Brass Bound Bulletin #2 The Curiosity Conundrum

When I was a kid I wanted to know EVERYTHING! Especially when it came to machines. I was fascinated by cars, engines, motors. If it was mechanical, I was hooked. The same went for science, especially space, and dinosaurs. It's why I am the person I am today. My friends were the same way. Maybe not about the same things but they were still interested in how things worked. The longer I've been teaching though the more I'm encountering a disturbing trend. Curiosity is dwindling in children.

I've been teaching STEM for seven and a half years now and each year I notice more and more children don't want to puzzle things out. They want to be told the answer and given the steps to complete a task. They don't care about WHY something works or is the way it is. A computer, RC Car, bicycle or any other machine is just a black box to them and they are ok with that. If that doesn't change we will end up with a generation of drones. The won't question, they won't wonder, they will just do as they are told. I think it can be fixed though. Here are my ideas

• Answer the questions- Children are born curious. From the time they are infants they are learning, discovering and adapting. When they are babies, it's cute watching their face as they discover things out of their line of sight don't cease to exist. (unless they have ADHD. We never truly learn that.) But when they are three and asking a hundred questions about every little thing it can be exhausting and frustrating. In my opinion though, it's important to answer the questions or at the very least encourage them.

  I saw a video recently where this was discussed. A child who gets their questions answered or at least acknowledged grows to question things. They want to know the whys and hows. They will raise their hand in class and continue to wonder. Conversely, a child who is shut down when they ask questions or whose questions are simply dismissed will grow thinking that their curiosity isn't worth pursuing, that asking questions makes them a nuisance or a bother. They will be more quiet in school, they won't raise their hand or engage unless called on. Over time, the child whose curiosity is nurtured will likely thrive academically while the other will either be average or fall behind.

• Encourage research- Let's face it, parents don't have all the answers. But what they DO have is the same thing their kids do, access to the world's information at their fingertips. That tablet your kid has in their hand is the gateway to anything they want to know that you don't. So tell them to look it up! Better yet, if you have the time, look it up with them! Teaching kids to research topics will encourage them to find their own answers. Plus watching you look things up with them shows it's ok to be curious, not know things and even how to find things out.

• Touch grass- I want to put what I am about to type in context. Part of what I teach is computer science. I teach coding, 3D modelling and general computing but... KIDS HAVE TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME! I know it's easy to let kids park it in front of a tablet, computer, video game system. However that limits them in a lot of ways. If you can take them some place to feed their interests. If your kid likes cars, take them to a car show. If they like anime or comic books, take them to a con to meet the artists or voice actors. Talk to them about the experience. Let them ask questions. Feed their brains! Plus, you get to watch their eyes pop out of their heads with amazement!

Ok, I can already hear some people reading this saying that this kind of stuff would be difficult for them because of finances, their work schedules and such. I get it, at the end of the day you're tired. You've worked hard! And at the beginning, you're focused on getting yourself and your kids up, fed, and out the door with all your stuff. Or maybe you can't afford to take your child to an event like a con. You do the best you can. Honestly I think the first bit is most important. Be there, answer the questions, encourage curiosity. The important thing is to make your child feel like their curiosity is a good thing and not a burden.