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Mrs Chilton

Head of Teaching and Learning

Creativity in the Age of AI: Nurturing Original Thinking

‘Do Schools Kill Creativity?’ This was the title of a TED talk that went viral almost 20 years ago by educator, Sir Ken Robinson. I recently spoke to the girls about this topic, as the question is experiencing a resurgence in schools as we consider education in a world where AI is reshaping learning. While AI may have an important role to play, it cannot replace the unique creativity of our girls.

 

At Meriden, we see the girls expressing their creativity in a myriad of ways. We see it in original arguments in essays, creative and sustainable solutions to local problems, evocative stories and poems, original musical compositions, and artwork that seems to leap from the canvas with originality and emotion. So, no, as educators, we do not believe schools kill creativity. The creativity of our girls is evident in their learning and achievements every day.

 

Creativity as an Act of Resistance
However, it is becoming increasingly challenging for girls to be creative in a world where it is so easy to outsource their thinking to others. With AI offering to write the score, the essay, the poem, the girls are potentially being robbed of the chance to be creative. I encouraged the girls to view their creativity as an act of resistance in a world increasingly shaped by AI. Rather than outsourcing their own original thinking for the sake of efficiency or precision, we should be prompting them to take their time, practice, draft, make mistakes, and embrace the challenges they encounter in the process.

 

As Sir Robinson said all those years ago, “if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” Or as Australian musician Tim Minchin recently said, “AI might come for the perfectible stuff, but never our flaws. Our flaws are our humanity.”

 

At Meriden, we firmly believe that, as people made in the image of God, the ultimate Creator, we are inherently creative beings. We will continue to encourage our girls to explore, experiment, make, play and create, recognising that growth often emerges through challenge, discovery and even mistakes. These experiences not only foster creativity but also help to build resilience, character and a deeper sense of our shared humanity.