Opening Insights
Are you afraid to ask a stupid question? You are not alone. At one point or another, we have all asked a stupid question. But, was it a stupid question or was it merely that we were still searching for the question to ask.
Informational Insights
What Are We Talking About?
Well imagine you are Japanese and it is your first English Lesson. You are a very eager student and at the start of the lesson you raise your hand and with angst ask the teacher, “can I learn to spell the word cat, in English, can I?” While this is a perfectly reasonable question, in examination we may notice that the student is jumping the gun for several reasons:
- The class has yet to learn the English alphabet and hence teaching the students how to spell one word without a foundation of the alphabet may not be practical from a teaching / curriculum perspective.
- The student is lacking a foundational understanding of the process of learning how to read and speak English, as either the teacher didn’t communicate it yet or failed to communicate it clearly and in a way that the student heard, understood and accepted the process.
Whether the fail is with the teacher or the student the reality is the lack of understanding about the process resulted in the student asking what appeared to be a stupid question.
At one point or another many of us have had one or more experiences where we have been silenced, judged and embarrassed or we have witnessed others being shut down for asking what some may appear to be a stupid question. The reality is there is no such thing as a stupid question when one is within a learning environment. And when questions are deemed stupid it is the educators responsibility to not humiliate or judge the student but rather to help the student explore and find the right question or the intelligent question to ask.
Possibilities for Consideration
Take a moment and examine…
- As you reviewed the material above, what stood out to you?
- What is the potential impact, economically and/or socially?
- What action is needed to stop or support this idea?
- You may want to consider whether you:
- want to be aware of,
- should become supportive of,
- would want to be active in this topic?
Add Your Insight
I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Being willing is not enough; we must do.
LEONARDO DA VINCI