“Don’t ever try to change her,’ my mother said, before she died. ‘The tusks of an elephant will never grow out of a dog’s mouth. You know that.”
― Mo Hayder, The Devil of Nanking

From AI in the classroom to executive restrooms at central office, from roller-skating “celebrations” to the Titans’ $980-per-sack pledge, this week in Nashville education was full of big headlines with some very small dollar figures. Strip away the spin and you’re left with the same old story: teachers need time, schools need resources, and too often what they get instead are symbols.

Playing with ChatGPT (and Why It Matters for Schools)

A good portion of my week was spent playing with ChatGPT. It’s a powerful tool, no doubt, but one that requires training—a lot of training—to fully utilize. You don’t just open it up and immediately revolutionize your workflow. Like any other tool, it takes patience, trial and error, and a willingness to figure out how to make it work for you.

The logo attached to this piece, for example, was born after more attempts than I care to admit. I’m still not satisfied with it, but at some point you have to move on. Perfection can be the enemy of productivity.

The more I explore AI in education, the more I believe that the path forward isn’t banishment but instruction. Some districts, like Williamson County Schools, seem to get this. Instead of pretending AI doesn’t exist, they’re offering it as part of teachers’ professional development programming. Teachers are taking classes, experimenting, and learning to use AI to support their work.

The result? More teachers can offload time-consuming tasks like lesson planning, test creation, or building classroom materials. And time, as every teacher will tell you, is the single most valuable commodity in education. It’s also the one thing they never have enough of.

I spoke with a teacher who used to stay up past midnight regularly just to get a lesson plan right. Now, with AI, that workload can shrink dramatically. Imagine the difference that makes—not just in lesson prep, but in the energy and patience that teacher brings into the classroom the next morning. Getting five hours of sleep versus seven or eight isn’t just about comfort; it’s about the quality of instruction kids receive.

Administrators sometimes argue that scripted lesson plans already give teachers “time back.” Let me be blunt: that’s nonsense. Scripted plans aren’t time-savers; they’re straitjackets. They force professionals to regurgitate talking points written by someone who has no knowledge of the actual students in front of them.

AI doesn’t do that. Used properly, it still allows for personalization and creativity. Teachers remain in control—they just don’t have to spend hours formatting documents or combing through endless resources to get there. But here’s the catch: teachers need time to innovate with the technology in order to realize its promised time savings. Without that investment, the promise of AI will stay just that—a promise.

And while I’m here: the idea that every student in every classroom should be on the exact same page at the exact same time is, frankly, utter bullshit.

Here’s the deal: states set standards. Districts hire professionals to teach those standards. Then we test whether students meet them. That’s the formula. If we’re going to replace trained professionals with cookie-cutter scripts, then why even bother with standards? Just adopt a curriculum and be done with it.

And while I’m ranting: why are principals required to evaluate level 5 teachers every single year? If you’re at level 5, either the evaluation system is flawed or you clearly know what you’re doing without bureaucratic interference. Time spent evaluating those teachers could be better spent helping struggling ones.

Which circles me back to the central theme: time. Teachers need time to innovate. Principals need time to mentor. Administrators need time to innovate. Lawmakers toyed recently with the idea of switching from required school days to required hours. Done right, that shift could give districts the flexibility to carve out more time for what really matters.

Time and money—always the roots of the problem.

Executive Restrooms and Skate Parties

Speaking of time and money, let’s take a look at Metro Nashville Public Schools.

The Board of Education has been so impressed with Superintendent Adrienne Battle that they renewed her contract early and threw in a roughly $60K raise. Oh, and they built her a new executive restroom.

Here’s how MNPS CEO Sean Braisted explained it:

“The project involved modest updates to the Director’s office, which had not been renovated in nearly a decade, to support day-to-day operations. Work included reconfiguring existing space to improve functionality, with adjustments to office and conference areas and the addition of a restroom and storage space. The construction cost was $165,083.”

Sounds reasonable until you squint. What does “reconfiguring existing space to improve functionality” really mean? Translation: we built a new bathroom.

The contract lists “CONTRVALUE” at $24,809. My quick check (with ChatGPT, ironically) confirms that’s the bathroom cost. Twenty-five grand for a toilet. “Modest” isn’t the word I’d use. Especially when there’s already a perfectly good bathroom just outside the executive suite.

And while we’re at it—maybe that $25K could have been better spent at Haywood Elementary, where Damon Cathey, one of the plaintiffs in last year’s $6.5 million settlement, served as principal. But hey, priorities.

Surely, though, teachers got some recognition too, right? Fear not: they’re getting not one, but two roller skating parties.

