In his book, Why Students Don't Like School, Daniel Willingham writes:
So there is no inconsistency in claiming that people avoid thought and in claiming that people are naturally curious--curiosity prompts people to explore new ideas and problems, but when we do, we quickly evaluate how much mental work it will take to solve the problem. If it’s too much or too little, we stop working on the problem if we can.
I've started diving into this book along with Dan's Meyer's posts on Developing the Question. Interesting to note that difficult tasks do not automatically disqualify themselves from students. Rather, it is how they are presented - ie how the "question is developed." Over the next few weeks my attempt is to really understand what it means to develop the question as opposed to posing a question. I plan on posting my findings, ideas, thoughts, and lessons. I leave you with this last quote from Daniel Willingham:
Our curiosity is provoked when we perceive a problem that we believe we can solve. What is the question that will engage students and make them want to know the answer?