Be Curious.
Young children ask 107 questions an hour¹.
When we’re young, being curious is the default. Asking “why” — about everything — is how we learn new things and discover more about the world around us. But as we get older, life can feel a little less awe-inspiring, and our responsibilities in school, at home, or in the workplace can often crowd out time for curiosity.
At Center for Inspired Teaching, we have spent three decades teaching teachers how to create authentically engaged classrooms where students’ learning is fueled by curiosity rather than compliance. Amid divisive rhetoric, high-stakes elections, and growing prejudices — and the impact of these trends in our school communities and academic outcomes — this work has taken on new urgency. We believe curiosity is the antidote to polarization; the desire to explore difference and the unknown counteracts bias and sets the foundation for knowledge and understanding.
¹Children’s Questions: A Mechanism for Cognitive Development on JSTOR
The beginning of 2026 also marks the start of the second quarter of the 21st century. Much is being said about preparing humanity for the New Economy, one shaped by technological and environmental factors that will fundamentally upend how we have done things for decades.
And it’s time to get serious about what we need as a society to thrive through the next 25 years: Curiosity.
Join Inspired Teaching’s Curiosity Challenge to receive monthly resources for tackling the year—and quarter-century—ahead with curiosity.
←When you sign up for the Curiosity Challenge, you’ll receive the Inspired Teaching 2025 Curiosity Challenge Resource booklet, filled with curiosity-boosters for anywhere, anytime.
Resource Collections
Participants in Inspired Teaching’s Curiosity Challenge receive weekly resources to help them dive deeper into big questions. Check out those exclusive interviews and digital guidebooks below; they’re wonderful ways to spark curiosity, as part of the Challenge or anytime!
2025 Challenges
The Curiosity Challenge began in January 2025 with a 7-Day Challenge to help participants stretch beyond what they already know. Throughout the year, we dove into those daily themes each month, encouraging participants to explore topics in-depth and strengthen their curiosity muscles.
