Curiosity
Curiosity comes from the Latin word, curiosus, and is akin to the word “cura” or care/cure. According to Etymonline, to be curious means to be “careful, diligent and to inquire eagerly”.
When one hears the word “curiosity”, people often think of the expression “curiosity killed the cat”, which totally does not conger up a positive image or motivation to inspire one to become more curious.
But if we think about cats and how they are inquisitive, yet careful, when something new is introduced into their environment, the concept is magical.
How many cat videos and memes have been uploaded and viewed on the internet as a way to seek calm, practice self-care of de-stressing and to get a dopamine hit of “ahhhhh, how cute!”?… especially during the pandemic!
In any personal or spiritual growth practice, the first step is to get curious. What is coming up? How am I feeling? When does this happen? Who is involved?
This is what I call the “WWWWWH?” We can’t pounce on a problem or challenge or situation like a cat who is not practicing curiosity. Maybe that’s when there are dire consequences.
We need to be careful, yet diligent and inquire eagerly at all angles through WWWWWH?
WWWWWH? = Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
These are the basics of Bloom’s Taxonomy for learning and growth.
But in the real world, it is just the basis and foundation of living and moving forward one step at a time.
We have to find the answers to the WWWWWH? of life for ourselves. No prescription, no multiple choice, no true/false, no “one-size-fits-all”.
So, what does curiosity look like in the classroom, and why is it the essential and critical first step on the learning journey?
