Cultivate curiosity. Educators can do this by teaching adults and children to notice and wonder—and to do it together.
In his Haggadah, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes, “Education is not indoctrination. It is teaching a child to become curious, to wonder, reflect, enquire. The child who asks becomes a partner in the learning process.” Curiosity, marked by question-asking and wonder, is a Jewish impulse and cultural value toward learning, toward one another, and toward engaging with the world. Curiosity is an engine of Torah lishma, learning Torah for its own sake.
We know from the learning sciences that curiosity enhances memory encoding and consolidation, fuels intrinsic motivation, supports exploratory behavior, and improves attention and learning processes, resulting in better learning outcomes. Further, many scholars emphasize the social nature of learning. As human beings, we are wired for meaning making and social learning; being curious together further amplifies the positive impacts of curiosity.
How fortunate are we as Jewish educators to come from a tradition of learning in relationship. Our tradition puts an emphasis on student-teacher relationships, on learning in groups-–think havruta pairs and the habura (group), as the Talmud says, “Torah is only acquired through study in a group” (Brachot 63b). Ours is a tradition of asking questions and searching for meaning in community.
As educators we have the power to model, create conditions for, and teach habits of curiosity explicitly. Imagine if all members of the school community from the youngest to the oldest embraced the practice of curiosity to learn across subjects and to connect more deeply and generously with one another. Through the active cultivation of curiosity, Jewish education can strive for excellence, Jewishly.
Resources to Cultivate Curiosity Together
Attached are some rich tools and resources your school can use to cultivate curiosity together
Curiosity Learning Routine
PoP “Zoom in Zoom Out Havruta Routines Tool