…killed the cat? Right, but it doesn’t kill the learner. Curiosity is one of the habitudes that 21st century learners need to possess.
Some of them have it naturally. Some people are born to ask questions and wonder about the world around them. For those who aren’t born with an innate desire to be curious, we need to develop that habitude within them.
As I was talking to my writing class about choosing a topic for an informative article citing resources, we talked about everything we should consider for selecting a topic:
- something you know about, but not too much
- something you care about
- something your audience will care about
- something that isn’t too broad
- something that isn’t too complex
- something that not everybody knows about
When I got to the one about something you care about, a student piped up. She asked, “Do we have to care about it?” I thought for a moment and said, “Well, yes. Wouldn’t it be hard to write about something you don’t care about at all?” Her response is something I’ll treasure for a long time. She very carefully said, “Well, how about if it is something we’re curious about? Wouldn’t that be like caring?”
I almost leapt out of my skin – Yes, Yes! I want you to write about something you are CURIOUS about! She got it, she got the point, and for that I am very grateful and excited to read her paper. She chose the topic of texting while driving – current, controversial, and it clearly affects her personally. Perfect!
