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Why do they teach in school that there's no such thing as a dumb question

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Why do they teach in school that there's no such thing as a dumb question

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  1. I suppose that someone came up with the phrase as a way to get students to put aside their fears or self-consciousness about speaking up.  They probably teach this in school as a way to encourage students to develop the behavior of asking questions as a way to get an answer to whatever you're wondering about.

    . .  . but my experience is that as soon as the teacher would say there was no such thing, some dummy would prove her wrong.


  2. I don't teach that to my students.  I had a student last year that would ask me stupid questions all the time and I would tell him that his questions were stupid.  By the end of the year when he would approach me with a question he would say, "I know this is a stupid question but...." and then proceed to ask the question anyway.  Sometimes he would think about the quesion first and decide it was stupid and that he did not need to ask it.  In my classroom, there IS such thing as a stupid question.

  3. I'm not sure but I'd like to think its because teachers want students to critically question what's in front of them so when they get into the 'real world' they won't fall for anything.  I 'train' my students to only ask me questions that they cannot find the answer to.  If they are able to find the answer themselves, either by using a reference book or another students, then they can ask me.  Even after, that, I always pose the question to the class to determine if they can answer the question.  If not, then I will usually answer the question.  I want my students to learn to research and seek answers out for themselves.

  4. Although we all know there are stupid questions, we don't ever tell that to our students that because if they believe that, they will not ask for FEAR of being that one stupid one. Children need to feel comfortable asking what they don't understand and a teacher who says that is in essence saying..."It's ok to ask anything. I won't humiliate you or make fun of you." Which should be a given but we all know those teachers don't we?

  5. Questioning is a way of finding out information. One time I took a group of children to the beach. I found various corals- staghorn, rose and brain coral etc. One person who was known to ask questions just to be 'funny'[get a laugh] asked a serious question for which I still do not know the answer. He asked how much a human brain weighed. At first I wondered why he would ask such a question.Well I tried to find the answer and I have asked Science teachers; but none seem to know.That question is one reason why to me there is no such thing as a dumb question. A coral at the beach had stimulated what I recognized as profound thoughts.

  6. I think that question arose to keep kids from being afraid to discover.  I see how that can be beneficial, because we do learn by asking questions.  Sometimes things just don't click and asking a question can help us hear it in a new way.

    HOWEVER, I think teaching that opens the door for silliness and behavioral problems with some children.  If no question is dumb, they can ask whatever they want and be the class clown.  I think it's also problematic because children today never learn how to accept failure.  We are discouraged from telling them they are wrong -- sometimes they just are.  They need to learn that, because in life post-graduation, they will encounter failure at some point and won't know how to handle it.

    I think this question is a double edged sword.  It depends on the child which way the blade falls...for some, it helps them come out of their shells.  For others, it's an excuse to be silly or be wrong.  It's up to the teacher to know the difference and signal that to his/her students.

  7. Teachers say it to encourage the students to ask questions that are essential to the topic; just to think before asking. In parallel, they say that there is also no right or wrong answer as long as you can defend your argument. It's a way of developing critical thinking on students.

  8. The only dumb question is the question NOT asked!!!

    How can we learn if we dont ask questions??

    I homeschool my son ,& as a rule, I teach that to my son, he always asks me question, how else can he learn??

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