Part 3: Reflection
In “Schools Kill Curiosity,” Berliner argues that traditional education doesn’t encourage curiosity in students. I agree with this idea because schools often prioritize memorization and testing over cultivating a love for learning and exploration. This was evident in my personal experience as a student. In 2016, while attending school in Burkina Faso, I asked my history teacher why we were learning mostly about Western culture instead of our own heritage. He told me that if I wanted to pass his class, I had to follow the curriculum. I stopped asking questions and focused on getting good grades, which is an example of how schools can hinder curiosity. Reading this article made me realize how important curiosity is in education and how it can benefit our personal growth. I believe that teachers should prioritize fostering curiosity in their students.
Part 4: Rhetorical Analysis
Berliner uses a persuasive and informative writing style to argue her point. She criticizes traditional education while offering a solution. Berliner’s attitude is passionate and urgent because she believes that curiosity is essential for student growth. The intended audience is likely educators, leaders, and those interested in improving education. The article is an opinion piece that effectively communicates the author’s argument. The article was published in a reputable source for psychological research. Overall, the author’s persuasive and informative writing style and their passionate and urgent tone effectively convey their argument to their intended audience.
Part 5: Notable Quotables
“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” – (Susan Engel, Professor of Developmental Psychology at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts)
“Children, full of questions about things that interest them, are learning not to ask them at school. Against a background of tests and targets, unscripted queries go mainly unanswered and learning opportunities are lost” (Dr Prachi Shah, University of Michigan)
“Promoting curiosity in children, especially those from environments of economic disadvantage, may be an important, under-recognised way to address the achievement gap” (Dr Prachi Shah, University of Michigan)
Wendbenedo: WOW! Super Great on the Reflection part! Perfect Reflection! You did a wonderful job showing me your own original thinking and personal connection on the ideas presented in the article. You figured out that this was a good way to handle this Reflection: write about your own personal experience as a student. You write about a time in your school years when your questions were killed by a teacher. And what you wrote was interesting!
NOw in the Rhetorical Analysis: You did a good job in the first part of this paragraph. But when you got here there are some problesm: You write: The article is an opinion piece that effectively communicates the author’s argument. [this is a FEATURE article, not an opinion piece!] The article was published in a reputable source for psychological research. [NO here you need to find some facts about The Guardian newspaper –google it to find facts. The Guardian is NOT a source of psychological research.]. Overall, the author’s persuasive and informative writing style [her writing style and tone is OBJECTIVE and INFORMATIONAL. Berliner is NOT persuading the reader. Instead she presents empirical evidence by refering to research studies] as evidence and their passionate and urgent tone [WHERE was she passionate? She never showed her emotions. This was a factual piece of writing and there was NO emotions here]. effectively convey their argument to their intended audience.
Did you use the questions given for the Rhetorical Analysis part? Did you study my example? Did you look at the RAB student examples at the Rhetorical Analysis parts? Please do that! And study the Rhetorical Analysis worksheet.
Part 5: Notable Quotables — I think you are confused here. You DO NOT have to give the quotes from experts that the author puts in. You simply choose the most significant sentences from the article. What YOU THINK is important. This is similar to our earlier Unit One HWs when I asked you to find significant quotes from the readings and the way I lead the class in discussion to analyze the significant quotes from the readings.
Dear Wendbenedo:
I am really glad to get this excelllent Reflection from you. You really showed me your own original thinking. And it was an interesting reflection.
So glad that you are back in the game (that means you have returned to being a student who is doing well in the class). You are doing good work! Keep it up.
Best,
Prof. Wu