In 2023, when generative AI tools such as ChatGPT were first becoming widely available, Toronto French School (TFS) established a committee to tackle “thoughtful” integration of the emerging technology in its curriculum.
asserted
School → become → curriculum
By that fall, students were engaging with AI through guided discussions and class projects in their computer science classes.
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students → engage → classes
Grade 8 students learned about AI deep fakes as part of supervised explorations of digital trust and misinformation.
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students → learn → trust
Grade 9 students used coding to understand how these AI systems work.
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systems → use → coding
Today, TFS has a formal generative AI policy and gives students limited access to Google Gemini as a learning tool.
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TFS → have → tool
“Our goal is to create content creators, not content imitators,” said Jean-Bastien Urfels, TFS’ head of school.
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Urfels → create → school
“We believe addressing AI early is crucial as students navigate rapid technological change.
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students → believe → change
By teaching how AI works, its limitations and its ethical implications, TFS fosters the critical thinking and digital literacy needed to ensure technology supports learning — never replaces it.”
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technology → teach → it
Students cover 16 different topics — including cybersecurity, data literacy and online communication — in practical, skills-based ways that prepare them for real world use cases.
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that → cover → cases
TFS has a “no tools before skills” policy; students in every grade build old-school research and critical-thinking abilities before they get anywhere near AI.
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they → have → AI
There’s also a “no AI in secret” rule, meaning a student must explicitly ask a teacher for permission to use AI, do all their work within Google Docs to maintain a trackable version history and clearly disclose when AI is used.
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AI → ’ → history
The school uses a closed AI system, ensuring data stays on a private server and isn’t available to public AI models.
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data → use → models
Urfels said that everything they do is in line with a wider philosophy of “adaptation over prohibition.”
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they → say → prohibition
“In an age where AI can promote human biases, generate convincing errors or produce deepfakes, students must have the skills to evaluate digital content,” Urfels said.
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Urfels → promote → content
“By teaching digital citizenship, TFS ensures students remain the true architects of their own work, understand how to protect their data privacy and view AI as a tool rather than a replacement for human curiosity, creativity and original thinking.”
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students → teach → curiosity
At The Sterling Hall School, a private elementary school for boys in North York, teachers introduce students to AI by leading in-depth conversations and providing practical hands-on opportunities.
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teachers → introduce → opportunities
“We felt it was important to address and incorporate generative AI because of its great potential to promote learning, as well as its potential for compromising development,” said Marco Zimbalatti, director of IT at Sterling Hall.
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Zimbalatti → feel → Hall
“Experiences should inspire individual growth, curiosity and passion for learning.
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Experiences → inspire → learning
We do not want students using AI in ways that lead to cognitive offloading.”
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that → want → offloading
Sterling Hall has a “student-AI-student” philosophy, meaning that students always start with their own thinking, use AI for feedback and then “critically evaluate” what the AI has to say before making their own decision about whether to apply it.
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AI → have → it
They use MagicSchool, an AI tool that creates a secure “walled garden” environment with built-in teacher supervision and data privacy.
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that → use → supervision
AI use looks different depending on grade level, Zimbalatti said.
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Zimbalatti → look → level
“In Grade 1, students work together with their teacher to develop a prompt that transforms their sketches of imaginary insects with unique characteristics into AI-generated images.
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that → work → images
In Grade 5 drama classes, students use AI to help develop ‘raps’ and students are then assessed on their delivery,” he said.
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he → use → delivery
“In Grade 8 French, students use AI to get immediate rubric-based feedback on their compositions helping them revise and strengthen their work before submission.”
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them → use → submission
Zimbalatti said they’re keenly aware that this is a rapidly changing field with potential ethical red flags — risks of plagiarism, youth safety concerns, environmental costs, potential impact on employment and so on.
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this → say → employment
“We recognize that AI will continue to evolve in ways we cannot fully predict,” he said.
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he → recognize → ways
“We therefore need to remain attentive to emerging developments and nimble enough to adapt our learning approaches as both our students and the technology evolve.”
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students → need → approaches
The Aporia
