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| 기고 | APR. 11. 2025

Learning in the Age of AI: One Student’s

Journey Through Change

글 | Seoyeon Sophia Choi
(Gr 9 Port Moody Secondary)

Not all learning happens in a classroom. Learning doesn’t just take called it cheating. Others acted like we’d never have to learn again,
place in school it’s about adapting to change. I used to think learning especially English. I’ll be honest I was curious. I tried it for a writing
English meant memorizing words and grammar rules. I was wrong. assignment. It worked. Sort of. But as I read the result, I realized I didn’
When I moved to Canada from Korea in the winter of Grade 5, I t understand a single thing I had “written.” It was like turning in a
quickly discovered that language wasn’t just about vocabulary it was stranger’s homework with my name on it. That moment taught me
about culture, connection, and understanding how people think. Just as something huge: easy is not the same as smart.
I was starting to adjust, the world changed overnight. Instead of letting AI do the work for me, I started using it differently.
The COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down. Suddenly, there I watched TED Talks and videos about AI in education. I used ChatGPT
were no classrooms, no teachers, no face-to-face anything…and no to help me ask better questions, fix my grammar, and understand
friends. Like, really no friends. Online classes were tough, especially things more clearly. I stopped trying to sound smart and actually tried
in a second language. I often felt lost in translation literally and to be smart. I also talked to my friends about it some of them changed
emotionally. But when schools finally reopened in Grade 8, nothing the way they used AI too. I learned that AI wasn’t the problem. The
felt the same. Everyone had changed. I had changed too. Adjusting way we used it was. And if we stay in charge, it can actually help us
once wasn’t enough I had to do it all over again: socially, emotionally, learn better, not worse.
and academically. Slowly, I rebuilt my confidence, made new friends What started as a three year plan to study English turned into
(finally), and learned to speak up more. Through it all, I realized something much bigger. In my time in Canada, I’ve had to adjust to a
that learning isn’t always in my control but my attitude is. And real new country, survive a global pandemic, and now, learn how to coexist
learning? It takes time and a lot of patience. with AI. It wasn’t the experience I expected but maybe it was the one
Just when it felt like things were finally getting back to normal, I needed. Because now I understand something important: the world
another disruption arrived ChatGPT. Suddenly, students were writing will always keep changing, and the real challenge isn’t just keeping
essays in seconds, sounding like mini university professors. Some up. It’s learning how to keep learning.

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