Can We Educate for the Not-yet? Philosophies of Open-endedness and the Recovery of Student Curiosity

Resumo

Imaginative thinking often grows out of our innate sense of curiosity and wonder about the world. Children naturally wonder why things are the way they are and how things work as they do. But soon after entering school, students find themselves being taught in boring and uninspired ways which serve to kill their natural sense of wonder and curiosity. As a result, many students lose interest in school by their teenage years. Taking my cue from Ernst Bloch’s future-oriented, process-based philosophy of “the not yet”, this paper links the production of imaginative thinking with five pedagogical strategies that can hopefully help recover student curiosity and improve students’ overall educational achievement. It will be argued that educating for “the not yet” is important for attaining better student learning outcomes and retention rates, as well as ensuring a more productive citizenry in the next generation.

Keywords: Imaginative thinking, Ernst Bloch, Curiosity, Openness, Pedagogy, Vision.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21747/21836892/fil42a14