Day 8: How Should We Foster Question Asking Instead of Answer Getting?

I believe we need to give students the opportunity to think for themselves.  More and more I see students who want to be told exactly what to do, how to do and when to do it.  This is a factory mindset and although it may make life easier as a teacher, it will limit future success for our students.

As an adult in the working world, I am given a task to complete.  Sometimes I am given more details and sometimes it is left to me to figure out how to execute the required project.  Thinking for oneself is a vital skill for most jobs.

The challenge is making students do something they struggle with.  As a teacher, it may be easier for me to give a worksheet or another project, but requiring students to read and think for themselves is vital.  It may not be the easy way, but our students need to learn and practice these skills.