A Stupid Question

The word “Question” has been derived from “Quarrier” meaning “to seek”, having its origin in the Latin language. “Quarrier” is also rooted to the word “quest”. We human beings are born curious. As children, it is our instinct to ask question about everything we see. But as we grow up, we stop asking questions. Maybe because we are forced to believe that a question, because of its preposterous nature, can make us look like a fool. Whereas in reality, as said by +Oscar Wilde “Questions are never indiscreet, answers sometimes are.”

We need to ensure ourselves that a question cannot be short sighted and the only concrete way towards foolishness is to stop asking questions. A creative and sagacious person is always learning, his life is an endless quest and questions can prove to be a very dependable guide on this path, particularly for students.

I still remember every word of my lecturer Bob Thornhill, who spent whole of his first lecture on importance of questions. He drew a life cycle of a plant on the white board and explained to us if “understanding” is the “plant” you want to grow, you must keep on putting the “seeds” of “questions” and ultimately you will be able to enjoy the “fruit” of that plant, which will be “success”.

Whiz kids in the world are always those who ask more questions, but more elegantly than anyone else. A Journalist asked Isidore Rabi, winner of a Nobel Prize for physics, how he became a scientist. He quickly replied; “My mother made me a scientist without ever knowing it. Every other child would come back from school and be asked, ‘What did you learn today?’ But my mother used to say, ‘Izzy, did you ask a good question today?’ That made the difference. Asking good questions made me into a scientist.”

+Warren Berger, who is a lecturer and an author, concludes in his book “Glimmer, How Design Can Change Your Life and Maybe Even the World”, distinguishes the world’s leading designers and innovators from the rest of the world, by their skill of asking questions. He suggests in another of his work piece “A More Beautiful Question” that we all should be in the habit of questioning everything. He furthermore adds on to it by saying “Questioning is good for us. It can help to open up new possibilities in our lives. It’s a first step in solving problems. It makes us more successful as leaders.”

What makes me ponder is connection between brilliance, learnedness and questions. We must realise how far-reaching is questioning for us and especially for students. Being inquisitive is often earnest than the answer. However we tend to shy away or be uncertain about the questions we ask. I believe Rabbi is implying that the education system must encourage students to ask question. Our educators must realise that thinking is not steered by answers but by questions. If Einstein did not question physics, then we would never have had theory of relativity. If Newton did not question fall of the apple, then we would never have had the theory of gravity. What’s more is that a field can only flourish if it is continuously exposed to new and fresh question, that are food for thought.

Students learn the art of questioning, only by practicing this art more often. They will learn to ask intelligent questions by having an atmosphere that encourages them to do so, and on receiving feed back on them. And eventually the habit of asking intelligent question can help them become a scholar. At start, students might ask vague and absurd question, but this is where the role of a good teacher starts. A good teacher is not the one who only answers those questions but also gives his students feedback on those questions and shows them the better way of asking the same question. A good teacher never forgets the fact that a student asking questions is showing his interest and motivation in the subject, a behaviour that must be nurtured. Teachers must appreciate that it is up to snuff to know some of the questions then to know all the answers.

Education should be a dialogue between the teacher and a student. As soon as it becomes a monologue, it would be better for students just to buy a book and read it themselves. Learning has always been a 2-way communication. According to +Javed Ahmed Ghamidi “We must put our arguments, all with utmost respect. Both sides have opportunities to learn in such debates”. After all it is all about the learning, evolving towards a better future and learning does not only have to be from teacher to student. It certainly can also be the other way round.

            The mammoth pressure students are facing is “stupid” pressure. Some of the teachers try their best to make their student look like a fool in front of their peers. Teachers must understand that only because they have a better grip on a subject, does not render the students “stupid”. Let’s not be fooled and assume that pressure can be overcome only by standing in front of the class and asking, “Are there any questions?” A good teacher will go the extra mile and create a question asking environment. A teacher must always encourage and motivate the students to investigate the answers.

            It is high time we must understand that every bit of knowledge has been achieved in consequent of a question. It is evident that questions are the most necessary intellectual tool not only for a student, but for our society at large. We all should work together to create a culture of questioning and tolerance, so that our coming generations can achieve what we are afraid to even dream of. We should not only teach our coming generations to read, write and learn, we must teach them to question what they read, write and learn.