Found in Intellectual Growth in Young Children by Susan Isaacs (Routledge, London 1930) this collection of children's questions. Susan Sutherland Isaacs (1885 - 1948) was an educational psychologist. Basically she bellieved that children learn best through play. For her, play involves a perpetual form of experiment..."at any moment, a new line of inquiry or argumemt might flash out, a new step in understanding be taken". This is where the chapter on questions comes in. It was actually written by her husband Nathan Isaacs (1895 - 1961). He was a metallurgist but collaborated on her later work. The piece after the selection of questions goes some way towards explaining their significance.Why do ladies not have beards?
Why are the funnels (on a boat) slanting?
Why do animals not mind drinking dirty water?
Why have you got little ears and I have big ones although I am small?
It (exit of a tunnel at a distance) looks very weeny. Why does it?
Why are the snails in the water?
Why can I put my hand through water and not through soap?
What's there? (Of houses behind a fence at night) House. Why can't we see them?
Why won't it (wet raffia held in fire) burn?
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| Susan Isaacs as a child. (National Portrait Gallery) |
(Seeing word PULL on lavatory Pull), Why are there two l's? We don't need two, do we? One would do wouldn't it? Why has it got PULL? We know what to do, don't we? We don't need that, do we?
Why does the soap look smaller in water?
Why don't they (shadows) go before us?
Why can't we see the stars in the day-time?
Why doesn't the butter stay on top (of hot toast)?
