No, Duolingo CEO, Teachers Aren’t Daycare Workers. Here’s How AI Can Actually Help Education

Teachers Are Heroes, Not Babysitters

Picture this: It’s 7:30 a.m., and a classroom is already buzzing. A teacher is juggling lesson plans, calming a student’s anxiety, and quietly noticing another kid hasn’t eaten breakfast. This is no daycare. This is a classroom, a place where lives are shaped, not just watched.

Recently, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn stirred up a storm by suggesting schools are essentially “daycare centers” and that artificial intelligence (AI) could take over teaching. As a former teacher with 12 years of experience, and someone who left the profession due to PTSD from toxic school leadership, this hit me hard. It’s not just dismissive, it’s a slap in the face to every educator pouring their heart into their students.

Teachers aren’t glorified babysitters. We’re mentors, counselors, cheerleaders, and sometimes the only consistent adult in a child’s life. We notice the small things: a student’s slumped shoulders, a sudden drop in effort, or the spark in their eyes when they finally get a concept. Reducing our role to “daycare” ignores the emotional and intellectual labor we invest daily.

Daycare Workers Are Educators Too

Let’s pause to honor daycare workers, who are far more than just caregivers. They are often the first teachers in a child’s life, fostering curiosity, teaching social skills, and laying the foundation for lifelong learning. Whether they’re singing songs to teach numbers, reading stories to spark imagination, or guiding toddlers through sharing and empathy, daycare workers shape young minds in profound ways. Calling their work “just daycare” is as unfair as diminishing classroom teachers. These dedicated professionals juggle nurturing, educating, and ensuring safety, often for our youngest and most vulnerable learners. Their role is critical, and they deserve respect for the love and skill they bring to their work every day.

Why This Matters

Von Ahn’s comment isn’t just a soundbite, it reflects a growing mindset that tech can “solve” education by replacing humans. As someone who’s seen the classroom from the inside and now uses AI in my own business, I’m here to set the record straight: AI is a tool, not a teacher.

AI in Education: A Partner, Not a Replacement

I’m no technophobe. I use AI every day for my side gigs, from generating content ideas to streamlining workflows. In education, AI has massive potential to transform how we teach and learn. Studies show personalized learning can boost student outcomes by up to 30% (source: EdSurge), and AI can make that scalable. But replacing teachers? That’s where the Duolingo CEO’s vision goes off the rails.

AI can drill vocabulary, grade quizzes, or tailor math problems to a student’s level. Tools like adaptive learning platforms are already doing this, helping students progress at their own pace. But AI can’t do what I did every day as a teacher: look a struggling student in the eye and say, “You’ve got this.” It can’t sense when a kid’s home life is falling apart or build the trust needed to help them open up. It can’t spot the subtle signs of a learning disability before it spirals.

Teachers bring empathy, intuition, and human connection, things no algorithm can replicate. AI should lighten our load, not erase us from the equation.

The Human Cost of Over-Reliance on AI

Von Ahn’s comments aren’t just theoretical. Duolingo has already laid off contract workers, replacing them with AI to generate lesson content. Language is more than grammar and vocab, it’s culture, humor, identity. When you outsource that to a machine, you risk flattening it into something sterile. Imagine learning Spanish without a teacher’s story about their summer in Mexico or the way they laugh when you nail a tricky pronunciation. That’s what we lose when we prioritize efficiency over humanity.

This trend isn’t unique to Duolingo. Across industries, companies are replacing human workers with AI to cut costs. In education, this could mean fewer teachers, larger class sizes, and a one-size-fits-all approach that leaves students, especially those with unique needs, behind. According to a 2023 report by the National Education Association, 55% of teachers are considering leaving the profession due to burnout and lack of support. Replacing them with AI won’t fix that, it’ll make it worse.

How AI Can Actually Transform Education

If we want AI to improve education, we need to use it to empower teachers, not replace them. Here’s how AI can make a real difference in classrooms:

1. Personalized Learning Plans: AI can analyze student data in real-time, creating customized lessons that adapt to each child’s strengths and weaknesses. This frees teachers to focus on guiding and inspiring students.

2. Streamlining Admin Tasks: Grading, lesson planning, and progress reports eat up hours of a teacher’s time. AI can automate these tasks, giving educators more time for meaningful student interactions.

3. Early Intervention: AI can flag learning gaps or behavioral changes early, allowing teachers to step in before a student falls too far behind.

4. Skill-Building at Students’ Pace: Platforms like Khan Academy use AI to let students practice skills independently, reinforcing concepts without the pressure of keeping up with the class.

These tools don’t replace teachers, they make us better at our jobs. They let us focus on the human side of education: building relationships, fostering creativity, and helping students navigate their challenges.

A Message to Luis von Ahn, and Anyone Listening

Luis, if you’re reading this, I invite you to spend a week in a real classroom. Not a polished private school, but a public one, where teachers are juggling 30 kids, outdated textbooks, and endless paperwork. Talk to the educators who stay up late grading, who buy classroom supplies out of their own pockets, who cry when a student finally graduates against all odds.

You’ll see we’re not standing in the way of progress. We’ve been begging for change: better resources, smaller classes, more support. AI can be part of that change, but only if it respects the humanity at the heart of education. Tech that tries to replace teachers doesn’t just fail students, it fails the future.

Join the Conversation

What do you think about AI in education? Are you a teacher using tech in creative ways? A parent worried about what this means for your kids? Or maybe you agree with von Ahn and think AI is the future. Drop a comment below, I’d love to hear your perspective. If you found this post helpful, share it with your network or subscribe for more insights on education, tech, and everything in between.