“Imagination is more important than knowledge” ~Einstein
“The 21st century requires a new kind of learner — not someone who can simply churn out answers by rote, as has been done in the past, but a student who can think expansively and solve problems resourcefully.” — In Save Our Science: How to Inspire a New Generation of Scientists, materials scientist, inventor, and longtime Yale professor Ainissa Ramirez. (via brain pickings)
It’s not new. A child never goes far without picking up a stick for exploring. But why? Like a multi-tool, it becomes all matter of things instantaneously as the imagination is set free. A stick is not just a stick unless you think of it that way.
“My training as a scientist allows me to stare at an unknown and not run away, because I learned that this melding of uncertainty and curiosity is where innovation and creativity occur.” — Yale’s Ainissa Ramirez on the future of science education
(Source: , via explore-blog)
[video]
At The San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art, an abstract gets close scrutiny.
(Source: http, via explore-blog)
“When I was a kid, I thought a lot about what made me different from the other kids. I don’t think I was smarter than them and I certainly wasn’t more talented. And I definitely can’t claim I was a harder worker — I’ve never worked particularly hard, I’ve always just tried doing things I find fun. Instead, what I concluded was that I was more curious — but not because I had been born that way. If you watch little kids, they are intensely curious, always exploring and trying to figure out how things work. The problem is that school drives all that curiosity out. Instead of letting you explore things for yourself, it tells you that you have to read these particular books and answer these particular questions. And if you try to do something else instead, you’ll get in trouble. Very few people’s curiosity can survive that. But, due to some accident, mine did. I kept being curious and just followed my curiosity.” — Open-access champion and RSS co-creator Aaron Swartz, who took his own life last week at the age of 26. A heartbreaking loss in innumerable ways.
(Source: , via explore-blog)
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays.
Latest photo’s from the childsmind Instagram feed.
“
Many adults are put off when youngsters pose scientific questions. Children ask why the sun is yellow, or what a dream is, or how deep you can dig a hole, or when is the world’s birthday, or why we have toes. Too many teachers and parents answer with irritation or ridicule, or quickly move on to something else. Why adults should pretend to omniscience before a five-year-old, I can’t for the life of me understand. What’s wrong with admitting that you don’t know? Children soon recognize that somehow this kind of question annoys many adults. A few more experiences like this, and another child has been lost to science.
There are many better responses. If we have an idea of the answer, we could try to explain. If we don’t, we could go to the encyclopedia or the library. Or we might say to the child: “I don’t know the answer. Maybe no one knows. Maybe when you grow up, you’ll be the first to find out.”
” —Not being afraid of not knowing is the first step on the road to true discovery.
(Source: skaterboytae, via jtotheizzoe)
[video]
Empathy
After watching the news last week, Mr Six decided to throw his toy guns in the trash. After successfully convincing his younger brother, he wants to ask his friends to do the same. He put himself in the shoes of those innocent six year olds who lost their lives in Connecticut and is motivated to make change happen, based on his understanding. Empathy is necessary for caring behaviour.
”When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world.”
~Mister Rogers
“With time, and saliva, the ant will devour the elephant.” —
~Ancient Chinese proverb
[video]
We drool over and treasure beautifully illustrated children’s books, but are we showing more interest in those books than our children? The most captivating books for young children are not always what we expect. Why do we make a bee-line for the children’s section at the library or select for them only age appropriate children’s books?
“When engaged in what looks like child’s play, preschoolers are actually behaving like scientists, (according to a new report in the journal- Science): forming hypotheses, running experiments, calculating probabilities and deciphering causal relationships about the world.” — -The New York Times, October 1, 2012
(Source: The New York Times)