Questions
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One of the strongest themes in Chasing Vermeer involves kids arriving at their own conclusions when confronted with puzzling situations. Our heroes do this by asking questions, thinking things through and putting together the clues to solve a tough mystery.
In Our Story
Petra commented that one of the things she liked about Charles Fort was that he didn't "take anyone's thinking too seriously, including his own.." She "loved hearing about people who figure things out for themselves." And she loved "to think about things that no one understands. Yet." (p. 63)
"Mrs. Hussey was always saying "Listen to your own thinking."" (p. 51)
Both kids commented on liking their teacher's questions. And she very obviously
always got them thinking.
Asking questions is a good way to improve beliefs. If you don't ask questions, you are likely to stick to whatever beliefs you already have, right or wrong. But if you ask questions, you open yourself up to potentially better beliefs. Socrates is said to have said: "All knowledge starts with doubt"
Also, note that in science we keep on testing our hypotheses and theories ... that's the same as asking the question: "Is this theory really correct?". And again, thinking through this scientific method of testing, testing, and testing, science comes to better and better theories.
In some cases, you’ll want to expand your view of the problem, rather than keeping it narrowly focused. In others, you may want to challenge basic assumptions or affirm your understanding in order to feel more confident in your conclusions.
What makes a Good Question?
-A good question makes you think.
- A good question is one that does not have an immediate answer, because it requires some thinking, feeling and application to previous knowledge.
-A good question opens doors. It demands more than a yes or no answer.
- A good question penetrates the structure and meaning of the knowledge base to seek understanding.
The Structure of Questions
Try to avoid yes/no questions because they're usually a dead end.
In contrast, open-ended questions:
- invite opinions, thoughts and feelings
-encourage participation
-establish rapport
-stimulate discussion
- maintain balance between facilitator and participant.
We'll find out
It's okay to recognize that we don't have the answers to all the questions, but even better to know that we can find the answers if we read books and do research in the library or ask questions of others. Most knowledge comes bit by bit, piece by piece, until, in time, we can put all the little pieces together into a larger piece of knowledge.
Think Thank Thunk
So question things, dear readers, and think away. Explore those thoughts. Sometimes just being quiet and thinking for a bit is the best time to process things or to come up with ideas.
Mrs. Hussey said "I get caught up in my own ideas, too. Maybe one day I'll try having us all write down daydreams for a week and see what we come up with. Maybe we'll decide they're.. important." (p. 39)
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