View this email online February 1, 2026 Chanea Bond teaches composition and American literature classes at Southwest High School in the Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas. Bond has banned AI from her classroom; swapping computers for pencils and paper — lots of paper.Nitashia Johnson for NPR Happy Sunday!  Lee Gaines here. I’m a freelance reporter for NPR, and I’m taking over the newsletter this week to share a story about a high school English teacher who banned AI from her classroom — and, in doing so, went analog. Visiting Chanea Bond’s classroom at Southwest High School in Fort Worth, Texas, felt a little like walking into a classroom from 2005. The only visible digital technology is a touch screen at the front of the room. Paper, pens and pencils are everywhere.  Bond teaches composition and American literature to mostly junior and seniors. She told me she tried to incorporate AI into her lessons, and the results were “terrible.” Bond says she realized that her students need to build foundational skills, like how to write a thesis and construct an argument. She says outsourcing that work to AI could mean they leave high school without those abilities. Today, her students begin each class journaling by hand. And instead of grading only the final essay or presentation, Bond grades the different parts of the process, including the thesis, the outline, the bibliography and the handwritten draft.  Bond has students type their final essays. Unless they have accommodations for a disability, she says this is the only time they use computers in her class.  But Bond may be in the minority; roughly 60% of surveyed teachers said they used AI at least a little in their classroom, according to a July 2025 poll from the EdWeek Research Center.  Her friend, Brett Vogelsinger, an English teacher in suburban Philadelphia, respects Bond’s approach, but disagrees with it. He tries to model responsible AI use for his students by showing them the difference between using the technology to cheat and using it to advance their learning. And all of the students I spoke to in Bond’s class told me they agree with her AI ban — they say AI-use in other classes is widespread among their peers.  Bond says she’s open to changing her mind about AI. But right now, she’s sticking with pen and paper.  “It's less harmful to me to make sure that they can do the things without the AI than to try and push the AI into my classroom,” she says. It’s clear AI is transforming education — even for teachers like Bond, who don’t see much value in it.  Thanks for reading, —Lee Gaines, NPR contributor Read More Newsletter continues after sponsor message From the archives... In 1965, a Boston school teacher was fired for teaching a poem by Langston Hughes. He wrote a book about it, called Death at an Early Age. A decade ago, NPR Ed’s illustrator LA Johnson made this beautifully animated excerpt from the book: You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/9x7Ub9fqLGM?si=rr_TIiavyfLrg9w7 Author and educator Jonathan Kozol says he never imagined that the story about his ordeal as a substitute teacher would sell over 2 million copies and win the National Book Award. Instead, writing it was simply an attempt to deal with the guilt he felt for having witnessed so much damage to the children in his care, and having been silent. Many educators credit Kozol with shaping how they viewed teaching. Did any of Kozol’s work resonate with or inspire YOU? If so, we’d love to hear about it!  Reply to this email – or you can record yourself on your phone or other device and send the file to npred@npr.org. Love shows up in the little moments, from long drives and lazy Sundays to late-night listens. NPR is there for all of it. This Valentine’s Day, celebrate the moments you share with us, whether you’re gifting someone you love or choosing something just for you. We’ve curated three special collections to help you find something thoughtful, cozy, and meaningful, while supporting the public media you love. Shop the Collections ➔ In other news... We are very excited for the 2026 winter Olympics starting in February! NPR is sending a great team of reporters and producers to Italy (including NPR Ed’s own Lauren Migaki). Competitions will be hosted at 25 venues spanning an area of more than 8,000 square miles.  Here’s what’s happening at each of the four main clusters. — Rachel Treisman, Reporter, NPR Trump has sued universities for billions. Some universities paid the government millions of dollars; others paid nothing but agreed to policy or personnel changes. But a common theme has emerged over the past year: The administration is seeking to alter the culture at these powerful institutions, barring them, for instance, from supporting programs aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion. Read more about Trump’s strategy here.  — Bill Chappell, Correspondent and Editor, NPR Looking for some new music as we head into February? Check out NPR’s New Music Friday, a podcast dedicated to sharing the best albums out each week. Some highlight in the latest episode include: 🎵 Emily Scott Robinson, Appalachia, for fans of Molly Tuttle or Brandy Clark and 🎵 Ye Vagabonds, All Tied Together if you like Phoebe Bridgers.  Here’s a Spotify playlist of some new favorites: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5X8lN5fZSrLnXzFtDEUwb9?si=ClPMaJVPRzW-f4Pnea4npQ And that same playlist for Apple Music:  EMBEDDED CODE HERE — Stephen Thompson, Correspondent, NPR Music   If you have feedback on this newsletter – let us know, by replying with your thoughts! As always, thanks for listening and reading! — The NPR Education Team