Curiosity

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I wish I had paid more attention to curiosity as a child. However our culture and our educational system is obsessed with us knowing answers. Now, at 66, I realize that the prompting of questions is far more important.

Editing history:

"See the green balloon, Robby?  Yes, green."

And Robby nods, or says "green."

What I should have said was "Well, not really green, there is a lot of blue going on there. How does color happen anyhow, Dad?"

"Can you make the letter W, Robby?"

And Robby makes an attempt at W.

What I should have said was: Oh, you mean that upside M, Mom? Isn't weird that those two symbols are inverted versions of each other. I wonder how that happened!?

Can I really fault my students for wondering which answer will get them more points on the test? They live in a world where, most often, answers and the illusion of certainty are rewarded far more often than "not knowing," and wondering why.

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