Source Entry for Schools Kill Curiosity- Ryan Deonarine

Part I 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 II Summary :

The article “Schools Kill Curiosity” Berliner explores and informs us about the way schools stifles the curiosity in children when they are young, leading them to become quiet and hesitant to ask questions even as they grow older. Research from Susan Engel showed that “She found the youngest children in an American suburban elementary school asked between two and five questions in a two hour period. Even worse, as they got older the children gave up asking altogether.” This decline is largely due to the influence of teachers, who, through repeated discouragement, instill a fear of inquiry in their students. Rather than viewing curiosity as a valuable pathway to learning, students come to see it as a potential risk to their academic performance. However, Berliner also highlights the outcomes for students who were encouraged to ask questions. Those students actually deeply understood the topic and was able to move forward in their academic journey.

Part III Rhetorical Analysis :

In the feature piece “Schools Kills Curiosity” author Berliner Wendy enlightens parents and guardians about the damages schools are causing for the growth of their children. She does this by her informative and objective style of writing. Along with Berliner’s passion reflecting a genuine desire to change the educational system. This is because this was a current issue that was happening during the release of the article, not to say this was completely resolved but once again was it announced. But to support her claims she uses logos in many occasions during the article by gathering information from other creditable sources. And using a creditable online publisher “The Guardian” who’s been around since the 1800’s.

Part IV Noticeable Quotes :

“Children, full of questions about things that interest them, are learning not to ask them at school.” (Berliner 1)

“When you visit schools in many parts of the world it can be difficult to remember they are full of active, intellectual children, because no one is talking about their inner mental lives.” (Berliner 1)

“Questioning drops like a stone once children start school.” (Berliner 2)