Unbridled enthusiasm for soaking up new knowledge.... It seems every day my granddaughter, now 6 1/2 months old, learns something new, a new skill, and a new talent. Everything to her is magical, exciting, and something to be pursued. She wants to learn, to grasp, to take it all in, soaking up everything like a sponge.

What happens to cause some students to lose that incredibly insatiable need to learn new things? Is it because what we are teaching in school is not exciting to them? Is it because they have experienced failure so often they refuse to even try? Is it because learning is not cool in their circle of friends?

As adults, many of us are driven to learn new things, taking classes, learning skills, reading, exploring. These pursuits may be work related, helping us climb the ladder rungs of our profession, or simply things which interest us, excite us, drive us, in our private lives. But we choose to learn and grow continuously.

How can we make school a place of unbridled enthusiasm for learning? Inevitably, much of what we must teach our students does not peak their interest, making them crave its pursuit. Is there are way to reach their inner love of learning with any subject matter? Is there a way to keep that wide open mouth grin, loving everything that comes their way there?