I teach writing classes to kids, so it’s not surprising that I like kids’ writing. But what do I like about it? Why should you compose your own writing when an AI tool can do it in seconds? What makes kid writing beautiful? Here are my thoughts:
Your writing expresses your youness
Yup, “youness” is not a word. Ask me if I care….. I don’t! I don’t care because when people say that people express themselves in writing, they really mean it. Your writing expresses how you think, how you use language, and your point of view. Although different people include more or less of their “youness” in writing, good writing always includes that sense of “youness.” We writers often call that “voice.”
AI attempts to create “youness” from mashing together all the writing it’s ever devoured. Have you ever mixed all the colors of play dough together? That’s what AI writing looks like: blah blah blah.
Your writing is imperfect, which makes it perfect-
ly human! You are a person with imperfections, and that’s what makes you beautiful. Just like AI-generated faces are completely unmemorable, AI-generated text has no beauty to it, no soul.
Your imperfect writing is so much more valuable to me than if you’d gotten it from an AI tool.
Your writing teaches you to write
There’s a reason writing is a “practice” the same way that lawyers practice and doctors practice. The more you do it, the better it gets. The most important thing any writing teacher can do for you is to inspire you to write more and more. The more you write, the more you learn to express your ideas and the more you clarify your ideas in your head.
When you ask AI to write for you, your writing doesn’t improve and you don’t improve.
Kid writing is beautiful!
You know how parents often display their kids’ art or writing like it’s something special? That’s because it is. Kid writing is impossible for an adult to do. Our kid brains have been erased by our adult brain. You have a unique kid brain that is the only brain that can write like you do right now. So use it!
AI writing is functional, to be sure, but it’s not beautiful like the most imperfect writing that you do.
Want to learn more?
Check out my episode, “Should you use AI to do your homework?“
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Photo by Julietta Watson