Rhetorical Analysis and Quotables – Raul M

Rhetorical Analysis

The article ‘Schools are killing curiosity’: why we need to stop telling children to shut up and learn. Wendy Berliner wrote an educational article that informs readers that it’s important to talk about how being curious is good for our child’s education. Wendy Berliner is also a credible author because she’s an expert on child development and education. And as a journalist, she brings credibility to her content through her knowledge. Berliner’s writing style is very informative and persuasive. She shows her findings in a way that’s clear to understand and aims to persuade readers of the importance of promoting children’s curiosity in academic learning. Her tone throughout her text is supportive and advocating for children’s learning. Berliner expresses the article through logic; she shows us evidence from research studies to support her argument that curiosity in children is an important part of their development in school. Berliner’s credibility as an experienced journalist and educational expert leans towards authority. She even shows evidence from other researchers as well in the article. Berliner doesn’t show much emotion in the text but she expresses the disadvantages of children when it comes to curiosity in children—the intended audience Berliner aimed towards his parents and educators. The point of this article advocates for nurturing curiosity in children. She aims at this type of audience because parents and educators play a big role in their development, and nurturing curiosity in children leads to better academic success. As of right now, people are shutting students down when it comes to being curious because they don’t know how it’s affecting their academic success. The author and the article are reliable sources because she implemented our knowledge and even cited evidence from other people as well. The article isn’t current as it was written on 28 Jan 2020.

Quotables

“Teachers who concentrate on developing focus and good behavior because of the links to good academic performance, now need to take on board that developing curiosity could be even more important.” (Berliner Part 1)

“Children are born curious. The number of questions a toddler can ask can seem infinite – it is one of the critical methods humans adopt to learn.” (Berliner Part 2)

” “School kills 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 Part 4)