Hi Jennifer,
I think that there's just a lot of natural human development in young kids
being excited about learning. If you are always improving, it is more exciting
to learn. Really young kids are always naturally learning. The work of
learning begins later in life. It probably seems less attractive to many
children when they actually have to work to learn.
I think that desire to learn comes at least in part from family and in part
from genetics... even relatives don't have the exact same genes. So it's
probably nature and nurture.
I know that for me school was always a great place. I worked in school as an
escape, as a way to try to understand a confusing environment, as a way to
improve my life, and because the more I knew the more interested me.
Jan
-------------- Original message from cnjpal...@aol.com: --------------
> Hello Understand list members!
> We have been pretty quiet since the holidays. I am going to try again to
> stimulate a little discussion. We didn't have much to say on Chapter five so
> feel free, if the urge hits you to go back to those pages and share your
> thoughts.
>
> In the meantime, let's focus as a group on chapter six for the next two
> weeks.
>
> On page 136 Ellin writes:
> " I began to wonder if the decline in that initial curiosity and energy for
> learning must be inevitable. I know that some students seem likely to lose
> their interests and passions, but also that some never do. Why do these few
> retain the freshness of desire to learn?"
>
> What are you theories about this? Let's go one step further and apply it to
> teachers...why are there some of us that are eager to learn and improve and
> are passionate about improving instruction while others are satisfied with
> the
> status quo?
>
> A second question...
> On page 149 Ellin argues for a more "moderate approach to book selection."
> She says she understands how students who consistently read things that are
> too
> easy or too hard can lose interest in reading but also believes that
> readability formulas are very limited in utility and do not account for
> student
> schema and interest. What are your views on book selection and how do you
> handle
> this in your classroom? What is your belief system and how do you use what
> you believe to make decisions about what reading materials you use?
>
> Choose either or both to respond to ....OR start your own thread.
> Jennifer
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