The Power of Wonder

The author of this article takes the reader on an imaginative journey on which he has invented a device he calls, the wondermeter. He then asks readers to imagine that the meter is attached to the minds of every child in the classroom. As it turns out, every child in the classroom has 3 bold ideas or original insights each day. Assuming that there are 28 students in the class, the daily wonder production is 84 new ideas each day. He then argues that much of today's educational reform equates education with test scores, and thus manages to squash creativity with alarming regularity. He believes that "why" is the most important question educators can ask, and suggests that one way to make sure students begin to ask "why" with regularity is to develop their writing skills. The author then concludes by sharing his hope that modern educators will learn to celebrate the wonder of children by creating classroom environments where the natural genius of children is rewarded and supported.