Curiosity Conundrum

Alexia Mitchell

What do you do when you don't know? Do you go our google overlords? Do you ask a parent? Friends? Do you head to the library? Or do you sit with the question, doing nothing at all?

How do we, with access to instantaneous information, process questions that may not have answers? What do we do as educators to prepare students for a world of uncertainty? What are the benefits of uncertainty?

For me, I'm not sure. I struggle with uncertainty. OCD, Anxiety, and struggles with self-work dictate my mind to crave the ego boost of knowing answers. That can be from giving advice, knowing trivia, showing off efforts of knowledge (grades), or downloading yet another article for my thesis. But I know that this isn't always realistic, especially when it comes to art.

So where is the current connections between art and grappling the word's toughest questions. I can't help but think of the renaissance artists. I can't imagine the excitement of combining the sciences, math, and art into one visual masterpiece of knowledge. Do we have modern day da Vinci's feverishly scribbling contraptions that may change the fabric of our culture?

Curiosity is an interesting concept as a masters student. Perhaps it's because I didn't take a break between my under-grad and now, but my head feels heavy. That I'm never going to be smart enough to belong in the space I'm occupying. Where is the line of knowing too much? How do you set boundaries in your classroom? Having an undergrad in design meant my projects were always being worked on. You don't 'finish' like you would an essay. You just keep refining until you have to turn something in. Perhaps this is why I am now filled with the constant feeling that I should always be collecting more sources for my thesis in such a frantic manner. I am not enjoying the journey yet, instead I suspect I feel much like those hoarding toilet paper do.

What ways can this be addressed? How can I change these thoughts? How can these feelings be translated to the classroom? Can curiosity be inspired within a curriculum....?

I guess, I'm curious about the possibilities.

#curiosity #education #personal