Did Curiosity Really Kill The Cat?

Everyone seems to have no problem noticing the natural curiosity in babies and toddlers. They need this curiosity because it's how they learn about the world. It's also how they get in trouble, but that's what makes a parent's job interesting, isn't it?

Watching a young child discover something for the first time is an experience all parents find amazing. Parents usually do everything they can to promote this curiosity and help their toddler learn and, in most cases, it happens naturally and easily.

But then suddenly, at a certain age, the parent's confidence in this approach can change. It can be sucked right out of them, quicker than a vacuum cleaner can suck up last year's Milk Duds your child stored inside the heating vent.

Parents are told, either outright or by implication, that just relaxing and helping your child learn what they are interested in is not good enough. No, no, the child needs to go to a formal institution and learn the 'right' way, the way educational experts have decided is best. Other people now know exactly how and what your child should be taught, in what order, how long it should take (or else they are labeled in some way), etc.

What a bunch of bunk. You don't need to send your child to an institutional school to learn. Learning happens naturally. Homeschooling is a great way to keep it natural, relaxed and fun.

Hey, by the way, as I wrote this post, I was curious about the word bunk and looked it up. Did you know that the word bunk comes from a congressman from Buncombe County in North Carolina, who, in the 1820s gave a long nonsensical speech that did not relate to the matter at hand? Apparently he wanted to make a speech 'for Buncombe' and thereafter when someone spoke nonsense it was called Buncombe and was shortened to bunk. We currently have so much bunk flying around Congress now that I think OSHA is going to start requiring safety helmets and...

Oh, sorry, I just went off the track of my post. Or did I?