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Professional Development thoughts
Throughout Nord Anglia Education we often talk about developing those habits of mind that are going to help young people be successful in the 21st Century. These '21st Century skills' (although they were not invented in the 21st Century and they aren’t all skills of course) are pretty undisputed. So many authors have written about them that their language has become almost commonplace.
Two of these are Curiosity and, his sister, Wonder – the theme for this Connect-Ed. The Greeks, led by Aristotle, had a very clear view that curiosity should be reviled and wonder should be esteemed. Aristotle believed that curiosity (periergia) was a kind of aimless, witless tendency to pry into things that didn’t concern us. Wonder (thauma) was far more significant, the true root of enquiry: “It is owing to their wonder,” he wrote, “that humans both now begin and at first began to philosophise.” This 'ordering' of curiosity and wonder in this way continued until the scientific revolution, when their importance reversed. Wonder became firmly associated with unquestioning submission and curiosity became associated with challenging assumptions and questioning beliefs.
Whatever you believe about these two words, the big question I think we need to focus on is how we help our students to wonder, or be curious, about science, about music, about different cultures, and about the world in which we live (add your own ands…).
With organisations like Juilliard, MIT and UNICEF working with us on this question, and teachers across the continents discussing and sharing ideas on the topic in Nord Anglia University, we have a very good chance at being able to come up with an answer or two.
So, whatever you teach, whatever school you are in, whatever your position... think about how you can contribute to this question; challenge yourself to wonder and be curious; encourage these habits in the students you meet; and continue the discussion with all of your colleagues on Nord Anglia University.
Pursuing a sense of curiosity and wonder in learning
Mark Orrow-Whiting
Director of Curriculum and Student Performance
Education Team