"Whenever we're afraid, it's because we don't know enough. If we understood enough, we would never be afraid." - Earl Nightingale
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about education. One thing that really struck me as I thought about education was the fear of having the "wrong answer." This fear arises in the classroom at school, largely, because students are afraid to give the wrong answer because they don't want their peers to laugh at them. They don't want the teacher to think they're stupid. The more I think about this topic, the more it bothers me inside. It bothers me because school should be a safe place. You are there to get an education, so there should be no fear at all. This is what we are facing though. Children are worried about sounding "stupid" or being made fun of in the classroom, and it has got to stop. Although I think there are many problems we are facing with America's educational system, this is a simple one that can and should be fixed.
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If you don't ask questions or give wrong answers, you'll never understand the 'right' answer fully. Chances are, if one person is asking a question about something that confuses them, there's another student wondering the same thing. In some of my classes growing up, my teachers were very good at making this point clear to us. However, I had other teachers that would look at me like I had three heads if I gave him or her the incorrect answer. If we allow this to continue in the classroom, where kids spend the majority of their youth, how do we expect them to learn about life outside of the classroom? With that being said, I think we should all be aware of this issue and do whatever we can to make sure teachers and students open to any kind of question or answer that comes their way. That's how learning is done.
“The one real object of education is to leave a man in the condition of continually asking questions.” (Bishop Mandell Creighton)
Concluding, the next time you hear a kid laughing at someone or making fun of them for giving a wrong answer or asking a 'stupid' question, please correct him or her on the mistake. Parents, answer all of your kids' crazy questions. And don't forget to tell them the power of their thoughts.
“Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture... Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.”
― Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking
