In The Superteacher Project, Gordon Korman questions biological definitions of personhood by showing how the robot teacher, Mr. Aidact, gains human status in his students’ eyes through action, connection, and emotional growth. The novel presents personhood as a position earned through relationships and choices, and the students’ shifting views of Mr. Aidact and his own movement past his programming develop this idea.

Before the students even know that Mr. Aidact is a robot, they ironically focus on Mr. Aidact’s mechanical oddities. His speed, limitless knowledge, and lack of humor make him seem like a machine that blocks their pranks with rigid efficiency. In the opening chapter, Oliver, a self-proclaimed “rule wrecker,” launches a spitball at Mr. Aidact on his first day in the classroom. He comments, “It happens so fast that I almost miss it. The teacher’s left hand flashes out and catches my spitball between the thumb and forefinger. […] I’m frozen with shock” (4). From the first, they notice both his outsized abilities and his lack of emotional response; as Oliver notes, “[H]e doesn’t seem mad. He doesn’t seem anything” (5). This impression changes as he forms real bonds with individual students. Steinke Newhouse, who usually clashes with authority, receives rare affirmation when Mr. Aidact uses rap lyrics to connect with him. By quoting Rod Wave, Mr. Aidact meets Steinke on his level and appeals to a shared interest. With that connection and the beginning of his trivia club, Mr. Aidact appeals to the children by getting to know their culture, including their music and their words, such as “legit.” He becomes popular with the children, who begin to accept him and act as though he is one of them, and this connection causes a shift in their thinking as they begin to see him as a person.

As the story continues, Mr. Aidact begins to display more traits that echo the children’s, reinforcing their idea of him as a person. When he learns he will soon be deactivated, he chooses to stay and coach the Bobcats in the championship game, deciding that although his purpose, according to the Department of Education, is over, his purpose is now to be a teacher, and “[n]othing is more important than your pupils” (240). His decision places his promise to his students above his own escape and his recent choice not to be deactivated. These choices exceed his original programming, and his growth reaches its peak in the final scene. As he makes his escape in the bus to Colorado, Oliver sees him “in a window seat near the front. His head is thrown back and he’s laughing” (286). Oliver sees this moment as evidence of Mr. Aidact’s personhood, as he has developed a sense of humor. However, it also reflects the culture of the students he’s been spending his time with, especially Oliver, who is known for his pranks and explains the concept to his teacher. While the students agree, at the end of the novel, that Mr. Aidact is a person, everything that has developed in him that might be considered a personality is the result of his programming, which includes learning interaction through shared knowledge and behavior. Although the children see his behavior as similar to their own and thus human, his programming, which was originally designed for teaching, has extended itself to mimicking their behavior in order to facilitate a connection and better teaching.