Human Connection in the Age of AI — Why Primary Classrooms Need Emotional Intelligence More Than Ever

Inspired by EdTALK Tea with Vineet Varghese: Teaching Humanity in a Digital Era

In a world where artificial intelligence is accelerating faster than school systems can adapt, a quiet truth echoes from every thriving classroom: children still learn through people before they learn through technology. This is the heart of the conversation between Hatem and

Vineet in EdTALK Tea, where a primary teacher of 15 years shared a powerful message:

👉 AI can support learning, but only human relationships build it.

Today’s generation is growing up with unprecedented access — tablets, ChatGPT, instant entertainment, and constant digital stimulation. The opportunities are immense, but so are the psychological risks. For children aged 4–11, the years when empathy, identity, confidence, and emotional stability are formed, human connection is not optional — it is developmental oxygen.

This article explores Vineet’s insights on balancing AI with humanity, the spiritual and emotional work behind great teaching, and practical strategies schools can adopt today.

1. When the World Speeds Up, Children Need Us to Slow Down

Vineet begins with a simple question: With everything moving so fast, how do we give children the stability they need to grow?

Primary-age children still rely on adults for:

• Emotional regulation

• Meaning-making

• Social cues

• Conflict resolution

• Self-worth

AI cannot replace these functions. It can explain what to learn — but only humans can help children understand how to feel, how to relate, and how to navigate themselves.

Today, children spend 2–7 hours a day on screens globally, with UAE numbers even higher. The consequence? Emotional dysregulation, behavioural issues, and a weakening of real-world empathy.

Vineet reminds us:

“A child should not open ChatGPT to ask how to feel better.They should have someone to talk to.”

This is not anti-AI. It is pro-humanity.

2. AI Is a Tool — Human Connection Is the Teacher

Vineet’s stance is not to reject AI, but to contextualize it.

AI should:

• Support research

• Save time

• Simplify workflow

• Personalize learning

• Reduce teacher load

But it should not:

• Replace conversations

• Replace peer interaction

• Replace creative struggle

• Replace emotional guidance

Her reminder is powerful:

“Use technology as a tool, not as a replacement.When tech takes more time than needed, we lose them.”

Children should still:

• Play

• Talk

• Disagree

• Build friendships

• Solve problems together

• Express feelings with real people

If AI enhances these human experiences, it belongs in the classroom.If it interferes, it should step aside.

3. Manifestation, Spirituality & The Hidden Layer of Teaching

One of the most unique parts of Vineet’s session was her discussion of manifestation, positive energy, and spirituality — and how it shapes learning.

For her, manifestation is not magic.It is the emotional atmosphere teachers create every day.

She teaches students:

• Self-awareness

• Positive self-talk

• Breathing

• Mindfulness

• Calmness

• Gratitude

And she emphasizes a deep truth:

“Whatever energy you give to the world is the energy you get back.”

This directly influences behaviour. When she shifted her internal mindset, her class shifted too.

Teachers often forget how profoundly students absorb:

• Our tone

• Our stress

• Our optimism

• Our calmness

• Our belief in them

Positive energy is not a soft concept — it is a pedagogical strategy.

4. Yoga, Routines, and the Transformation of Behaviour

Vineet’s success story is simple and extraordinary:She starts every school day with yoga and breathing exercises.

And her results?

• Students became calmer

• Behaviour improved

• Focus increased

• Listening skills sharpened

• Relationships strengthened

After weeks of consistency, students asked for yoga daily.

Her insight:

“Don't confuse behaviour with energy. Boys have energy — teach them how to use it.”

The lesson for schools:

🟩 Invest 30 minutes daily in wellbeing, and you save hours of behaviour management.

This is not theory — it’s lived experience.

5. Human Intelligence First, Artificial Intelligence Second

Vineet makes a distinction that every policymaker should memorize:

“AI can never be better than a human. It was created by a human.”

AI gives information.Humans give meaning.

AI gives options.Humans give wisdom.

AI gives answers.Humans give belonging.

She warns of a dangerous trend:Children replacing feelings with screens.

Scrolling is becoming a coping mechanism.But emotional resilience is built only through:

• Talking

• Sharing

• Being listened to

• Being understood

• Being accepted

Teachers and schools must guide students to process emotions with humans, not hide them through algorithms.

6. What Schools Must Do — A Blueprint for Change

At the end of the session, Hatem asked the golden question:

How do we scale this beyond one classroom?

Vineet’s answer:

1. Talk to your students every day

Ask them:

• How they feel

• What they expect

• What they want their classroom to look like

• What they wish teachers understood

• What makes learning enjoyable

2. Make human connection a curriculum, not an accident

Teach:

• Emotional intelligence

• Empathy

• Relationships

• Confidence

• Expression

3. Use AI intentionally, not automatically

Every digital tool should have a purpose:

• Does it improve collaboration?

• Does it support creativity?

• Does it save time for deeper connection?

If not, reconsider.

4. Support teacher wellbeing first

Because:

“A calm teacher creates a calm classroom.”(Implicit throughout session)

When teachers burn out, students lose their anchor.

5. Build school-wide wellbeing habits

Not optional add-ons — core systems.

Because children are not preparing for AI - They are preparing for life.

7. The Most Important Question of All

Vineet leaves us with a timeless challenge:

“What memories will today’s children tell their own kids?iPad memories, or human ones?”

AI will shape their world, yes. But human connection will shape their identity.

The task of educators today is not to choose between AI and humanity…It is to design a world where one enhances the other.

• A world where AI saves time, so teachers can spend more time looking into the eyes of a child who needs them.

• A world where technology expands options, but humans sustain meaning.

• A world where learning is not only intelligent —but human.

Watch the Full Episode here: