Child Psychology Commons^™

How Our Public Education System Discourages Curiosity And Encourages Depression And Anxiety, Michael Buffett Greenberg

Senior Projects Spring 2020

The increase in adolescent depression over the last decade has been well- documented. Though promising treatments continue to be developed, the rate of increase is clearly outpacing our ability to help those who suffer. As such, it is worth taking a look at what factors may be contributing to this increase. The argument contained in this paper is that the nature of public education, in particular its existential reliance on extrinsic motivation, encourages depression through both implicit and explicit discouragement of curiosity. Curiosity will be posited as key marker of human vitality, and human vitality will be investigated as an …