What’s the first question you normally ask your child when they get back from school? What did you do today? What did they teach? Almost right, right?
Why don’t you ever ask them if they had fun? And I mean on the days they didn’t attend a carnival or sports events or something like that.
Why is fun restricted to the free periods, games periods, or other such classes but never with academics.
As an educator, I’ve seen young children lose interest in their studies because it’s dull and boring. Or maybe because there’s nothing exciting, no exploration or application.
How can you inspire your child to get interested in learning in such circumstances? How will they build their curiosity?
The focus has to move away from simply learning to where they learn to give the right answer for the question asked.
Why aren’t you paying attention to the questions they ask, or the problems they solve?
Questions Reveal How Children Think
Of course it’s important to know the correct answers. But what needs more working on is knowing which questions to ask. That’s learning in an entirely different direction.
We’re doing maths, shapes and symmetry to be more specific, and suddenly a voice asks me where Machu Pichu was.
Took me a few seconds to reorient my brain. Not to look lost, I responded by asking him how he knew about it.
Saw it in some National Geographic clip.
And the reason he recollected Machu Pichu was the use of the word symmetry. Don’t ask me for the logical sequence but I was glad he asked.
That maths class got transformed into a general knowledge cum geography cum history session with us talking about the other sites, countries, civilisations, and whatever direction the discussion flowed.
That one question opened many doors. It invited excited participation and curiosity in others.
Good questioning are skills that extend beyond the confines of the textbooks. They push limits and challenge assumptions. And the children use it to make sense of the world.
Children begin to think independently, and connect ideas. Instead of waiting for the correct answer, they feel inspired to explore and investigate.
And when this quest is abruptly stopped with “silly question” or “it’s not needed now,” it gradually transforms into hesitation.
Make Room for Questions
It can get tiresome constantly answering their questions. So instead of hushing them, ask them what they think or how they could get the answer.
This will get them to work on a mini assignment which is not a homework or school work.
If they get stuck, guide them, nudge them in the correct direction, ask them if they could try differently. Works better than simply pointing out what’s wrong.
And yes, it’s ok to admit if you don’t know the answer. Gives them the confidence that they’re not in the wrong. They learn not see uncertainty as a weakness to hide.
Also gives you an opportunity to explore or work on it together.
Classrooms shouldn’t just focus on equipping children with answers to questions that already exist. They must become the field which helps them recognise questions worth asking.
What you can’t afford to ignore is that the answers they learn today may change tomorrow.
But the ability to question, investigate, and think will continue to serve them long after they’ve moved out of the classrooms and into the real world.
