Dear Baya,

      I’m fed up with school! I’m sorry. I know that it should be fun, and it is sometimes, but so often things are repeated and other times they seem so unrelated to anything I’  see or experience. Yet I know that education should be exciting and we should be full of wonder. Could you explain to me how humans learn new things and why, against all my present feelings, I’ll keep on trying to discover new things?

      When I was a child I seemed to be full of curiosity, examining sticks and stones, rushing from butterfly to flower, totally engrossed in trying to draw and to read. Is that curiosity and wonder a part of our human nature? And is it important in the growth of knowledge?

     You showed me microscopes and magnifying-glasses when I was a child and they opened up new worlds. How important are the actual tools of thought in opening our eyes? And how is new knowledge fed back into better tools?

     I’ve often found that I learn best when I’m trying to earn the praise of others. It’s almost as if I want to give my teachers (and sometimes you!) a present. But not the usual present, but something I’ve made – a really special essay, poem, painting. And often when I do this with my friends, this spurs them on to give me something back. Is this kind of gift giving an important part of learning and of science?

      I’ve got the rest of my life to learn new things. It would be great if you could pass on what you’ve found out after a lifetime..

Lots of love,