Fixed curricula centralize control. They remove control from the hands of teachers. Therefore, teachers cannot pass on control to students. Teachers often would like to reward children for asking the big-picture questions that don't fit the lesson plan, but they cannot afford to. Curriculum development boards fill up the time allotted to classes with content that teachers then need to cover. By doing so, they automatically determine that nothing else can be covered.
The Why Game, conducive to curiosity and creativity, falls into the category of "anything else." Classroom discussion squelches children's curiosity as they learn that their own questions don't matter. Their creativity destroyed, these children look to others for guidance rather than trusting themselves. Self-confidence, a commodity most successful people have in abundance, ought to be what schools try to instill in students. What is actually instilled, however, is the fear of doing something wrong.
To get real inquiry into the classroom, we must give teachers the possibility of allowing it. Without real inquiry, an inquiry that comes from a student-directed need to know, real learning cannot take place.
Where am I in the content of the book?
