WEBVTT

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Back in 2023, Disney conducted a
survey of a thousand parents in the

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uk, and they found that  more than
half of these parents were concerned

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that their children's curiosity was
in fact declining and as was their

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fascination about the world around them.

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As educators, we've been witnessing
this decline for some time now.

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What's causing this decline and.

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What can we do about it?

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We are quick to point the finger at
one thing or another, but I actually

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think there are several things
that play a part in this decline.

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Firstly, the one thing  that
papers all appear to agree on is

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that this decline of curiosity is
linked to dopamine being depleted.

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So it's obvious then that the question
that we should be asking is, how

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and why is dopamine being depleted.

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Now a paper by the National Institute of
Health, which I'll link for you in the

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show notes concluded that the factors
that reduce dopamine are the following,

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right at the top  is excessive screen
time, sleep deprivation, uh, poor diet.

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And that's one that's high in fat and
sugar, which inhibits healthy dopamine

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signaling, low sunlight exposure.

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And there are also some rare genetic
disorders that reduce functional dopamine.

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Now, when it comes to the reduction
of curiosity, a, a study in Science

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Direct, which I will also link for you.

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Uh, they concluded that this depleted
or reduced dopamine disrupts the brain's

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reward prediction system, which in turn
reduces the motivation to explore and

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to learn, or seek out new information.

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Dopamine is actually the driving force
that converts the potential for , new

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knowledge and information into a
reward signal when our levels are low.

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In other words, when we don't perceive
that there's much reward, the signal is

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weakened, and that leads to curiosity,
decline, and  increased apathy.

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How does depleted dopamine
actually manifest?

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Well, the research tells us that
it manifests as impulsivity,

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inattention, fatigue,

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poor mood regulation and a
constant search for stimulation.

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Is this ringing any bells for you?

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We've all seen those videos
online of a child losing it when

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screens are taken away from them.

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It's actually really sad to
look at, and we've all seen

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children's inability to focus.

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Their in attentiveness and
their low levels of energy.

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This my friends, is what screens
have done, but it's not only screens.

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As I will touch on later, what we've
created is a generation of addicts that

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don't get enough time outside, that
don't get enough sunlight, that don't get

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enough exercise, that often eat poorly.

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Add in front of a device so there's
no awareness or appreciation

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even of the foods they're eating.

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And that's even another story.

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But it's actually not as simple as just
blaming technology, which obviously

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schools and parents provide for children,
but curiosity also requires effort.

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Not just on the child's
part, but on our part too.

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We are all born innately curious.

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Children seek out learning
through questions and wondering.

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That's why there are so many questions
when they're little, but if we don't

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provide the opportunities for them
to go outside in nature, where they

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can play, where they can explore,

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where they can wander around, where they
can observe, where they can ask questions.

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There will be no new stimuli to
stimulate those dopamine neurons to

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initiate exploration and curiosity.

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Things like reading.

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Research.

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These require effort and the brain
calculates the effort required isn't

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worth the reward, and then you have
reduced curiosity driven exploration.

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In a nutshell.

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Low dopamine levels make the world
seem less exciting, and the effort

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to learn just feels too much.

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And so the brain moves into apathy.

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By the way, I have a free e guide
that shows you exactly how to nurture

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curiosity easily in young children,
and it even comes with 10 curiosity

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starters that you can use at any time.

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I leave a link for you in the show
notes, or if you're on YouTube, there'll

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be a link for you in the description.

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So how do we as parents and educators
then ensure that our children have high

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levels of dopamine and that they remain
curious and interested in learning

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because isn't that our end game?

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Well, I actually think the first point
is obvious, and we've already stated it.

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We have to remove screens from children.

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No child in early
childhood needs a screen.

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And I would even argue that we need
to teach them all the foundational

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skills, using books, using pencils
and paper before we even consider

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introducing or providing screens.

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And I know it's very hard for a
child who has lots of screen time

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to then even be interested in reading
or sustaining an interesting reading

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or doing puzzles or coloring or
drawing or even listening to you.

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We cannot argue against the findings
that are coming out thick and

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fast, and I think giving a child a
screen is a bit like giving them a

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regular dose of crack cocaine, and
so it's not hard to remove screens.

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You are the adult.

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We are all the adults.

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We are in charge, and so just
don't go there in the first place.

