Faculty question effectiveness of detention in combating AI use

Detention at Housatonic has changed little over the past few years, but new issues such as the use of artificial intelligence to cheat on assignments have prompted some students and teachers to ask if it’s time for disciplinary strategies to change.

From flex period detention to car privilege suspension, the impact different disciplinary actions have on student behavior varies. For some students, detention was simply an inconvenience.

After exceeding a certain amount of tardies, senior Hunter Conklin had his car parking privileges suspended for a week, along with an afterschool detention. “I ended up being more late to school every day, and I had no way to get to work after school,” he said.

When it comes to punishment for more common problems, the school administration sees detention as highly effective. According to Vice Principal Steven Schibi, “We don’t have too many repeat offenders. About 90% of the students who get issued detention for tardiness usually don’t have any more infractions.” Since having detention, Conklin noted his tardies to school have been less frequent.

For small scale issues, detention along with other methods of punishment is fairly effective. But as the use of AI becomes increasingly frequent, it raises a crucial question to Housatonic’s disciplinary practices: does a new problem require a new solution?

Senior Cohen Ceccinato has gone to detention for plagiarism three times. He said he wasn’t sure if the discipline was effective or not, but said detention didn’t feel like much of a punishment.

“I haven’t had one [a detention] since the third one, so maybe it got to me,” he said. “I think other forms of punishment would be better, because you weren’t really being punished.” Ceccinato has not plagiarized in over a year since his last detention.

Detention rates for plagiarism are rapidly rising, teachers said. English teacher Damon Osora has been running after school detention for about eight years. He said he’s noticed the use of artificial intelligence becoming a more serious issue. “In the humanities classes, AI is behind a majority of the referrals that teachers in those departments make,” hesaid.

With a problem so new, administrators have had to find a way to respond to the issue almost overnight. And as artificial intelligence use continues to grow, administrators are wondering if strategies need to change. Schibi said administrators are expected to discuss the issue soon.

“It’s something I think we are looking at for next year,” he said.

Osora said the use of artificial intelligence is an academic problem as opposed to a behavioral one, and that it requires a different approach than detention or typical discipline strategies.

“It makes what I think is an academic problem look like a behavioral problem. Detention should not be used in response to problems that are academic in nature,” Osora stated. “I don’t think we should treat it as a thing that needs to be punished. I think we need to work on educating people about it.”