The Ingredients of Enthusiasm, They Might Require Visiting Some "Local Markets".

There seems to be a sort of epidemic spreading around school systems in recent years. It is becoming like a drug to children. They call it "apathy" and it is going around like wild fire in kids. In order to douse this fire and spark an inexhaustible passion for learning, new methods of teaching may be required. Kids are becoming "numb" to education due to the recent increase in technology and the trend of what is known as being "linked-in" all the time. A method that has worked to spark some enthusiasm for me and other kids is having teachers become more technology friendly and being able to use fun websites and internet based activities to help kids learn. Because of their already short attention spans and knowledge of the web, incorporating something that they genuinely enjoy and could have fun with will more than likely leave a lasting impression on their brains, thus helping them learn.

If that doesn't work, another thing I used to enjoy that made me enthusiastic about learning was what I like to call the "Cheshire Cat Method". This may seem like a stretch to some but read on and hopefully you will understand. “Only a few find the way, some don't recognize it when they do - some... don't ever want to.” This is a personal favorite quote of mine spoken by the Cheshire Cat in the year 2000 video game titled Alice. It may confuse a few but essentially it is saying that it takes a conscious effort to find the path in life, and not everyone realizes when they stumble upon it, and then there are the few that never wish to put in the effort to reach their path. The number of students leaning towards the third group is steadily growing, something that must be stopped. So I know you are thinking, "Why on earth is he talking about a bloody cat?" This is why, what is the sole word that would be used to describe this children's book character? Curiosity. But not only that, he is a riddle. A curiosity and a riddle, an interesting combination, no? Well this is how you must reengage the mind of the student. I became enthusiastic about learning due to an intensified curiosity about the machinations of the world, this made me want to become more enthusiastic about learning, and the riddle is simply a metaphor for engaging the mind to work harder to sate the curiosity that should be implanted into the minds of the students by the teacher.

So to summarize, the main ingredients to cooking up a nice hot plate of enthusiasm are using things that students are interested, creating a sense of curiosity in the student, and engaging (challenging) the mind to sate the curiosity.

Thank you for reading, this may have sounded really silly to most people.