20 WHY questions per hour
“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” Eugene Lonesco, Playwright
I read this and thought about a conversation I had yesterday with a nice couple met the same day. They have 2 young kids and were very open and curious about unschooling. He had been questioning the school system for some time and she was unsure but inquisitive, wanting to know about the topic.
I happily shared my experience and knowledge and gave an example that made them both chuckle because their 2,5 year old son asks a lot of questions.
I read about a study where they found that kindergarden kids ask in average of 20 WHY questions per hour at home. They said, their son asks even more than that lol
By the time these children spend many hours in nursery, the amount of questions go down to 1 per hour and then it´s related to something like Where are the scissors?
I could tell that it made them think and wonder…
I also explained how efficient babies´ and children´s learning styles are - at genius level even - because they use their instincts and curiosity.
Children learn by asking questions and when we put them into a room with 30 other same-aged children and one adult who tells them what to do, then the opportunities of learning become very limited. The teacher can´t possibly answer all of the kid´s questions, especially because all of them have different interests but at school everybody has to learn the same content anyway.
You can see how educating oneself outside the school system is much more efficient when you have resources to learn what you´re interested in. Nowadays we can find information online, in books, by asking experts, by traveling, and in many other ways.
To come back to the quote in the first line of this blog post, it might seem, we are enlightened when we´re born because all we know is the present moment. Our minds are free of conditioning and beliefs and as kids we have a million questions. When we encounter adults who take us seriously, help us find answers to those questions or give us the chance to find out about ourselves, by comtemplating, observing, trying things out, without judging our way, we will continue asking questions all through our lives instead of thinking ´Now that I´ve finished my education, I know it all and can dedicate the rest of my life to being a good….. (profession)´.
Life means learning if you keep an open mind and keep asking WHY.
Unfortunately, most of us have not had the treatment described above and we have been conditioned to think limitedly.
Let´s give our children the chance to stay on genuis level brainwise, continue to ask questions and be present. So, stop trying to teach them, let them ask questions ot things they want to know about, help find answers and get out of the way most of the time ;-)
