Do you ever stop yourself from asking a question because you think it might be a stupid one? Or maybe on occasion you preempt a question with the phrase “This might be a totally stupid question, but…?”
Why all these questions about asking questions? Well, it’s time to recognize Ask a Stupid Question Day. No, it’s not a national holiday. And even the date it falls on—anywhere from September 27 to 30, or the last school day in September—varies. However how the holiday came to be is of interest. The holiday was created by teachers in the 1980s to encourage students to ask more questions in the classroom. Pretty cool, wouldn’t you say?
Do you have students who rarely ask questions? And if so, how do you convince them that “There are no stupid questions in my classroom!”
Love to hear from ya!
Diane
I always tell the kiddos and the parents if you don’t know something or do not understand please ask me. If I don’t know the answer I will get back to you with a answer. Before we do our worktime when we are all sitting I always ask does anyone have any questions. If I see anyone sitting and not doing there work I go to them and ask them if they have a question. The kiddos have gotten so comfortable with it they now ask me questions. My favorite this week was do I really have a mommy too.
Make the children feel at ease with one another we start by saying I need everyone to ask their silliest question that way there really is no silly question. everyone can ask anything they need to.
The ONLY stupid questions are the ones you don’t ask.