Forever Curious

In their new book, Rethinking the Classroom Landscape, Sandra Duncan, Jody Martin and Rebecca Kreth quote Gary Friedman, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Restoration Hardware, who, though decidedly not an early childhood educator, nevertheless provides much food-for-thought for the early childhood field:

"'We become victims of other people’s thinking instead of discovering and developing our own unique and authentic point of view. We search for certainty. And, by doing so we make certain the outcome of our journey will lack any sense of adventure or discovery.'" 

Duncan, Martin and Kreth go on to say: "Although Friedman was referring to his company’s team members and development of innovative hardware for the home, early childhood environments also encourage children to live in the shadows of certainty.

It is our responsibility to transform cookie-cutter environments into places of wonder filled with evocative and unfamiliar objects, places of imagination and opportunities for problem solving, and places where children will remain forever curious."

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