The Great Wall of Questions
Who’s begun a Great Wall of Questions this year? I talk about how to do it on pages 73-74 in The Brave Learner.
“One way to ignite interest in a subject, then, is to interrogate it— to resist the temptation to know the answers. If seventh grade science is nothing more than paperwork in your mind, stop assuming you understand the scientific method. Ask science your boldest questions. Provoke it into a response. Don’t stop until you’re amazed. Same thing goes for your kids. Answers are not nearly as interesting as questions” (73).
Here’s what you do:
- Put a stack of sticky notes next to a clean surface.
- Include markers to write questions.
- All questions for the whole week go on sticky notes (even questions like, “Where’s my toothbrush?”).
- Stick the notes to the window or the whiteboard or the wall.
- At the end of the week on Sunday over dinner, start peeling them off, reading them, and discussing them (inevitable).
You’ll be amazed at how much learning is catalyzed simply by valuing questions for a whole week. Try it!
Let me know how it goes.
#greatwallofquestions
