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 says that it’s been proven that kids perform better academically but the school system doesn’t seem to encourage curious behaviors in young students. The author mentions that researchers from the university of Michigan discovered that as kids got older, their curiosity levels deteriorated. The article mentions that since teachers prioritize behavior and staying focused, and doesn’t promote questions. It was found that in order to succeed in school for students, curiosity should be emphasized in all classes by teachers. Berliner further discusses that when teachers dismiss questions, children became less curious. Berliner concludes that teachers have many students so it’s up to the school system to help promote curiosity rather than rely on the teachers.
Part 3 : Rhetorical Analysis
The genre of the article is feature piece. The author of this piece, Wendy Berliner, is credible because she published a book named, “How to Succeed at School.” Berliner has an informative tone to display her message. She uses logos as she uses research coming from educated researchers and professors to prove her point about curiosity in students. For example, she uses Dr Prachi Shah’s study of curiosity in the children coming from bad economic situations. By using logos, she appeals to the audience by providing logical reasoning and ideas from credible sources. She also uses ethos by mentioning research experts like Susan Engel and professor Paul Howard to provide sense of trust in the resources she’s providing. Plus, Berliner uses pathos by continuously saying how important it is for students to stay curious despite the failure of encouragement from teachers. The intended audience for Berliner are the parents of young kids in school. Berliner conveys the message of awareness and clarity to the school system and how it’s failing students concerning their curiosity levels. This source is credible because “The Guardian” is a famous British newspaper outlet that has been around since 1821 and is well known for their journalism pieces.
Part 4: Notable Quotes
- “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 to not 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)
- “Schools kill 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.” -(Berliner)
