I read an interesting blog post by Dan Brown, a teacher and author of The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungle. He is the also the author of an education blog called Get in the Fracas. Here is an excerpt:

“I have a clutch of students who read for pleasure, yet bizarrely hand in assignments only sporadically. Let’s call them “Readers.” These are the kids who take home The Kite Runner and read the whole thing in two days—then never write any of their journal responses. Their grades do not reflect their abilities. However, these students always score at or near the very top of the class on these standardized tests.”  

This hints at an even deeper gift that these students have – one that feeds their love of reading – and that is the innate (or is it taught? modeled? suggested?) gift of CURIOSITY. These people do not read because they have to – “have to” doesn’t factor in that heavily if they are not writing their journal responses and earning poor grades. They are reading because of something else. That SOMETHING is also leading them to score at the top of these assesments that Mr. Brown refers to. Freedom of thought, freedom from the slavish “do only what you are told to do and nothing more” and a freedom to pursue knowledge and adventure (what else?) through books fuels these students’ success. As a parent, how do you foster CURIOSITY?

 - Heather