Curosity Didn’t Kill The Cat

Can you remember when you were a little kid how curious you were about the world? You would ask questions like why is the sea blue, where does the sun go at night, where did I come from and why is that doggy climbing on top of that other doggy?

At that age we learn so much and so quickly that it seems almost inconceivable to us now. Why do you think that is? Our brains are no more able to learn at 2 than they are at 82 but something changes.

Could it be that our curiosity diminishes? Does that fresh-faced eagerness to learn and understand gradually get replaced by cynicism and a belief that we know pretty much all we need anyhow?

Kids learn because they ask questions because they are fascinated by life and all around them, but that curiosity and thirst for knowledge is usually beaten out of them by the time they hit 5th grade.

Have you ever heard a parent or schoolteacher say to a child ‘stop asking stupid questions’?  There are no stupid questions if they are coming from a genuine desire to learn just stupid answers like that one. Have you ever heard kids being told ‘be quiet’ or to simply ‘do what you are told to do and don’t ask why’? What message does that send to them during a period of their lives when they are so impressionable? Maybe it tells them that it doesn’t pay to be inquisitive that it’s best to keep your head down, go with the flow and be like everybody else?

Be more curious, don’t accept things at face value, ask dumbass questions and most of all encourage your kids or any kids you know to do the same. There is no age limit on learning and we have the ability to do it until the day we die, don’t waste that opportunity.

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