Why is curiosity important? It is important because it creates an anticipation and a need that wants to be satisfied. When children are properly curious, they remain motivated and open to find out about and study things intrinsically for its own sake. Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses removing the table during the Seder to cause the children to wonder and ask questions. The Rabbis understood well that promoting curiosity is the best way for children to learn.

Have you ever seen a lazy baby? Can you imagine how hard it must be to learn how to walk or talk? To gain control over the dozens of muscles and breathing required? Yet, very few babies, even those with developmental disabilities, fail to learn how to walk and talk. Children naturally love to learn, they naturally love facing challenges and overcoming them. What do we do in their childhood and school careers that somehow or another ruins that? No question about it, there’s something we adults do that kills the joy of learning.

I would like you to consider that one of those things that we do to toxify learning is that we destroy curiosity. We must work on embracing and helping our children notice their natural curiosity.

According to a group of researchers from the University of Michigan, led by Prachi Shah:

“These findings suggest that even if a child manifests low effortful control, high curiosity may be associated with more optimal academic achievement. Currently, most classroom interventions have focused on the cultivation of early effortful control and a child’s self-regulatory capacities, but our results suggest that an alternate message, focused on the importance of curiosity, should also be considered…The drive for academic achievement is related to a child’s motivation to learn, and therefore his or her curiosity. Our results suggest that the promotion of curiosity may be a valuable intervention target to foster early academic achievement.”

Reference: Shah, P.E. et al (2018). Early Childhood Curiosity and Kindergarten Reading and Math Academic Achievement, Pediatric Research DOI: 10.1038/s41390-018-0039-3  Click here for the article

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation cool

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