March 2012

Curiosity is natural to the soul of man, and interesting objects have a powerful influence on our affections.
– Daniel Boone

Ever since the beginning of time, humans have been trying to make sense of the world around us. Curiosity prompts us to question why things are the way they are, and how things work. It’s the eternal quest of human beings to want to really know, to understand how to unlock the secrets of the universe. As the above quote by Daniel Boone illustrates, objects and ideas that fire our imaginations can become potent interests, or even passions.

Every year the media latches on to some "new" statistic that either highlights American students' academic successes or reiterates their failure against European and Asian counterparts on standardized test scores. It’s a fairly predictable event, and the pendulum swings both ways – up one minute, and down the next. One troubling trend, however, seems to have some teeth. Reading scores for U.S. students have shown little improvement in recent years, despite national efforts to boost children’s basic reading skills.