While the article "Making Mona Lisa Smile" by Nick D'Alto talks in great depth about the science behind how we make certain expressions and what a computer can do with that, the author does not mention what is really causing these emotions, whether it is happiness, anger, or disgust. However, the truth behind emotions like these is human interaction. Without it, a person might not feel anger or sadness, but they might not also feel happiness or joy. One movie called "Interstellar" shows a character who has spent years on a foreign planet without the ability to communicate with any other human being. When he is finally discovered, he mentions the horrible pain and loneliness that stemed from an absence of other people. Technology and robotic machines are being slowly integrated into every part of humans' lives, and perhaps there will be no more need for certain professions to be filled by actual people. While the use of the Facial Action Coding System might prove to help identify emotions, it would not be worthwhile in a classroom because it would require one-on-one interaction with a teacher and even transform the classroom into a robotic impersonal environment.

Even if the program would successfully be able to indetify emotions in a student, it would be near impossible for a teacher, robotic or otherwise, to react to each individual students' feelings. Perhaps the technology of facial recognition will eventually become efficient enough that it can read the emotions of a person in less than a second, but what good can this really do? A teacher only has so much time every day to interact with his or her students, and definitely not enough time to talk in length with each one individually. Dr. Huang, an expert mentioned in the article, tells the reader, 'A classroom computer could recognize when a student is becoming confused or bored.'" But what if there is only one student in the back of the class who is confused? The teacher cannot be expected to slow down the whole lesson for this one student and force the rest of the kids into boredom. The only time this might actually make a difference is if the entire class, or almost everyone, was confused and the teacher would then take the time to explain the lesson in greater detail. However, most teachers today already have the ability to read their students' emotions. It is not hard to discern when a full room of high schoolers, for example, needs further clarification. Dr. Huang also mentions, "'Most human communication is nonverbal, including emotional communication.'" However, what he does not mention is the other portion of nonverbal communication: body language. That is, body language outside of facial expressions. A very large portion of the way humans express themselves is through body language such as crossing the arms across the chest, bouncing a leg when he or she is bored, etc. Technology doesn't have the capability to analyze this yet. Perhaps it will someday, but for now, attempting to bring this program into the classroom would be unnecessary and potentially expensive and time-consuming.

Additionally, for this program to be most successful, teachers would likely be gradually phased out and replaced by virtual or robotic instructors, an idea that, while perhaps more efficient, will create an impersonal environment in the classroom. Using this program or not, there is no doubt that many people have speculated about the use of robotic teachers sometime in the not-too-distant future. Even Dr. Huang mentions it in the article when he says, 'Then it could modify the lesson, like an effective human instructor.'" The use of this program would encourage the replacement of human teachers. However, is this really the best direction to go? If a random student was asked to think back to their favorite class period, it is fairly plausible that they would mention something about an actual teacher. Maybe the teacher participated in a fun activity with the students or told a funny joke. Either way, the experience of interacting with real human teachers is simply irreplacable. The author, Nick D'Alto, later goes on to state, "Empathy (feeling someone elses emotional state) may happen because we unconsciously imitate another persons facial expressions." As mentioned in a previous paragraph, human interaction is one of the most significant reasons humans are capable of feeling true emotions. Ask anyone what their best memory is and they are almost certain to mention something with another person whether it be a family member, spouse, or close friend. Empathy, as D'Alto touches on, is essential to feeling emotions with the people around one another. So much of these necessary actions would be taken away once real teachers are replaced by artificial ones. It would take almost all remaining enjoyment out of school and form an environment in classrooms that is lacking feelings and is uninviting.

In summary, integrating the Facial Action Coding System into the classroom is impractical and unnecessary. That is not to say that the program does not have many uses in other areas of the world, but its uses in the classroom are minimal. It would waste time and effort for a result that is not notably helpful. Perhaps the developers should first focus on its other uses such as on a website or in video games instead of in the classroom. Schools do not need programs like this and they will only eliminate the living breathing system that is already in place.