You have heard the myth. Babies are born with natural curiosity: They scan and roam their environments. Young children start school so eager to learn they are wide eyed and thrilled. Rather than nurture this natural curiosity, teachers unwittingly turn the fun of learning into a rat race for good grades and academic awards. They even subject students to high-stake tests. In no time at all, the schools have extinguished the natural curiosity out of their students. The students now hate school and lack motivation.

This myth is right on two counts: Babies enjoy exploring their environments, and many middle and high school students dislike school. The error is in assuming that the exploratory behavior of babies has something to do with the intellectual behavior of adolescents.

The whole article in Psychology Today