A.I. is making a lot of teachers and some principals I know nervous. While this uncertainty makes a lot of sense, we have a chance to get clear on a few concepts that can deeply bless our students for lasting impact wherever the Lord should call them.
First, kids’ questions are so important to how they learn! Joshua 4 twice says “when your children ask you.” This word suggests that we should joyfully expect kids’ questions, like portals to their hearts that may only be open for a short time!
When it comes to AI, many kids are asking: “Now this machine can do the writing for me. We use machines to do lots of things to make our lives easier. How is this different?”
As a student, I was told I must write well to earn good grades, to write college essays, to write my cover letter to get a job. I was told that it was cheating to use someone else’s words as my own. I gradually discovered that worthwhile things usually do involve hard work.
Those answers weren’t wrong; they just didn’t go deep enough for this question. What about writing makes it so important, so key to how God made me as a unique person, that I would want to go through the struggle to put my own words together, even if it sure seems like a computer can do a smoother job of it than I can right now?
If you’ve ever written a love letter, you already know. And the Bible is God’s love letter to us.
Jesus tells me that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Proverbs 18:21 tells me that “death and life are in the power of the tongue,” so how I use my own words must matter a whole lot. The Psalms tell me to sing a new song to the Lord, which sure sounds like the Lord wants my creative involvement, not just somebody else’s words. 1 Peter 3:15 tells me always to be prepared to give an account for the hope I have in Christ. Whether I feel skilled or not, my words matter to God because I do, and God has given them to me to encourage others.
When we truly listen to kids’ hearts, we hear other questions waiting underneath. Why is writing a thing worth working to get good at? Is it OK if I’m not that good at it right away? How can I get better? Are my own words really that important? Who will take the time to read or hear them? Who will take them seriously enough to talk with me about them?
Do you hear the pleading behind those unspoken questions, for time, for attention, for relationship? I’ve spent years developing tools and strategies for young writers, but without love they’re just “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal”. Love is how we demonstrate value with our actions. And love is often spelled “T-I-M-E.”
A classroom veteran, George Rietz encourages teachers, teaches homeschoolers, and invents new tools to reshape education. Contact him through ExploreMyWriting.com.
