As I emphasize in my philosophy of education, learning can be thought of as memorization or as problem-solving; curiosity about how things work, what words mean, what something looks like, all tend to increase your likelihood of being prepared for an adult life, whether in school, in a job, or as the manager of a house and family.Children are born curious; learning is their basic defense mechanism against the dangers of the world. The more that children are encouraged to learn and explore, not by memorizing words and math problems on flashcards but by actually exploring the world around them, understanding the concepts behind the thing on the card, the more likely that child is to succeed in an American graduate or professional school, as well as at many jobs.

[Emily Blunt talks about the natural curiosity of her daughters.]

(There are a number of stories about job interviews at places like Microsoft in which the applicant walks into an office, and a problem is described, or a math problem is written on the board, and the applicant is encouraged to "think out loud" about the problem. The ones who have a positive and novel approach are most likely to be hired.)>