PASSION FOR LEARNING (P)

Our national obsession with short-term school achievement -- grades and test scores -- threatens the survival of an older and deeper goal of education: to develop in young people what the author calls "interests of mind" -enduring interests associated with intellectual curiosity, passion for the arts and sciences, and active engagement in realms of serious human endeavor such as politics, literature, the good society, justice and equality, scientific progress, and creativity. Interest of mind, he argues, are fundamental to a range of worthy human pleasures and responsibilities.When short-term achievement is the principal school effect valued by society and college admissions officers, enduring interests seem irrelevant or luxurious. Yet many teachers report that students with perfectly satisfactory -- even distinguished -- measured scholastic achievement lack focus, direction, and passion; they seem burned out. With incisive reasoning, engaging examples, and practical suggestions, this much-needed book inspires teachers to cultivate interests of mind that will endure long after schooling is over.Powell, Arthur G. is the author of 'PASSION FOR LEARNING (P)' with ISBN 9780787950439 and ISBN 0787950432.