Part 1: 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.
Part 2: Summary
In the article “Schools are Killing Curiosity.” Wendy Berliner tells us, that school kills curiosity and wonder within students. At the beginning of the article, Berliner shows us a scene where a teacher is teaching her students about the weather. A thunderstorm was happening outside and a student asked about it. But the teacher shuts it down. Berliner gives a study that happened in 2007, in which children aged 2 to 5 years old had an average of 107 questions. As they grow up to 10 to 11, they stop asking questions. Berliner also tells us a real-life example in Illminste Avenue Nursery School where the teachers replaced toys with everyday household items. These items are cardboard boxes, pots, pans tin cans, etc. The children showed their creativity by creating imaginary scenes such as locking a kingdom. Kids should be prompted and encouraged to ask questions that they want to.
Part 3: Rhetorical analysis
The genre is feature article. Her tone in the article is informative. Berliner used logos when giving research facts from different universities. The target audience is parents as well as the general public. The purpose of this article is to bring awareness to parents about education discouraging curiosity. The source is The Guardian. It’s credible because in 2018 it scored the highest for digital content news, with 84% of readers agreeing that they trust what they see in it. The author, Wendy Berliner, wrote a book “How to succeed at school”. Confirming her credibility. This information is current. It was made on January 28, 2020.
Part 4: Notable Quotables
“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.” (Wendy Berliner)“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)
