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Children truly are born as little scientists.  I watch my own daughters in our garden travel around the world of nature on wings of wonder.   I hope this natural sense of inquiry is not stifled by the traditional school setting.  We talk a big talk about inquiry but in realty a lot of communities are resistant against its non-tangible nature.  When my program, Communique, began, it was pass/fail....with the goal that puts the  focus would be on the learning process rather than the letter grade.  Students, parents, and teachers loved this philosophy - until they realized that it meant no honor roll certificates at the end of each quarter.  The extrinsic reward overpowered any sense of inquiry.  In reality both students and parents chose traditional letter grade over the authentic portfolio assessment and antecdotal reports. The program is now evaluated on an "O.S or U" scale as a result. It seemed like a good compromise between pass/fail and traditional A,B,C, D, & F grading. 

It is along the same mode of thinking that students are looking for "the correct answer" rather than learn in an inquiry-based classroom.  This would certainly be an example of the looping that Paul spoke about today.  I like the idea that education is a creation of PRODUCTIVE conflict to promote greater understanding.  As a general rule, I have always steered away from conflict.  I now see it in a different light, one that will enhance the learning in my classroom.