[T]here is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than the discourses of men, who talk in a road, according to the notions they have borrowed and the prejudices of their education.
—John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, 1693
When John Locke wrote these words at the close of the seventeenth century, the world was in the midst of the Enlightenment and change was in the air. Mary and Edward Clarke, Locke’s friends and fellow aristocrats, began seeking his advice on educating their eldest son, who was not having much success with what was then considered a typical education for boys of his class. Locke’s advice was long and specific, but he elevated virtue, a love of learning, and practicality above all. He warned the Clarkes that any tutor they found for their son should “not so much to teach him all that is knowable, as to raise in him a love and esteem of knowledge.” Locke also spoke of a child’s curiosity and how to “keep it active and vigorous” through acknowledging and answering their questions and taking seriously that which interests them. By the end of the eighteenth century, Locke’s influence on educational theory was well known and well regarded.
