Being educators, we hear questions all day long and it is easy to get bogged down with all of them. But ,as “A More Beautiful Question” explains, questions are vital to education. Berger says, “There may be a relationship…between students asking questions and their being engaged and interested in learning” (Berger, 2014, p.45). Throughout chapter 2, Berger explains how students’ propensity to question significantly dies down as they get older and is basically non-existent when they reach high school (Berger, 2014).
One reason presented for this down turn in questions was that teacher’s allow for less exploratory questions due to the pressure of meeting state standards. One teacher says, “I have so many state standards I have to teach concept wise, it takes away time for what I find most valuable–which is to have [students] inquire about the world” (Berger, 2014, p. 46). This really hit home with me. As I sit in staff meetings I hear experienced teachers talk about the good ‘ole days when they could teach what they wanted. Now, they say, there are so many standards to cram in before testing that there is no time for the “fun stuff”. You simply have to teach it and move on. It is no wonder then, why student’s interest and questioning have died off. This led me to wonder a slew of other questions. Why can’t we involve questioning and inquiry into teaching the standards? Why do standards dictate how we teach? Why does meeting the standards mean that we have to memorize and teach boring lessons? Why can’t meeting the standards mean creativity, innovation, questions, experiments, failures and successes?
Meeting the standards does not mean that we have to teach dry lessons. In fact, I would argue that students will learn the standards better through questioning and inquiry. When we turn the tables on our students and involve their questions, they become more invested in the process and the learning. The knowledge moves from being something they simply have to memorize to something that they own. Dan Rothstein of the Right Question Institute said, “‘We’ve had kids say that when you ask your own question, you then feel like it’s your job to get the answer’ ” (Berger, 2014, p. 62). It’s powerful to think that student engagement is within reach, all we have to do is allow students to question. Standards are guidelines to drive powerful thinking, we just need to view them in a different way.
As a kid, I played with legos. We had boxes upon boxes of legos mixed together. Within the boxes of legos were little booklets that showed how to create a car, a house, etc. When I wanted to make a car, I would check it out and see the basic bones of the assembly, but then my creativity went wild. I added fire shooting out of the back, flowers for decorations; the works. The final product was a car, but I didn’t stick to the cookie cutter design suggested in the manual. Instead, I created a car that fit the needs of my lego persona. The manual was simply a guideline. After reading this section, I view standards more as the suggested manuel for my lego creations. They are there to guide us and help us get our end result, but it is our job to take the basics and innovate.
Meeting the standards does not have to mean worksheets, memorization, and tests. Instead, we can use the standards as the guidelines to create something groundbreaking and engaging for the students. Create lessons that make them think, question, explore, and research.
When I read this, I was inspired. We’ve all been there, the pressure of standardized testing is paralyzing at times. But when I read this section, it inspired me to start off my content subjects by allow students to wonder and question. If our standard is to teach Michigan history, start by asking what do you wonder about Michigan? Write them down, then let the students delve deeper into Michigan history from their questions rather than from a textbook. I believe that when I transform my classroom in this way, student interest will be peaked and understanding will be deepened.
References:
Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: the power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas. New York: Bloomsbury.
R. (2014, May 26). What is Inquiry-Based Learning? Retrieved May 28, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u84ZsS6niPc
Techy-Teacher 
Great post! Let me begin by saying that I completely agree. Standardized testing has done away with so much “good” teaching because we spend so much time just trying to get things done! I truly wonder if we will ever be able to incorporate innovative learning with standardized test? Think about it, if a student ask a question that may take 30 minutes to answer or lead to a 45 minute discussion, well that’s taken away from class time. I like you played with legos and designed things as a child. Recently my daughter came home form school and talked about maker spaces! I was in aw! I could not believe that somebody actually got it! During recess they have the opportunity to make things and ask questions for 30 whole minutes. How cool! Well great post!
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