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Secondly, we need children to get outside.

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We need to make sure that
they're getting enough time

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outside to explore on their own.

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Don't be tempted by the way to
provide elaborate equipment.

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Keep things simple.

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Allow children to be bored a little
and to create their own play.

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To come up with creative ways to solve
problems and make fairy gardens and just

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use their imagination and pretend play.

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Thirdly, this is a big bug bear for me.

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The content that children learn, the
curriculum needs to be challenging

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enough to provide that reward
system for when they succeed.

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Now, it goes without saying that if
children are spending all their days

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at school on a Chromebook, on an iPad,
there's gonna be very little inclination

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to complete the work that you and I set.

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Nevermind doing it well.

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Our brains are wired to grow
and learn and to make new neural

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pathways through challenge.

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Why do you think that computer
games have different levels

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and challenges to complete?

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That's what keeps them on there.

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It's the same with gamified learning.

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They're always trying to get to the
next level to collect the coins or

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the jewels or whatever it might be.

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They haven't actually learned anything,
children wouldn't be able to even explain

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to you what they just learned on that
game because they were only concerned

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with getting to the next level and chasing
that target and getting the reward.

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And this brings me to the dumbing
down of the curriculum and the

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education system in general.

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Yes.

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As teachers we talk about the
overloaded curriculum, but that's

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because the curriculum is just
filled with shallow nonsense.

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Especially the humanities curriculum
and the sciences curriculum.

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There's repetition year after year
with children practically learning

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the same thing with just a little
bit more challenge each year.

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And the reason I can say this
with confidence, is now that I'm

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teaching in a classical tradition,
a classical curriculum, I can tell

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you that in the classical curriculum

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children are expected to do
more, to go deeper, and they

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really are capable as well.

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They are being stretched and
they enjoy it because their

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brains are wired for challenge.

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But of course, it also helps
that most classical schools, in

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including my own, are device free.

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Also, if you expect very little
from children, you're going

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to get very little in return.

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We need to set high
expectations for children.

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That's the challenge that their brains
thrive on, and I would urge you to look

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at your curriculum, which by the way, is
only a guide and you make it your own.

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Inject a little bit of challenge
into it with the learning

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experiences that you design.

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And lastly, I would say this notion of
compliance-based teaching isn't doing

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anything for children's curiosity.

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Giving children worksheet after worksheet
just to keep them busy so that we can

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say that, oh, we've covered the material.

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And children we can see in their
books that they've done the learning.

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That's not learning.

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Just because a child has their
head down and they're quiet

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doesn't mean they're learning.

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There's nothing wrong with a
worksheet, but you have to be

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discerning in what it's doing.

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What is its function?

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What are you trying to teach with it?

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And one of the things that I now
love is narration and recitation

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in the classical tradition.

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It's something obviously quite new to me,
but I've already seen its enormous value.

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Now, if you don't know this
because you're not in the classical

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education system, recitation is the
act of children speaking allowed.

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Either they're memorizing
facts, they're memorizing, um,

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scripture or poetry or speeches to
demonstrate mastery and eloquence.

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A narration is when we ask students to
retell what we have just read to them,

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or what we have, or what they have just
learned or what we've just taught them.

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And I do this all the time, even
with my kindies, when I ask children

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to retell me a story that I've just
read to them in their own words.

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Obviously for very young children,
they need prompting, but it's an

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amazing strategy for really checking,
for understanding, and one that

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I would encourage all educators,
even if you don't teach in a

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classical system, to use, in fact.

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I hope to share more about classical
education with you and how it

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aligns with inquiry and wonder,
and questioning and developing the

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whole child in some future episodes.

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Now, I have a free guide, as I mentioned
before, with 10 curiosity starters

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that you can use at any time to nurture
children's natural curiosity and

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encourage them to wonder and think,
and of course to keep that natural

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innate curiosity alive and burning.

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I'll leave a link for you in the show
notes if you're listening on the podcast.

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And if you're on YouTube, the
link will be in the description.

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Now before I go, would you please do me
the honor of subscribing to the show?

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And sharing this episode with
a friend or colleague that will

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really help to grow the show.

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Don't forget to get your free
guide in the link, in the

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description or in the show notes.

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Thanks for being here today, and
until next time, be blooming curious.