ALL need to follow the UAE's approach
UAE Government Schools Will Implement Weekly Lesson From August 2025
The UAE has taken a more intentional approach by making AI a discrete subject in its own right. This doesn’t mean removing AI from other lessons, it means building the foundations first, through direct instruction. It’s the same logic we apply to literacy and maths: teach it properly, then apply it broadly.
I know this view might not be popular but if we're honest - many teachers are already stretched. Some are still figuring out where to begin with AI, and that's exactly my point. We can’t ask teachers to embed AI critically across all subjects if we haven’t first given them clarity, training, and curriculum time. We shouldn’t assume AI literacy will grow organically. It requires structure, ownership, and space to develop.
This is not a tech issue. It’s a curriculum issue. It’s about reasoning, judgement, and critical thinking in an age of intelligent systems. Treating AI like a tool to sprinkle on top of other learning misses the point. This is about how pupils engage with knowledge, make decisions, and navigate an AI-rich world.
We don’t treat maths or literacy like optional extras. So why are we still treating AI that way?
It’s time to stop asking where we can squeeze AI in.
It’s time to teach it clearly, confidently, and with purpose.
