Source Entry for Schools Kill Curiosity — Jazmyn B.

MLA Citation

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

Summary

In Wendy Berliner’s article “‘Schools are killing curiosity‘”, Berliner thoroughly explains how curiosity is a vital skill in children, yet school-like environments are hindering it. Through research from American facilities like the University of Michigan and the Center for Human Growth and Development (CHGD), it’s proven that children do, in fact, have a natural urge to question everything, even asking questions at high speeds at young ages. Despite that, it’s also recorded that patterns like these drop as children develop, suggesting that something about the U.S educational system itself has something to do with the decline in curiosity. After several studies and confirmations from experts in the field of child psychology, Berliner assures that children and adults alike need constant stimulation towards the brain. Curiosity and creativity need to be preserved as a tools that better help us understand the world. If the school system needs to be altered in order to do so, then so be it.

Rhetorical Analysis

This text is a feature article. The audience is concerned parents and/or educators. Berliner uses an informative tone, and the rhetorical appeal of logos when she utilizes research facts in support of her claims. She uses the rhetorical appeal of ethos when she claims to be a knowledgeable author with many published works herself. She uses pathos when emphasizing examples of children’s minds being stimulated and developing when asked to play with common household items. With this in mind, Berliner intends to spread awareness to the fact that the education system doesn’t fully accommodate children’s needs, especially when it comes to curiosity. The Guardian is able to prove this, being a reliable outlet in investigative journalism with an 84% trust rate and to this day, just one shareholder-incredibly honest with their funding and advertising. With the article being made in recent years. Wendy Berliner is a reputable source as a journalist, best-selling author, and joint CEO of the Education Media Centre(EMC).

Notable Quotables

  • “The children took to the new objects immediately, making slides for building blocks with guttering, dens and spaceships with cardboard boxes and having conversations with imaginary people on old phones. Old keys were used to lock things away or unlock imaginary kingdoms. Most haven’t asked for the toys back.” (Wendy Berliner)
  • “Children are born curious. The number of questions a toddler can ask can seem infinite – it is one of the critical methods humans adopt to learn. In 2007, researchers logging questions asked by children aged 14 months to five years found they asked an average of 107 questions an hour. One child was asking three questions a minute at his peak.”
  • ““School kills curiosity. When do children get to ask questions about things that interest them? As soon as they are at primary school they have to shut up and learn. It’s not the fault of teachers. They have so many targets to meet.” (Matt Caldwell)

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