Why Curiosity?
No one should be robbed of wonder. Every child should have a chance to discover what they love to learn about and see where it takes them.
The world will be better for it.
It's Fundamental
Curiosity is an intense desire to learn.
We’re all born curious. As children, curiosity fuels our growth. It’s the instinct that drives us to question, experiment and explore.
As we grow, curiosity makes us more able learners. It helps us solve problems, create and innovate and makes us better students, workers and parents.
Healthy communities need curious people.
The Problem
Though we're all born curious, we still need two things to stay curious: information and nurturing. The poorest rarely have either.
In low income countries, like Nicaragua, books and internet service are prohibitively expensive for many, including most public schools. Reading levels are low and most students don’t learn basic research skills.
Underpaid, undereducated teachers are often unaware of different learning styles and can only rote teach.
Learning quickly becomes frustrating for many students. A negative cycle starts, in which lost motivation results in fewer successes, which increases frustration. Sadly, many students stop believing in themselves as learners and drop out.
In Nicaragua we see the result: less than half of
students finish primary school and less than a quarter finish high school.
Pleasure
Curiosity
Discovery
The Opportunity
Research shows that curious kids in poor communities are more likely to succeed in school because they are motivated to overcome challenges, in and out of school, that continually threaten to derail their education. When they succeed the impacts are significant:
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If all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty. This is equal to a 12% cut in global poverty.
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One extra year of schooling increases an individual's earnings by up to 10%.
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Children of educated mothers are more likely to be vaccinated and less likely to be stunted because of being malnourished.
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One additional school year can increase a woman's earnings by 10% to 20%.
The Curiosity Circle
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