How to Balance Ethics, Mental Health & "The Presidential AI Challenge" in K to 12 Education

By Catherine Patterson-Sterling, PhD, RCC

Recently, US Presidential First Lady Melania Trump launched the new “Presidential AI Challenge” with a focus on integrating AI into K to 12 education. With an emphasis on AI literacy, the challenge is around how to support students with their mental health along with AI safety. The ethics of AI is a primary issue that requires the scaffolding of mental health supports within a strong school community.

Youth of today live in two worlds which includes physical as well as digital connections, which together becomes an integrated and blended reality as the ease of technological world as well as the global connections of community are seamless even if invisible to the eye at any given moment.

The opportunity is to build the strength of community along with mental health supports so that  youth are able to maximize the potential of AI and leverage the benefits as part of progress, but to also maintain the strong inner core of self along with physical community.

With tools and skills to build up strong mental health as well as core community, youth are able to harness artificial intelligence (AI) with maximum benefit, but also position themselves to be able to develop the HI (Human Interface) skills required to navigate globally guiding the implementation of AI by maintaining a leadership state and not a servant state to digital innovations. Generative AI at present generates solutions, seamlessly integrates ways forward, but people need to have the nuanced layers of human understanding to guide development.

For this reason, in education, users require strong mental health and core community to balance ethical considerations and sustainability in the midst of this digital age revolution.

How Schools Can Create Core Community and Strong Mental Health Focus Required For AI in Education

Now there is an innovative way to help set students up for success by equipping them with essential soft skills that not only support their academic growth but also prepare them for life beyond the classroom. These skills include learning how to fully engage in their studies with focus and persistence, building resiliency to bounce back from setbacks, and developing the confidence to lean into challenges rather than shy away from them. Students will also strengthen their ability to manage screen time and digital overload in healthy, balanced ways, while practicing future-oriented planning that encourages goal-setting, decision-making, and self-advocacy.

Preparing The Foundational Core Community First To Support Technological Innovation

Engage your entire school in a positive reinforcement and resiliency intervention that supports mental health with the citizenship points passport program.

Help set students up for success with the soft skills they need to engage in their studies, enhance resiliency, lean into challenges, manage screen time overload, and participate in future planning. 

With the Citizenship Passport Points School Wide Positive Mental Health Program, students have a passport they stamp after completed assignments, missions, or activities in which they receive a passport stamp with citizenship points. 

Students can redeem these points in for prizes, awards or even as bragging rights on part of their resume or scholarship applications. 

Help your school manage screen time distraction overload, refocus, and step into larger planning for success in life with the positive mental health engagement with citizenship points. 

Students can even start earning citizenship passport points by completing these programs available now with FREE Teacher Copies Available-  

There is the opportunity to help students collect points around your school by fulfilling different missions that teachers stamp with completion into student passports throughout the year.

Turn your school into a forward-thinking, citizenship-based school that gives students strategies for building community as well as strengthening mental health.

Build skills, complete missions, and engage the entire school towards a positive focus with the tools prepared to help set you up for success.

For More Information Visit: https://www.softskillstrainingcenter.com 

About The Writer:

Catherine Patterson-Sterling, PhD, RCC is an educator of 25+ years with diverse experience in all levels of elementary, high school, and post secondary education as a teacher, counsellor, and clinical supervisor. With extensive experience in research and counselling, she understands the impact as well as sources of disengagement as well as chronic absenteeism on learners at all levels. She is also the creator of the new innovative programs "Screen Time School", "Success Not Stress School" (a new positive mental health program) "Future Planning School", and “Twenty” sponsored by Soft Skills Training Center and Patterson-Sterling Consulting and Counselling Services.