Has curiosity been taken out of our learning environment?

Has Curiosity been removed from the learning environment?  Now that so many schools and districts are only focused on academic performance and test scores, where are children able to be curious about learning?  Children need to be curious, investigative, inquiring, and discover how things work and figure things out. Curiosity and a desire to learn are important parts of learning.

Many children in PreK have experiences to discover and be curious with activities in centers’ discovery areas.  Then the children go to kindergarten and first grade and the learning changes to what I call sit and get.  The children sit and receive the information and are expected to learn without much discovery.  It is even more noticeable with all the curricula that are more direct instruction. The states and districts approve or dictate only certain curricula. The focus is on academic performance not creating curiosity and a desire to learn.

Here is an example of how curiosity is taken out of learning.  I was part of a summer learning environment with elementary children.  The class had about 20 children from second grade to fifth grade.  The children were well-behaved and listened.  One child who has been homeschooled for over three years wanted to investigate what the teacher was saying and showing.  So, he got up and investigated the models the teacher was showing.  He was the only child that was curious about the information.  The other children were taught over many years in school not to be curious and investigate.  They were taught to sit and get the information. But the boy who is homeschooled learned to investigate and discover how things work. He also retained more information than other children who were taught to sit and get the information.

So, are schools taking curiosity away so the children can sit and get the information because of the curricula and pressure for academic performance and test scores?  How are children discovering new things if they are not allowed to be curious?  When children are not allowed to explore and be curious, they do not have a desire to learn.  That is why just focusing on academic performance does not work in the long term.  Research shows that curiosity is a huge part of lifelong learning and the desire to learn and explore new things.  However, how will the children move the information to long-term memory if they are not curious?

So, what is curiosity? Curiosity is the desire to learn something.  Curiosity is the eagerness to discover, explore, and investigate something.  However, schools have removed curiosity from kids because they need to have control in the classroom so all children can learn.

Are schools encouraging curiosity?  Curiosity is being lost because of the direction of so many curricula that are being dictated by school systems and states.  Many teachers are required to use curricula that are more direct instruction than building curiosity.  The curricula are mostly direct instruction for the teacher to say and implement the lessons as written.  But what about the child who does not learn like what is written in the curriculum?

Every child learns differently and processes information differently.  So, when teachers are required to use curricula that are close to direct instruction children are going to lose.  The teachers are forced to implement the curricula as written or they may be in jeopardy of disciplinary actions. If a child in the class wants to investigate but is not in the curriculum, the teachers will reprimand the child to listen or pay attention.  So, as educators, we talk about building curiosity in children but in reality, we are removing curiosity in the learning environment for specific curricula that are telling teachers what to say and do for the children to learn.  Children learn by exploring, investigating, discovering, and figuring things out.

How to add curiosity to the learning environment?  Have children explore and investigate things.  Have the children take things apart and put things back together.  Have them have time to observe how models work.  Have children observe and discuss what they see.  Many times, if children ask questions about something related to something else let them research that topic also.  Do not put off the questions until later because they may not remember them later. Encourage curiosity, discovery, and figuring things out.   Do you think curiosity is being taken away from our children?