It’s an education system and culture problem. You can’t force a 40-year-old woman to be curious and critical, but you can plant the seed and encourage the growth of those skills and behaviors in children. That confusion at hearing something different followed by the attitude of putting it in a box and dismissing it (“I don’t know what that is, but we have regular hot tea”) comes from a lifetime of being told to accept whatever over simplified answer they are told and be quiet whenever they ask questions.
It’s an education system and culture problem. You can’t force a 40-year-old woman to be curious and critical, but you can plant the seed and encourage the growth of those skills and behaviors in children. That confusion at hearing something different followed by the attitude of putting it in a box and dismissing it (“I don’t know what that is, but we have regular hot tea”) comes from a lifetime of being told to accept whatever over simplified answer they are told and be quiet whenever they ask questions.