This sentiment flowed through Dr. Stunt’s chapel service this past Monday. As he shared stories of a previous teaching experience at Stowe School in England, he used a song by a graduate of that school to emphasize how schools can sometimes be places that limit, rather than expand – places that teach kids to be “sensible, logical, responsible, practical, analytical” at the expense of seeing, appreciating, and marveling at the magic and wonder of the world. This is where dangerous questions come in – questions that may not always be on topic, or logical, or sensible, but indicate a student is working at making a connection to or between the class material and his/her life.
As a teacher, I want students to ask dangerous questions, to push beyond the basic facts. One question that I have often heard in classes is “when will I ever use this?” In asking, and then attempting to answer, this question, students expose themselves to entire fields of study that they might never have known about otherwise. Parents encourage their two-year-olds when they run around the house asking “why?” but as kids get older adults often have less patience with that question. We need to continue to encourage our kids to ask us “why” even when providing the answers isn’t comfortable (just as we need to ask them “why” so that they push to find answers for themselves). It is up to us to help them keep the magic and wonder of childhood present in their lives as they also learn how to become responsible adults.
These thoughts are particularly relevant to me at this time of the year. As course signup sheets come in I field questions from parents and students: “What should I take?” “What will present the best resume to colleges?” These are important, but just as vital are the questions “What courses excite you?” “What class do you WANT to take?” Colleges are looking for strong academic resumes, but just as notable are students who have a passion for something and distinguish themselves as individuals because of it.
Schools should be a place where students ask dangerous questions – the ones that they, and perhaps even their teachers, don’t know the answers to; that lead to self-understanding; that may not always be comfortable. In taking these risks they discover their passions and who they are as individuals.
The Kancamagus Highway in northern New Hampshire is a gorgeous drive through the White Mountain National Forest. Although the road is relatively short (only 28 miles), my wife and I spent 2 hours driving along it. We had a plan, we knew where we were going, but along the way we stopped, started, turned around, asked ourselves “what’s down there?” Not everything we stopped to look at was interesting, but each new stop offered the possibility of finding something unique and different from the place before. I would like to think that schools in general, and Wooster in particular, provide students with a similar experience. There is a goal, but along the way we want kids to explore, to take risks, to sometimes be wrong, to find the answers to their questions and not just ours, and most importantly, to find those unique experiences that lead them to self-discovery.
