"You go talk to kindergartners or first-grade kids, you find a class full of #science enthusiasts. They ask deep questions. They ask, "What is a #dream, why do we have #toes, why is the #moon round, what is the birthday of the #world, why is #grass #green?"These are profound, important #questions. They just #bubble right out of them.You go talk to 12th graders and there's none of that. They've become #incurious.Something terrible has happened between kindergarten and 12th grade." #CarlSagan
(#Book: #Conversations with Carl Sagan)
@gojonnes for a few glorious years, it seemed that every sentence from my son began with “Tell me...”. Until they didn’t
@oftencalledcathy Why do they need to grow up? 
@gojonnes
My stepmom was a junior high science teacher. She said she picked that age group because they still had the curiosity, but were better at sitting still and paying attention in class.
@gojonnes
Never ignore the factor of exhausted parents. My 6 year old can fire off questions like a machine gun. And, of course, the curiosity and wonder are magnificent.
But parents are human. They have finite energy reserves.
@gojonnes It only takes ONE teacher during the K thru 12 years to kill a child’s scientific curiosity.
I did #NationalChemistryWeek demos to a 2nd grade class at a very well-regarded school. The kids were just as #CarlSagan described, as they always are. The mid-career teacher sat at her desk the whole time, and when I thanked her as I was leaving she said “I’m glad someone enjoys that stuff.”
@gojonnes
It doesn't help when your child asks you, as my 4-yr-old did once, 'Why is the sky so high up' ..
I didn't reply, being stuck for an answer, and perhaps that was the problem. He became discouraged and stopped asking such questions.
We adults need to be more imaginative!
@gojonnes
The sense of #curiosity is killed in elementary school. By the time I would see them in secondary school, it is mostly gone. How/why?
1) #Classroom management seeks to minimize distractions from learning. Sitting down and shutting up are the expectations. Questions disrupt the flow of the approved lessons.
2) Consider the role of standardized (state) testing.
Having a correct answer is the school's goal to avoid sanctions. No room for speculation.
@gojonnes Most people are never going to end up curious. The kids asking all of those questions are the minority and they stay curious (probably).
@gojonnes because schools have to achieve ‘grades’ that have no bearing on educating scholars but are a ‘league table’ that show the school’s achievements not the students. It’s utter bollox. The teachers I learned best from treated me as an equal and entertained me, the ones I despised and learned FUCK ALL FROM patronised me and punished me for THEIR failings.
@gojonnes bold move to hashtag "toes" on the internet. No way that will have any unexpected side effects. 😬
@gojonnes @aprilfollies I tended to teach academically advanced kids, so this may be biased because of that, but you could still see that enthusiasm in Grade 9. Little by little, though, they start to worry more about what others think of them, or just want to know what’s on the exam… That joy disappears.
@MichaelPorter @gojonnes My experience is similar. I deal with students of all ages and the middle-school ones still have that excitement and enthusiasm. The further they get in high school, though, the more they seem to tune out. The college students are pretty cynical by the time I see them. I mean, I get that they have more adult worries. Maybe that’s the problem - we put a lot on our young adults and even more on our adults.
@gojonnes I was fascinated with dinosaurs and rocks. I kept asking why are there no dinosaurs in the Bible? So Mom took me to the preacher. I don't remember what he said but we prayed. Shortly after that I was baptized.
For some people it seems to have all the answers. I guess they ask the easy questions. I hear it is Donald Trumps favorite book. He has never cracked it open but he has sworn on it to tell the truth. Apparently lying on a stack of Bibles won't cause you to burst into flames.
@gojonnes
Growing up in Memphis, TN, by 12th grade I had moved on from "Why is the moon round?" to
"Why is there so much poverty?"
"Why aren't there any white people on the city bus?
"Why are the residential areas so segregated by race?"
"Why does our president think that the wealthiest among us deserve tax cuts?"
Etc.
The "something terrible" that happened to me was getting woke and pissed off.
#ShitholeCountry #Injustice #Inequality #Equity #TaxTheRich #Racism #Woke