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 believes that schools can sometimes suppress our natural curiosity. Berliner thinks teachers should encourage us to ask more questions and be more creative in how we learn. Berliner points to studies that show the focus on grades and hitting specific targets can make kids less interested in learning and takes away their sense of wonder about the world. The Ilminster Avenue Nursery School study showed that preschoolers that were given new toys to play with were curious and engaged; their imaginations were endless. The writer concludes that by fostering environments where students are encouraged to explore, question, and discover, educators can reignite the natural curiosity crucial for deep, lifelong learning.
Part 3: Rhetorical Analysis
The genre of the article “Schools Are Killing Curiosity” by Wendy Berliner, is a feature piece. The author’s writing style, tone, and attitude are informative and objective. The author used the rhetorical appeal of ethos when she said that she wrote the book “How To Succeed At School.” She also uses the rhetorical appeal of logos when she cites different research to prove her point. She uses the rhetorical appeal of pathos when she described the nursery study at Ilminster Avenue Nursery school and how the children were excited and engaging with the new toys they were given. The primary source of this article is parents, so they can be informed about what is happening in schools. Berliner has written a book about schools. The Guardian is a credible news source as they have won awards such as the British Journalism Award for News Provider of The Year and the Press Award for Daily Newspaper of The Year in 2023. The currency of this article is current since it was written in 2020.
Notable Quotes
“Yet the latest American research suggests we should be encouraging questions, because curious children do better.” (Berliner)
“The researchers gauged levels of curiosity when the children were babies, toddlers and preschoolers, using parent visits and questionnaires. Reading, maths and behaviour were then checked in kindergarten (the first year of school), where they found that the most curious children performed best. In a finding critical to tackling the stubborn achievement gap between poorer and richer children, disadvantaged children had the strongest connection between curiosity and performance.” (Berliner)
“When teachers teach young children not to ask questions, it is not surprising that high-performing students studied by American researchers in 2013 were found to be less curious, because they saw curiosity as a risk to their results.” (Berliner)
