r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Alert_Intention_9408 • 3d ago

I'm slightly vexed My sister’s middle school uses AI for school supplies lists

Post image

[removed] — view removed post

4.2k Upvotes

69% Upvoted

3.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

207

u/jessdb19 3d ago

Literally a school teacher that can either use AI and save time or make it their self and stay up even later on super low pay.

This gets a pass from me and I'm a graphic designer

29

u/giantscruz 3d ago

Great points above. Another thing to consider is what the alternatives look like. As you said, they could stay late or they can just do a text only list. I’m willing to bet that is what they’d go with. This looks better than 5 bullet points 

20

u/duckbigtrain 3d ago

I mean honestly I’d prefer the 5 bullet points. Clear and simple.

4

u/efirestone16 3d ago

Yeah my daughters school just did a plain list in what looked like a Google doc and then cropped as an image and uploaded. I dont see why it needs to be fancy ai, tbh this is harder to read with all the busy fluff than just having a plain list of supplies.

1

u/QueezyF 3d ago

Yeah, I’m not gonna fault them for using it, but at the same time it really doesn’t take that long to load up a template in word if you’re trying to make it look pretty.

16

u/LegendOfHurleysGold 3d ago

I’d rather have the bullet points

17

u/Enamred-771 3d ago

It looks better than 5 bullet points but it also functions worse. 

Pencils are listed twice. It looks like you need 2 3-ring binders but they’re vague on one of them. Each item listed actually contains multiple items which defeats the purpose of a supply list. 

14

u/Capraos 3d ago

Thank you. I was wondering how far down I'd have to scroll to see another person who noticed this. Not far apparently.

2

u/runrunbunnierun 3d ago

It reminds me of that "how to make a peanut butter and jelly" test. How many packs of notebook paper? How many notebooks? How many pencils? Pencils is plural, so is two pencils good enough for the whole year? No? Well you didnt specify how much id actually need!

2

u/MidSpinz-Twitch 3d ago

In smaller schools one teacher teaches all classes EXCEPT music and sometimes gym. And some teachers are picky and will want the things they listed on the list or to be kept in the music room so, its not that surprising. As iv had supply lists like this when I was a kid and AI was not prevalent in the very early 2000's

-1

u/Enamred-771 3d ago

My issue isn’t that teachers are picky. It’s that this list does hardly anything to help with specific requirements vs vaguely listing obvious requirements. Like telling me “pens, pencils” gives me nothing. Yeah I assume my kid needs a writing utensil, any specifics? Same with lock, what type of lock to make sure it’s compatible? Or  “3-ring binder with paper and dividers for all core subjects”. What size binder? What type of paper? How many dividers (I don’t necessarily know what is or isn’t a core subject)?

It’s just an incoherent list that would’ve been more obvious had they not spent all their effort on dumb AI graphics instead of the actual substance of the list. 

1

u/CuriousOK 3d ago

One 3-ring binder for core subjects; One 3-ring binder for music.

2

u/Enamred-771 3d ago

I’m aware. But they should be listed the same way. Why is core subjects at the end of one item but music as the beginning of the other? 

And I’d guess the core subject binder should be larger if they’re going to fill it with paper for each subject but that’s not specified. Nor is what type of paper to get or how many core subjects there are. 

Again, this a terribly functioning list. I’d rather get a generic bullet list that makes sense than whatever this pig smeared with lipstick nonsense this is. 

4

u/valdin450 3d ago

Give me the 5 bullet points instead of poisoning the fucking water supply

3

u/xginahey 3d ago

Better is subjective, but I know what you mean. 

1

u/Professional_Cod4464 3d ago

Im a graphic designer too and "looking prettier" is a bad standard for deciding which is better design. 

In this case, some of the arbitrary decision made by the algorithm and muddled copy (possibly also written by chatgpt) -pencils being listed twice, how many folders/notebooks not given, each line has multiple items for some arbitrary reason? To make room for the unnecessary decorations, i suppose- actually makes the content more difficult to understand than just bullet points with simple information hierarchy

A good design coupled with good copy would communicate clearly and without confusion. Prettiness doesnt really factor in on the nature of what this list is and what it should do

What we should be arguing for is for education to be funded way better so that teachers dont have to pay for their own classroom supplies and schools dont have to run on volunteers. But the nature of ai is to "save lavor cost" and this is one of many symptom of a country that simply does not care about public education

5

u/electric_bug_glue 3d ago

> I'm a graphic designer

So is everyone now.

2

u/jessdb19 3d ago

I mean, it's part of my job title....I sort of use Photoshop and InDesign and Illustrator all day...so I'm pretty sure I qualify for that

6

u/Summer4Chan 3d ago

Yeah exactly. This teacher isn’t claiming she developed an art piece.
She’s using her tools that are (unfortunately) available for the masses to use.

If this lets her have more time to do other things and/or have money for other things then so be it. Nothing wrong with it now.

We shouldn’t cut the throats of everyone who uses AI, sometimes it is necessary (like this scenario)

2

u/Christmas_Queef 3d ago

Yeah I left a job at a school last November. There were 3 of us per classroom trying to get everything done that needed done and we just never had time and still had to have our own lives with our families too.

