Inquisitive Minds

By John Barell

Recently, the president of a large New York bank admitted before a congressional panel that his employees had not posed enough questions about a ballooning account from Russia. Faced with suspicions that the billions of dollars in this account were being laundered or diverted from International Monetary Fund loans, the bank president concluded that his institution needed "a culture of inquisitiveness."

Such an observation applies not only to banks but to all institutions, including schools. By and large, our society has grown through the ingenuity, fierce independence, courage, and curiosity of its citizens. The amazing growth of business and industry, artistic expression, and scientific accomplishment attests to this.

But recently, several events in our national life have caused me to take a closer look at schools and what they can do to foster a sense of...