School of Curiosity
Explore. Dream. Discover.
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About
About Malcolm McClean, Founder, The School of Curiosity
There was something in the air that night….there must have been. At the turn of the Millennium, I woke up in a battered old caravan in a farmer’s field and realised I had walked away from a successful business, was facing an expensive divorce and had no clear plan for the future…..
Laying out a blank sheet of paper on the caravan table, I resolved that when I knew what I was going to do with my life, I would write it down. In time the answer came and I wrote it in big letters. To see how it felt I even read it aloud “Do great things with great people”. I liked it and decided that a children’s book would be a good place to look for the clues to how he should do this.
Some felt I had taken leave of his senses. The idea that a business could be founded on the principles of a children’s story seemed bizarre and walking away from a successful business and the status that went with it convinced many that something was amiss.
Yet I founded my business, Bearhunt, which continues to be a remarkable success and a breath of fresh air in a world of corporate catchphrases and management mumbo-jumbo. Of course it’s more than just a few principles from children’s story. In 2005 I set down the principles in Bear Hunt – Earn your living by doing what you love, published by Capstone, which has since been translated into Chinese; Turkish; Romanian; Korean; and a special version has been created for the Indian market.
The School of Curiosity is my latest passion. Research is showing that curious people are healthier and live longer; find more opportunity; find pockets of meaning in their everyday lives; enjoy more satisfying relationships; and tend to report that they are happier than average. Yet so much of our education and the growing specialisation at work discourages us from being curious. I wondered if I should set up The School of Curiosity. Then I read this….
Twenty years from now
You will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do
Than by the ones you did
So throw off the bowlines
Sail away from the harbour
Catch the trade winds in your sails
Explore. Dream. Discover.
Need I say more?
comments
Have a look at the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, Malcolm. You will be heartened to see how ‘the characteristics of effective learning’ are described. Google ‘the foundation years’ and you will find the two key documents there. In the short doc check out para 1.10. In the fuller doc its page 5 you need. I hope it comes over as an approach to ‘teaching’ which values the importance of holding on to what children are born to be like….curious and fearless
lynda trueman
April 23, 2012
That’s great Lynda I’ll do that. We seem to have reached the point where children come into the world as questionmarks and leave as full stops. It would be amazing if The School of Curiosity could do something about that.
please send me regular posts. Thank you
Patricia Reynolds
April 10, 2013
RICH STATEMENT, I SALUTE!
CLAUDIA
September 13, 2013
Hello Malcolm,
I’m the official digital storyteller here at Folk.
We’re a group of creative people that make lovely things for the digital world, and we’re kicking off a series of wonderfully curious events this year called Karma Dinners.
They’re each themed around one of our values (all of which line up beautifully with your story) and our first is ‘Be Curious’.
We’d love to team up with you, if you’d be able to pop me an email at your soonest availability and I’ll send you a little bit more information.
All the best,
Fleurie Forbes- Martin.
@FleurieFM
