Part 3 Reflection
In the article by Wendy Berliner what I found remarkably interesting was the research she used to back her argument. Without having known that there was detailed research being done which looked at the connection between curiosity and schools, I would have agreed schools tend to nullify curiosity. I found the research done by the researchers from the University to be very fascinating. Wendy Berliner explains how children who are more curious perform better academically. I also learned from the article that being focused and not distracted is less important than natural curiosity. From this I would like to learn more about how curiosity drives children to learn and explore topics with more volition. As well what kind of blanket change can be made to the schooling system that would allow more curiosity?
Part 4 Analysis
Wendy Berliner’s article is persuasive. She effectively makes his point by weaving together evidence from a wide range of sources to create a compelling argument for why the current educational system is not conducive to student learning and creativity. She also uses vivid language and vivid imagery to engage the reader and drive her point. Her intended audience is teachers and parents of young children. The genre is a news article, so it is showing the readers new research being done that helps to convey her overarching point of the article “Schools are killing curiosity.” By being a news article, it can reach a broad audience and help to build awareness of the main idea. Wendy Berliner the author is an award-winning education journalist and the CEO of the Education Media Centre which is a charity set up to improve understanding of education research and evidence. As well as the Co-Author of “How to Succeed at School: Separating Fact from Fiction.”
Part 5 Notable Quotables
“Children should be prompted and encouraged to ask questions even though that can be challenging for the teacher,” (Paul-Howard –Jones)
“When her team logged classroom questions, 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. There were two-hour stretches in fifth grade (year 6) where 10 and 11-year-olds failed to ask their teacher a single question” (Wendy Berliner)
“Further, the researchers found that when it came to good school performance, the ability to stay focused and, for example, not be distracted by a thunderstorm, was less important than curiosity – the questions children might have about that storm” (Wendy Berliner)
You write: Without having known that there was detailed research being done which looked at the connection between curiosity and schools, I would have agreed schools tend to nullify curiosity. I found the research done by the researchers from the University to be very fascinating. OK — SO WHY OR EXACTLY WHAT did you find fascinating. Don’t just simply tell me “it was fascination” — add sentences to explain your own thinking on why or what or how it was fascinating.
In the reflection, the problem is that you are mostly just repeating the MI’s. So it sounds like a summary; you already did the summary in Part 2. A reflection is where you show me your own original thinking on the article. OK you say you found the research interesting…well tell me exactly why it was interesting? or HOW the research offers results that you yourself, YOU BALTHAZAR know from your own experience as a student.
Did you study my Source Entry by Student Lisa on the article “Spit on Yelled at Attacked –” That should help you see all the original thinking I did in the Reflection Part. You should also study how I wrote the Rhetorical Analysis.
In your Rhetorical Analysis Part 4, you have some mistakes. This is because you missed our class! We went over this.
The genre is feature piece. It does NOT report on a recent news event, so NOT a news piece; it’s not time-sensitive reporting on an event that is currently happening. A feature piece gives an-depth look at a topic, inthis case education and student curiosity. The author is not using persuasive techniques, but using empirical evidence (the research she reports on). The tone is objective and informational, not persuasive. Berliner presents information in a non-biased tone.