“What's interesting is that there's a lot of research on how curious kids are naturally. And there's actually some really interesting research out of the UK that talks about young kids asking, something on average, like 400 questions a day to their poor parents. But by the time they get in through grade school into middle school, it's dropping down almost precipitously. And there's other interesting research that shows that at home, kids are asking 50 questions a day, but at school they're asking two questions a day. And then, by high school, no questions a day.
And so, I would actually argue that, as kids get older, schools are not encouraging curiosity. Schools are encouraging kids to have the right answer. And usually, the person asking questions is the teacher, not the students. We need to completely flip that on its head if we actually want kids to graduate and enter life in the workforce far more curious. But most of the time, this factory model of school is not about curiosity. It's really about the right answer and getting things done.”
Why do people withhold information from each other? Why are some of the smartest, successful people the worst at learning from each other?
Jeff Wetzler is on a quest to transform learning opportunities, both in business and in education. If we want to create a workforce for the future, with skills that cannot be replaced by AI, he explains, we have to do things differently not just within an organisation but at every stage of the education journey.
Jeff is the former chief learning officer at Teach for America and is currently CEO of innovation organisation, Transcend. In his new book, ‘Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You’, he outlines the origins and steps of his Ask Approach™ framework, starting with Curiosity.
To find out more on how to improve the communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills needed to tackle global challenges, from climate change to inequality to polarisation, listen to this Provocateurs podcast. Here, Jeff is chatting with Steve Goldbach, Principal and Sustainability, Climate & Equity Leader at Deloitte, and Stuart Crainer, co-founder of Thinkers50.
This episode will be available on 16 May 2024.
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Learn more about the Provocateurs podcast, the hosts, and access all episodes here: thinkers50.com/provocateurs/
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This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives’ participation in these articles are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.