The email invitation read:

“We did it, MNPS! Thanks to YOUR hard work, our students achieved historic, record-breaking test scores in 2025—and now it’s time to celebrate. Lace up your skates and join us!”

The parties will be at Rivergate Skate Center (in Davidson County, near the Sumner border) and Brentwood Skate Center (in Williamson County). Free admission!

My immediate thought: someone in HR must’ve decided the district’s health insurance claims weren’t high enough. Roller skating is great if you’re 15. Less so if you’re 45 and haven’t laced up in two decades.

And geographically? The parties are at the extreme north and south edges of the county. For teachers in East or West Nashville, that’s a 45-minute slog in rush-hour traffic. Hardly convenient. But hey, free skating.

I suppose I should be grateful that teachers are getting recognition at all.

Tennesseans for Student Success: New Logo, Same Agenda

Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS), one of the more prominent advocacy groups in the state, rolled out a new logo and website this week.

The design? A geometric Tennessee outline stacked with books—meant to symbolize steady upward progress. They’ve rebranded their PAC from TeamKid to TSS Action, and launched a “School Letter Grade Map” tool.

On paper, the tool is useful. It lets parents compare district performance in the same way the state’s letter grades let them compare schools. But here’s the catch: those grades are almost entirely based on TCAP results. If you’re hoping for a more holistic measure—teacher retention, student engagement, extracurricular opportunities—you’re out of luck.

To their credit, TSS lumps charters and traditional schools together in the map. That’s rare, and it does give families a clearer picture. And while I rarely agree with their politics, I’ll admit TSS often covers issues no other outlet touches. That has value.

Still, let’s not mistake cosmetic changes for substantive ones. A new logo doesn’t mean a new philosophy.

Turf Wars: Celebration and Caution

Big celebrations this weekend for MNPS athletics: Antioch High School and Hunters Lane High School will debut brand-new artificial turf fields.

These fields are part of a multi-year partnership between the Board of Education, Metro Government, and the Tennessee Titans. The rollout so far:

• 2023: East Nashville Magnet, Pearl-Cohn, Whites Creek
• 2024: McGavock, Maplewood, Stratford
• 2025: Antioch, Hunters Lane, Cane Ridge, Glencliff

Future events are planned for Cane Ridge and Glencliff later this month.

The fields will host football, soccer, flag football, marching band—the works. On paper, it’s a big win. Turf requires less maintenance, withstands more use, and looks sharp on Friday nights.

And while we’re talking about the Titans, defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons announced his “Sacks for Sports Equity”initiative this week, pledging $980 for every sack he records this season to help Nashville students cover the cost of playing sports. Don’t get me wrong — I applaud Simmons for stepping up, but let’s be honest: even if he racks up a dozen sacks, that’s still barely enough to outfit one high school team, let alone address the financial barriers thousands of kids face. It makes for a nice headline and a solid PR moment, but the dollar figure feels awfully light compared to the scope of the problem.

But here’s the grain of salt: turf can be brutal on athletes. Studies show higher rates of certain non-contact injuries—especially knee and ankle blows—on turf compared to grass. Turf burns are no joke either; they can increase infection risk. And on hot Tennessee afternoons, turf fields can reach scorching temperatures.

So yes, celebrate the shiny new fields. But parents and boosters should ask hard questions: What generation of turf is this? How is it maintained? What safety protocols are in place for heat?

Because when we talk about “student success,” it should include keeping their knees intact.

Guns in the Classroom (Sort Of)

Finally, Tennessee has officially become the first state to mandate annual gun safety training for public and charter school students as young as five.

The law requires kids to learn basic gun anatomy—trigger, barrel, muzzle—through videos and online modules. No live ammo, no live weapons, though non-functioning models aren’t prohibited. Training is supposed to be “viewpoint neutral” on political debates like gun rights.

Color me skeptical. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Paul Bailey, couldn’t even introduce it without editorializing:

“It reinforces what many responsible gun-owning parents already teach at home.”

So which is it? If parents are already handling it, why add it to schools’ plates? Is Bailey admitting that parents aren’t doing enough?

According to The Tennessean, content will be tailored by age.

• K–5: distinguishing toy guns, BB guns, and real firearms.
• 6–12: safe storage of guns and ammo at home.

MNPS plans to roll it out next semester. Braisted again:

“We are exploring the best way to implement this law in our schools that is age-appropriate and works in the daily school environment.”

We’ll see. My bet is this becomes another compliance exercise layered on top of already stretched teachers.

Closing Thoughts

So there you have it: a week of AI experiments, executive restrooms, skating parties, advocacy rebrands, turf fields, and gun laws.

The threads tying it all together? Time and priorities. Teachers don’t have enough of the first, and districts and lawmakers can’t seem to get the second straight.

We’ll keep watching.

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Categories: Education