JumpStart National Storytelling Day (4/30/26)

QUOTE:  "Curiosity and questoins will get your further than confidence and answers." (Maxime Lagace)

MESSAGE: Curiosity might be the most underrated skill in an educator’s toolkit, and also the most powerful. In a profession where decisions are constant and emotions run high, it’s easy to fall into mental shortcuts that feel efficient but ultimately lead us away from clarity. These are the psychological traps we all experience: assumption-making, jumping to conclusions, personalization, and more. The good news? Curiosity offers a simple, practical way out.

At its core, curiosity interrupts certainty. It creates space between what we think is true and what might actually be true. For example, when we assume we have all the information, we close the door to better understanding. But a simple shift--“What might I be missing?”—reopens that door. Similarly, when we jump to conclusions about a student’s behavior or a colleague’s intent, asking “What else could be true?” keeps us grounded in possibility instead of assumption.

Many of these traps are deeply human. Personalization leads us to believe that others’ actions are about us. Catastrophizing convinces us that the worst-case scenario is inevitable. Confirmation bias quietly filters information so we only see what supports our existing beliefs. None of these are signs of failure—they’re signs of a brain trying to make sense of complexity quickly. But in schools, where relationships matter most, these shortcuts can create disconnection.

Curiosity shifts help us trade reaction for reflection. Instead of judging behavior as “lazy” or “disrespectful,” we can ask, “What skill might be missing here?” Instead of feeling urgency to respond immediately, we can pause and consider, “Does this need a reaction—or a response?” These small language shifts are powerful because they change how we see the situation—and therefore how we act within it.

Over time, practicing curiosity builds better habits of mind. It nudges us away from fixed thinking toward growth, away from perfectionism toward progress, and away from negativity bias toward a more balanced view of reality. It doesn’t mean ignoring challenges—it means seeing them more clearly.

A practical next step is to identify the two traps you fall into most often. Then ask yourself two questions: What is a more accurate or complete way to see this situation? and Given what’s actually in my control, what is my next best response?

In the end, curiosity doesn’t just help us think better—it helps us lead, teach, and connect better. And in a profession built on relationships, that shift changes everything.

DAD JOKE:  I told my doctor I heard buzzing, but she said it's just a bug that's going around.