Comment on Li Xing's column "Inquisitiveness the mother of innovation" (China Daily, Feb 25)

The column outlines the traits of inquisitiveness, which reflect the view of educational psychology that inquisitiveness is the intrinsic motivation to study (and thus to innovate).

When it comes to teaching, though, teachers are expected to inspire students to be both competitive in academic work and strong in development ability, including being innovative and creative. And they have to do it without harming or altering the teaching plan or putting much pressure on the children.

That's a pretty hard ask for teachers.

My experience with Chinese students shows that contrary to popular belief, they do not fare badly in terms of inquisitiveness, because of the education system's focus on science and mathematics which encourage logical thinking and reasoning.

Students have their own ways of challenging themselves; they do it either through self-exploration or raising questions.

Hopefully, teachers, students and parents will make more efforts to help build a healthier and more innovative learning atmosphere.

Kathy, via e-mail

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(China Daily 03/03/2011 page9)