It is important to ask questions. Without asking questions we will not learn more, or we will not learn the things that we want that truly interest us.
In the Book “Sophie’s World” by Jostein Gaarder, the importance of questions is underlined. I read the book more than ten year ago, and still recall the passage on questions. A child is the perfect philosopher, as it will ask many questions and is not satisfied with a brief incomplete answer.
Sadly I have observed parents telling their children to ask less questions, don’t do that, tell them you don’t know and check with them in a book, on the internet or ask someone else. Questions will make you and your children grow.
Sometimes breaking down a question into many small questions can lead to finding the right answer. Science, research and learning are all about questions. Asking many different questions to find an answer.
When you don’t understand something, or are not 100% sure, ASK! And no, there are no stupid questions.
At school and university, I used to ask a whole lot of questions. In a math course at university, I asked so many questions, that the professor called me “Miss Sceptic”. Some of my fellow students approached me, to let me know that they were glad I did ask those questions, they had not understood and did not dare open their mouths to ask…
What questions do you ask yourself and others? Do you ask a lot of questions? Do you encourage others to ask questions?
Written by Solveig Werner
Solveig Werner 
Yes!! In pen palling people from other countries ask me questions and if l don’t know the answer l google it and l learning as much about my country as they are.. Perfect example ” why is Queensland named that?” I didn’t know so l Googled it and found out they had already used the “Queens” first name “Victoria” for my state and so they named that state simply “Queensland” perfectly makes sense!
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I love it when people ask questions it shows an interest and also nine times out of ten l learn something new too!! I test my Star son all the time to see how much school stuff he’s retained he’s taught me about William the conqueror and poetry so far since school started in January!
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I guess you have been asked questions that you did not think of, thus they helped you learn new things too.
Do you ask your pen pals a lot of questions too?
Isn’t it great that we never stop learning? Maybe kids, and grandkids do keep us young because they learn new things and we do so with them.
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I am a big question asker… Because let’s face it, although our countries are very similar there are still differences, and I love it when they explain the different sayings and different foods and stuff…
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Totally agree about questioning, and the folly of denying answers to children. Not sure about there being no stupid questions though – I was at a book festival at the weekend and one author said the most bizarre question he had been asked was “have you, or any of your characters, been made into bubble bath dispensers?”. I would love to know more about the context of that one!
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That really is a strange question. How did he answer the question?
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He didn’t say! A woman then prefaced her question with “Well, X, I’ve never managed to finish one of your books……” Bizarre!
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That is bizarre, indeed…
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Great post. Questions lead to answers and answers lead to knowledge.
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Thank you. That is so true.
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Questions are like mistakes: necessary to learn. You are doing well with this challenge, Solveig. See you tomorrow.
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Yes, they definitely do go hand in hand.
Thank you.
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Your experience with a Math professor in university really resonated with me. I had a similar experience in Advanced Accounting Principles.
I was struggling with a concept and finally asked for clarification. The professor did answer the question, but when he was finished, he apologized to the class for boring them because my question was so elementary.
I was mortified, however after the class, many of my classmates approached me and thanked me for asking the question because they too had been struggling with the concept.
Questions are good. Those who ridicule people for asking questions are pompous jerks.
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I do suppose that sometimes professors, teachers, parents… all think that something is too easy to be discussed in more detail. But then it is easy for them, as they already know it.
I think that questions can also help us verify, if we have understood things correctly. Questions permit us to approach things from different angles.
In other situations, I think people do not like questions as they do not know the answers themselves, and feel weak because of that.
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I’ve always been afraid to ask questions for the same reason that I don’t want to be embarrassed in front of a lot of people but now as I’m older I realized that we shouldn’t be afraid because how else would we get to learn and gain some knowledge. My daughter always questions everything and I try my best to answer and now I’ve noticed that she remembers every detail, it surprises me to hear her teach my little one. Questions are always good, it expands our knowledge and we can always teach others 🙂
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I am glad that you have realised that asking questions is an important part to learning and that you try to answer your daughter’s questions. I have heard parents say “you sure are curious and ask so many questions” instead of replying to their kids, this makes me want to confront them with it.
It does take a good dose of self confidence to ask questions in front of others.
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It really does take a lot to ask questions in front of others.
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I know. But once you are in the habit, it gets natural.
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I love this! When I was teaching, I liked it when students asked questions because it forced me think and to stay connected to the subject, the theory behind it, and my teaching theory.
Also, my husband and I sometimes force ourselves NOT to consult Google for answers, but make ourselves reason it out first. It’s fun to deliberate what the answers might be rather than going straight to a source that will tell us.
Lastly, some of my favorite essays (to read and to write) start with questions, sometimes simple questions, often profound ones. I like reading the writer’s thoughts as they explore possible answers.
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Thank you for your return, it is almost as long as the original post itself 🙂
I do suppose that you were a good teacher, because those that accept questions are.
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