(*information obtained from the book “A More Beautiful Question”)

I took two paragraphs from the book; word from word.

PG. 43

When we start teaching too much, too soon, says Gopnik, we’re inadvertently cutting off paths of inquiry and exploration that kids might otherwise pursue on their own. As Gopnik puts it, Children are the research and development division of the human species. If they are permitted to do that research; to raise and explore their own questions, through various forms of experimentation, and without being burdened with instructions; they exhibit signs of more creativity and curiosity.

Gopnik says young kids learn in much the same way scientists do, by exploring and experimenting, and that we should beware of trends toward more structured and academic early-childhood programs. That academic rigor comes soon enough, as students begin grade school; which is when questioning by kids really start to disappear.

THE CONS OF DOING SUCH

The more preschools models itself after regular schools; the more it becomes a venue for loading kids up with information and feeding them answers to questions they have not yet asked; the more it seems to squelch their natural curiosity.

I have heard from various sources on how schools have been destroying creativity.