Ivan's list of how we lose the kids' traits of inquiry is striking:
>- Our parents who constantly ask us to stop asking "why"!
>- Our teachers in school, from K through College, who demand compliance and
> conformance, and present themselves as the only source of knowledge, etc.
>- Our managers who insist that we are paid to work and not to think.
>- Our churches that prensent us with ideas that cannot be questioned.
Ivan's right; we can find lots of "good reasons" why people cease
to question. I'd add that such inquiry is hard work; that it requires
acknowledging that we don't know it all (tough!); and truly accepting our
own ignorance is a profoundly trusting thing to do, trusting that we'll
figure it out, in a world full of inducements to paranoia (like virtually
every newspaper's conspiracy theory of whatevr). For myself, as a
subversive of all that certainty by profession (university professor), I
find the task of reinstating the spirit of questioning, inquiry and
learning far more apropos. When I succeed in encouraging my students to
question, I am delighted!
Sam
--
Mariann Jelinek, Ph.D.
Richard C. Kraemer Professor of
Buusiness Administration
Graduate School of Business | Real, enduring strategic advantage
College of Williiam and Mary |comes from changing the game.
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23185-8795
(804) 221-2882 FAX: (804) 229-6135
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