Source Entry for Schools Kill Curiosity- Noureen Ayub 

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

The article, “Schools Are Killing Curiosity ” by Wendy Berliner is about schools today often stop kids from being curious, even though curiosity is important for learning and growth. She gives examples of how teachers sometimes tell students not to ask questions and stick to their lesson plans, which means students miss out on understanding things better. The article demonstrates that when kids are encouraged to be curious, they do better in school, especially kids who don’t have as many resources. However, many schools focus more on discipline and memorizing facts instead of letting kids explore and ask questions. Berliner says it’s more important to encourage curiosity because it helps kids think deeply and understand things in a meaningful way. In conclusion, she suggests that schools should make curiosity a bigger part of learning because it is important for both doing well in school and learning throughout life. 

Part 3: Rhetorical Analysis

The genre is a non-fiction, mainly an opinionated and persuasive article focused on education. The author is Wendy Berliner. She is credible because from her article “Schools are killing Curiosity” it shows she has a lot of references to support her points when it comes to education and children’s curiosity. Her writing style is clear and convincing. She uses the tone of being concerned and critical about how school operates. She wants them to change so kids can be more curious and ask questions. She uses ethos in her article by mentioning experts like Dr. Prachi Shah and Susan Engels to persuade her argument. Pathos by making readers feel worried about children losing their curiosity when she states that the nursery is permanently removing toys for two years replacing them with school supplies. Berliner uses logos by citing studies that show curiosity help kids do better in school. The intended audience includes parents, teachers and decision makers, urging them to make changes that focus on curiosity in education. It was written when there was a lot of discussion about improving education and published by Guardian, a reliable news source. Even though it was published in 2020, its message is still important today as schools look for better ways to help children learn.

Part 4: Notable Quotables

1. “Curious children do better” (Berliner para 3)

2. “Prompting curiosity in children, especially those from environments of economic disadvantage, may be an important, under-recognised way to address the achievement gap.” (Berliner para 7)

3. “Even worse, as they got older the children gave up asking altogether. There were two-hours stretches in fifth grade (year 6) where 10 and 11-year-olds failed to ask their teacher a single question.” (Berliner para 9)