TL;DR
What did u/Lucky_Stay_7187 use ChatGPT for?
After spending ages writing and rewriting a reply to a student who blamed them for not understanding work they had missed for a month, a teacher asked ChatGPT to answer the email as people whose teaching philosophies they try to follow. ChatGPT wrote replies in each of those voices, and asking for Q from Star Trek produced a whole mini episode, which they shared with other teachers for a laugh.
What they did
A student who had not come to class in over a month emailed to say it was somehow the teacher's fault they did not understand the work. While writing and rewriting a reply, the teacher turned to ChatGPT and asked it to respond to the email as several people whose philosophies and practices they try to embody in their teaching. Then, for fun, they asked for replies from Star Trek characters.
How it went
ChatGPT wrote replies in each of those voices, and asking for Q from Star Trek produced a whole mini episode, which they shared with other teachers for a laugh.
Worth knowing
- Remove the student's name and personal details before pasting an email in, and follow your school's rules on AI. The voices are for ideas and venting; the reply you send should still be your own, calm and specific.
- Price check: ChatGPT: free plan; Go: US$8/month (checked Nov 1, 2026).
Paying for ChatGPT? See cheaper ChatGPT alternatives.
Try it yourself
Paste this into a chatbot, then add your own details underneath.
Here is an email from a student (names removed). Write three short replies I could send: one in the style of [an educator I admire], one warm but firm, and one very brief. Each should stay kind, state what the student missed, point to where the materials are, and ask them to name one specific question.
Original post
See u/Lucky_Stay_7187's original post on Reddit → (Oct 31, 2026)
Sources
- u/Lucky_Stay_7187 on Reddit, Oct 31, 2026 — the original post
- ChatGPT pricing — checked Nov 1, 2026