Excerpt:
“Students collectively moan or sigh when they hear the word ‘research.’ They slump, assuming the posture of defeat before they have even begun. Students just want to say whatever it is they have to say—which is to say there is something fundamentally wrong here. We, as teachers, aim to transform this complaint back into curiosity. In visiting the Chamber of Wonders with my students, I am reminded how easily that transformation can happen (and how easily I can forget). Reframing complaint as curiosity is fundamental to the abstract notion of ‘success’ these students desire. Happiness wasn’t derived from owning all of the objects within the cabinet of curiosity; happiness only came when one told the histories, displayed the arrangements, and narrated the adventure. Happiness came from trying to make sense of it all for the sake of the audience. What does the essay attempt to do if not that?”
Read the full piece in Writing on the Edge, Vol 31 Numbers 1 & 2 (Fall 2020 – Spring 2021
