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When was the last time you were curious?

January 21st, 2008 · 7 Comments

Can’t remember?

Don’t feel bad.

Seth Godin says:

“It’s easy to underestimate how difficult it is for someone to become curious. For 7, 10,15 years of school, you are required to not be curious. Over and over and over again, the curious are punished.”

Got a minute (or five)? Check out the rest of what he has to say in this video. Then let me know what you think. Out of everything he said, what jumped out at you the most?

Be honest–I’m curious.

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Tags: Growth

7 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Beda // Jan 21, 2008 at 7:10 pm

    What stands out is the point that it is difficult to become curious. I can’t relate to this. In fact, I am curious as to why he thinks such a thing. I believe curiosity is natural. Perhaps he is saying it has been stripped of us in school. I don’t know. I am so full of questions. Are there people who aren’t? (another one) Curiously, I was thinking just yesterday that the saying should be “Curiosity skilled the cat.” It’s a beautiful thing.

    Beda,

    “Curiosity skilled the cat.”

    I LOVE THAT!

    Now that is a creative play on words. Awesome.

    Thanks Beda. I’m going to print that one out and pin it up in my room.

    Chris

  • 2 Doodaddy // Jan 21, 2008 at 7:17 pm

    I dunno if I’m buying that curious kids are punished in school. Sure, that was the case in some classes, but overall I felt rewarded by curiosity (as long it was tempered by a reasonable amount of toeing the line).

    I didn’t understand the bit about people who have “12:00″ blinking on their VCRs. Are they the curious (because they avoid TV) or the uncurious (because they didn’t figure out how to set the time)?

    Thanks Doodaddy,

    I’m sort of with you on the curious being punished in schools. I’ve heard we squelch creativity and a lot of other things but I hadn’t heard that one before.

    Thanks again Doodaddy. And it’s great to see you’re still kicking around here. Hope all has been well with you.

    Chris

  • 3 Lyrical Fool // Jan 21, 2008 at 8:14 pm

    I’m not sure what to think about it.

    I would agree about schooling squashes creativity: the majority of my teachers in junior high and high school were definitely anti-anything that wasn’t memorized and repeated by rote.

    But all it takes is one or two intentional teachers, and *everything* can change.

  • 4 Mrs. Chili // Jan 22, 2008 at 8:30 am

    I’m going to agree, for the most part, about the squashing of curiosity in traditional schooling. I can say this with some authority, not only because my children are in traditional schools (elementary and middle, at the moment), but also because I teach junior college, and I don’t use traditional teaching methods. I ask my students to think critically and creatively, I ask them to demonstrate their learning in ways that are meaningful to them, and they have NO idea what to do. They want questions to answer, assignments to complete, and page-number requirements to fill. It makes me sad.

    My question about this piece, though, is what’s his POINT? What’s he asking people to be curious about?

  • 5 Beda // Jan 22, 2008 at 11:01 am

    Thanks, Chris. I am so honored to have my little thought displayed in your classroom.

  • 6 Jake Wisse // Jan 25, 2008 at 8:17 pm

    The thing that stuck out for me was his description of fundamentalism. I know people who describe themselves as fundamentalists (catholics, christians, etc…), which I always felt was odd in and of itself, and this explanation is interesting. Makes me curious how anyone could think of themselves that way. But then, they were probably never curious enough to really think about it!

  • 7 Jen Greenquist // Jan 27, 2008 at 8:56 pm

    I never really thought of myself as a curious person, but my immediate reaction to reading this is that I am very curious about why adults make various decisions, about how they raise their children, treat other people, behave at work (often like children), etc. My curiosity has served me well in my job, especially if I can ask questions without the implied “you idiot” actually being spoken afterward.

    I think there are teachers and schools that encourage creativity in children. We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to request certain types of teachers for our son–we always ask for someone non-traditional, thinks outside the box, doesn’t just teach to the test (standardized testing is everything in GA, don’t get me started) and so far we’ve been pretty happy. But boy there’s nothing worse than having a kid who learns best in non-traditional environments getting put with a very regimented teacher, it almost sent us looking at private schools!

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