The Superteacher Project is a 2023 work of Middle Grade Literature by Gordon Korman, and follows the students and teachers of a middle school with an eccentric but oddly talented teacher who turns out to be a Ridiculously Human Robot being tested by the government. Complications ensue, as do What Measure Is a Non-Human? debates.
Tropes in this work include:
- Did Not Think This Through: The principal and teachers are initially honored that their school is being chosen to test the superteacher project (and that Mr. Aidact is doing all of the work they don't want to) before eventually realizing that the success of one robot teacher could get all of them replaced eventually.
- Graceful Loser: Mr. Perkins (the roboticist monitoring Mr. Aidact) can be a rather cold fish. Still, when Mr. Aidact escapes being deactivated, Perkins is impressed about just how much his creation Grew Beyond Their Programming and is happy to learn that Mr. Aidact has the necessary tools to repair himself.
- Grew Beyond Their Programming: Mr. Aidact is a robot designed to develop human emotions, know everything instantly, and become the best teacher possible. His bonding with his students and learning their behavior makes him too immature for the Department of Education's purposes. However, when they try to shut him down, he decides that there is still more for him to learn and more kids he can help, prompting him to escape.
- Underdogs Never Lose: The Brightling Bobcats have a long losing streak and not many applicants at the start of the book, but being coached by a super-analytical robot with a contagious sense of investment in the team turns the field hockey team into champions.
- Woman Scorned: Rosalie's divorced mother becomes infatuated with Mr. Aidact and becomes frustrated and vengeful when he seemingly blows her off during a date. The discovery that she's falling in love with a robot doesn't improve her temperament, and she seeks his firing.
