How can you say something meaningful in just a few words? Report card comments are like the old Twitter; limited. Saying something valuable in just a few words is challenging.

And let’s be honest, report card comments are the last thing we input, after tallying all the grades, and producing the report card marks. So, really, after I’ve taught all day, coached, made supper, planned tomorrow, marked, and prepped the report card grades, then I’m going to do my report card comments.

I am definitely not at my best at the end of the day, and my brain may struggle to come up with succinct comments. Yet, I want my comments to not sound as if my 10:00 at night brain were writing them. And, further, I don’t want to write the same thing over and over… “{student name} is an excellent student” “{student name} struggles to focus on a regular basis” They don’t really communicate much of value to the parent reading the report card.

What if I had an assistant? What if I had an assistant at my side with computational (thinking) speeds that are impossible for a mortal such as myself to possess?

Enter Artificial Intelligence.

ChatGPT is free, and it is an INCREDIBLE brainstorming assistant! Just try asking it for 25 report card comments for a student with ADHD. You’ll have so many different ways to phrase the comment, that you might even feel inspired! Try asking it for report card comments for a student who is exceptional at creative writing. Ask it for report card comments for a student who is always helpful. And once you have a list of comments, you can converse with ChatGPT to adjust or change the ones you like to be even more accurate.

Teachers take on a lot. Teachers are always being asked to do more. Care for students. Counsel them. Sanitize everything during a global pandemic. Teach with trauma-informed practices. Ensure that your classroom abides by assessment for learning. Provide an inclusive learning space. Differentiated. Offer personalized learning. Keep students engaged and interested. There’s always one more thing to fall onto the shoulders of teachers.

Maybe with artificial intelligence teachers can get a win. Maybe instead of it being one more thing that teachers have to learn and know about, perhaps it can be a positive. Maybe it can help with some of the rigours of teaching in the twenty-first century.

There is nothing wrong with having an assistant help you to say what you want to say, how you want to say it. You can have a creative assistant. A brainstorm buddy. There is now help for you, tired teacher!