HOW CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT
This saying has a lot of meaning and history, but it stands as a fine example of how we go about killing curiosity itself.
We like to think that we are born with it, and, of course, we encourage and demonstrate curiosity throughout our lives, or, at least until we get annoyed with a four year old child who keeps asking over and over again--WHY?
Of course, educators think they remain curious. After all, isn’t that at the heart of learning, why in large measure they wanted to be an educator, along with being a lifelong curious learner? Schools and their impinging forces of conforming, however, may take curiosity as a given and perhaps for event granted; however, institutions and their unspoken rules move in the opposite direction--school culture may actively, systematically, covertly, and overtly squash curiosity.
Then, there’s the plethora of regulations that don’t outwardly try to contain curiosity, yet they may surely build a wall around any thought of it. From over 5,000 pages of California Education Codes and Gov Regs to approved School Board Policies and Procedures, the box in which educators teach, lead and live is a small one; indeed, there’s nothing quite curious about the next memo from a State to a District which translates laws and regulations into rules and restriction that are required mandates for each of us all “step in line.” To sharpen the point , isn’t curiosity for those who have the luxury to think and feel, not for people who must keep their jobs and “go with the program”?
We may believe that in our daily lives as students, teachers and administrators that we are curious learners, seeking to understand and to be more enlightened through discovery, but when the impinging forces of the walls of our institutions cleverly tighten around us and capitate curiosity, we become unknowingly less inquisitive with the reminder and reality check of that unobtrusive sign which reads:
This is the real world, and you’re in it.
When it comes to the uses of technology, should we be curious about a curious teachers’ experience, what gives them delight or pain? Are we curious enough about student engagement with a particular technology solution? Are we wondering how much agency a student is given, their thoughts and feelings on how a solution gives them a voice and sense of empowerment or NOT? Should we be curious about the thoughts and feelings of what teachers believe is a valuable technology or whether it is easy or difficult to use?