Kento Maeda: Y-kun's Prank

"Maeken-san, I've written a draft for my speech in the next class. Could you take a look at it?"

One day after a Japanese class, Y-kun, a third-year student at Chutobu Junior High School, approached me with a smile. While he possessed a unique imagination, he was—to put it politely—not exactly strong in Japanese. I was delighted by this sudden spark of academic motivation that led him to ask for a draft check in advance, and I gladly began to read. However, my smile quickly turned into a wry grin.

"Y-kun, this is... ChatGPT!"

"Eh? No, well..."

"Y-kun, I'm not going to get angry."

"Yes! It's ChatGPT."

Y-kun confessed with a refreshing smile, clearly harboring no ill will. Out of simple curiosity, he had the AI write the draft and decided to see if a Japanese teacher could see through it. Since I didn't dislike this kind of mischievous communication, I laughed along with the classmates who were watching nearby.

Now, if Y-kun had given the AI slightly more skillful instructions, I might not have been able to conclude that the text was not his. In fact, if I were to make such a definitive claim and happen to be wrong, it could create an irreparable rift. That is a risk one cannot easily take.

So, why was I able to conclude so confidently with Y-kun at that time? It was because his unique personality and specificity, which I had felt through our daily communication, were not reflected in that writing at all. There was no way Y-kun would write something so dry and flavorless.

In an AI era that is becoming increasingly dominant, how should a Japanese teacher approach a student's writing? Through this incident with Y-kun, I reaffirmed that it is essential to strive to communicate daily and understand each child's individuality. Looking back now, even that refreshing smile Y-kun had as he approached me feels like it might have been the expression of a prankster.

It has been 14 years since I began serving at Keio Chutobu Junior High School, a school that places the highest importance on human relationships. Still inexperienced, I must continue to devote myself to improvement (afterward, Y-kun successfully submitted a draft that was truly his own).