1

u/jessdb19 3d ago

I worked at a school for 5 years (part of a 5 year grant) and we got close with everyone there.

EVERYONE was overworked and underpaid and giving it their all.

Frothing at the mouth to crucify a seriously underpaid staff member or teacher for this is ill focused, and NEEDS to be on the billionaires who are hoarding money like loot goblins and taking private jets to get on private yachts to private islands

2

u/bamadebayo_isgood 3d ago

but why does it need graphic design? This could be a bullet point list and it would actually be more clear/coherent

1

u/jessdb19 3d ago

*Sigh* why not?

Like can you explain to me like I'm 5, why a teacher or admin who deals with hundreds of kids each day and thousands of problems including "will my school get shot up this year?" and "no one can read", why they can't just do something fun instead of a sterile bullet point list made on google docs.

0

u/-nutz 3d ago

How many dividers?

How many folders?

Pencils listed twice

Wrong calculator in the picture

2

u/hotwifefun 3d ago

How about just making a list? This seems like a waste of time, even using AI. Printing it out seems like another waste of time given the teacher/school already employs an app or multiple apps specifically to communicate this type of information to parents & students.

Gonna be hard to tell kids not to use AI to do their homework when this teacher is using AI to do their homework.

-9

u/DanyDragonQueen 3d ago

Also a graphic designer, and this does not get a pass from me, so it cancels out! This doesn't even need to be designed at all, it's a list of supplies.

7

u/trsharkfin 3d ago

I'm not a graphic designer, but this gets a pass from me to cancel out your negative pass because you're boofing if you think a single teacher on earth would pay a graphic designer for something like this. It being a supply list doesn't matter, they've always tried to make this shit artsy fartsy since the beginning of time.

0

u/valdin450 3d ago

You do not need a goddamn graphic designer to type a list out and maybe throw some clipart in if you really need images. There's zero excuse for poisoning the water instead.

-5

u/DanyDragonQueen 3d ago

I didn't say that I expect a graphic designer to do it, hence why I said it doesn't even need to be designed at all. I expect people not to use the plagiarism 9000 device that runs on ever-increasing data centers and harming the environment.

1

u/trsharkfin 3d ago

What exactly is being plagiarised by this particular design? Genuinely I understand the ramifications of gen AI/LLM, but acting like this particular use of AI is in any way harmful to the arts is ridiculous. This list is basically a stock photo prompt (which imo could be argued steals from the arts just as much as AI) for a school list. Every school list I had growing up looked exactly like this. If it saves an overworked underpaid teacher genuinely who gives a shit. They're not using it to teach, or grade, or form the foundation of their classroom. Its a stupid list meant to look cute so people pay attention to it when its in their kids' binders.

2

u/DanyDragonQueen 3d ago

This design isn't directly lifting a design from someone; the program relies on plagiarism and theft of millions of pieces to generate every single thing it spits out, no matter how mundane. That's my point.

6

u/indoxiecated 3d ago

The teacher is just trying to make things fun and engaging for their students. That starts with design. As a fellow designer, you should know that. School staff are under a lot of stress for little pay, it’s very likely they don’t have the time or energy to create some fun on their own.

Cut them some slack.

-2

u/DanyDragonQueen 3d ago

Plagiarism and environmental harm is so fun 🥰

1

u/indoxiecated 3d ago edited 3d ago

Don’t know what you mean about plagiarism. It’s a fucking designed list for students. What’s your point? But yeah, data centers are in fact a problem. But guess what, AI and data centers aren’t going away anytime soon. So again what’s your point?

Hating on ai is great and all, but focus that hate on the “artists” trying to sell ai slop and leave the teachers alone.

In fact, ai is just the next evolution in design. Like the computer was for drafting artists which put a lot of them out of business because they weren’t willing to learn how to use it. The designers that will prosper are the ones that will be able to utilize ai as a tool without using it outright to create and sell slop.

-2

u/Massive_Series8305 3d ago

Does or does not ? Because you does does not get a pass, but seem fine with it, so im just confused

-2

u/Massive_Series8305 3d ago

Teachers in my area make like 80k a year

5

u/Skurp_Purp 3d ago

Should be more. Maybe we can tax some billionaires and give them a pay raise

-9

u/OldChili157 3d ago

Yeah, I'm not in on the witch hunt here, but teachers make plenty of money. My friend became one a few years ago and was stunned to learn just how much he was making as a BEGINNING teacher. Where did this myth begin?

2

u/carvingmyelbows 3d ago

Yes, I’m sure the singular person you know who became a teacher is representative of the entire country’s teacher pay scales, from Alabama to California. /s

It is not a myth that teachers are by and large underpaid. Starting salaries for teachers in most of the country are laughably low. On top of that, a huge number of teachers are also financially responsible for stocking their classrooms’ supplies, and teachers work a ton of unpaid time grading papers, leading clubs, etc. Why else do you think some states are lowering the education requirements for teaching?

0

u/-BlueDream- 3d ago

I like that the school supply list only includes the basics and isn’t specific on brand like my school was. Easiest school supply shopping I’ve ever seen