Excitement in Learning

Thomas L. Friedman writes about a few things that he learned on his "The World is Flat" book tour in the New York Times column, Tuning in to Jon Stewart, and Britney Schmidt, on May 6, 2005. The first thing he learned is that lots of people are getting their news from Jon Stewart on Comedy Central, but that is not a reason to include the article in the Ed-Tech blog.

The second thing he learned is that "there's a huge undertow of worry out in the country about how our kids are being educated and whether they'll be able to find jobs in an increasingly flat world." He argues that the goal of education in today's world is to learn how to learn. He argues that one way to do that is to "is to go ask your friends: 'Who are the best teachers?' Then - no matter the subject - take their courses. When I think back on my favorite teachers, I don't remember anymore much of what they taught me, but I sure remember being excited about learning it."

I know you are passionate about your discipline. I know you are passionate about teaching. Are your students excited about learning?

What do you do to generate student excitement about learning? How do you stimulate your students? How were you stimulated by your teachers and mentors? By example? By experiences? By encouragement? By recognition?