Students,
As you consider what and where you may want to explore, here, below, are some areas of value to consider.
Students, This list of potential interests meant to springboard your interest and not just to entertain you.
Eastern
U.S. Civil War
WWII
Humor * *
Second Language
Logic/named fallacies
Logic Puzzles
Maker Space/ Critical Making * *
Musical genre
"Oldies"
Pop
Decade
Underwater Archiology (nearby)
Particular authors and complete series
Sature
Use WikiDif to distinguish
Entertain from Interest & Entertain from Engage
Parents, here is an article about the importance of interest.
5 Great (&5 Overrated) Extracurricular Activities
Parents,
The article linked at the bottom of this page describes two types of interest;
SITUATIONAL INTEREST and INDIVIDUAL INTEREST.
If I saw a monster truck rolling down the road, it would probably be interesting to me. Seeing the tire to truck body ratio, seeing the lift, hearing the rev, wondering how much money the owner was willing to invest. I would attend to it, but I am not really into monster trucks. That is situational interest.
If I took a walk in a new-to-me park, I will see trees. I have experience with trees, and I know many tree varieties. I notice remarkable trees and not so remarkable trees because I have an individual interest in trees.
We want to encourage students to discover and embrace individual interests.
(Besides, the more stuff you know, the funnier jokes tend to be. Comedian, Steve Martin elaborated this point by telling a joke with the punchline, "I said socket, not sprocket!!" His point was that the joke was not funny to anyone but plumbers.)
Parents, here is an article about the importance of interest.
Also, here is the link to the NC State Learning Style Inventory. Be prepared to print results., and here is the description of the learning styles and strategies to interpret the results in a pdf.
And futher- Asset-based approach to education
White Paper on the importance of student interest-Harackiewicz, et al.