The Guardian – Jenny Rohn
“Perhaps the intense curiosity of a toddler is only a developmental phase. Or more worryingly, natural curiosity might be squelched by exasperated, sleep-deprived parental rejoinders such as “just because” – or by formalised learning of long lists of scientific facts. (One of my step-daughters once brought home a summary of her year 7 school science curriculum: the entire programme seemed to be based solely on weights and measures.) Either way, if toddlers are naturally prone to being good scientists, are we as a society somehow missing a window of opportunity? I began to wonder how much of the rudiments of the scientific method are dealt with in the pre-school phase.”(more)