I don’t know if this has been said before, but…
The lack of curiosity of a civilization leads to decline in education, which ultimately leads to the end of said civilization.
I don’t see much curiosity to learn anymore in America, or to be broader, Western civilization in general. People seem to be content with what they know, and rather think the gift of knowledge to be a burden that is better not used and thrown away than used to in effect make that “baggage” ligher. We need to be more curious as a whole, especially in this day and age when it’s possible to learn so much online, be it via Wikipedia, Khan Academy, or any other resource.
Update: my English teacher sent me this video, thought it was very relevant.