Mentor Text Analysis of Feature Article — Edwin

Berliner, Wendy. “’Schools Are Killing Curiosity’: Why We Need to Stop Telling Children to Shut up and Learn.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 28 Jan. 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jan/28/schools-killing-curiosity-learn. 

Wendy Berliner hooks the audience by using theater of the mind by creating a scene for us to see. Berliner uses research from the University of Michigan CS Mott Children’s Hospital and the Center for Human Growth and Development to explain the curiosity in 6,200 children. The author gives their take on how children ask many questions and should continue to ask questions. The article contains many images including children and teachers. Berliner structured her feature article by creating a scene, followed by research from the University of Michigan CS Mott Children’s Hospital, she creates her statement on children’s curiosity, and she comes to an end by providing a quote. The article is about a thousand words long. The primary audience of this feature article is teachers, school administrators, policymakers, and primarily parents. The article concludes with a quote from Paul Howard-Jones, professor of neuroscience and education at Bristol University. The author’s message is to advocate for a shift in the way we think about education. I would try to incorporate my research into my work. For example, I would use the article’s clear and concise writing style, I would try to adopt a similar tone in my writing and create similar scenes for my article. I would avoid including irrelevant information in my project that could distract the reader from the main message. Additionally, I would pay attention to the tone of my writing, ensuring that it is professional and appropriate for the intended audience.