I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my teaching. Especially when it comes to the focus I’ve put on answers. On choosing the right one. On finishing with the correct words. Learning is far more about the questions. In a discussion today about our future, I asked students an essential question, “How does our past effect our future?” Their questions? They flooded the room and filled the air. How can we stop global warming? What is going to happen to the economy if gas prices keep rising? How can we stop endangered animals from becoming extinct? How can we help people be kinder to each other? Is technology more harmful than helpful? The list goes on. The problems? They were real. Big problems. Problems that there really aren’t ‘right’ answers, too. The kind of problems our kids are going to be solving in the future. We need to start getting them ready now. Sure, sometimes, life is about that one right answer. But, more often than that, life is about the questions you are asking.
