India, June 8 -- It was one of those ordinary days when my little boy tugged at my arm, eyes wide, pointing at the screen. "They've made a mistake," he said, staring at the Discovery Channel. "They're saying the Indian Cobra is five feet long - but they haven't said whose feet. Your feet or mine?"

I laughed, at first. It seemed like one of those cute, clever things children say - the kind you repeat at dinner tables or share in family groups. But something deeper struck me. This wasn't just childhood curiosity - it was intellect at play. The kind of questioning that rises from an inner classroom most schools never acknowledge, let alone nurture.

We've built an education system that celebrates intelligence - the sharp memory, the right a...