The Questions We Ask, Part I:
Cultivating Wisdom & Virtue Through Curiosity
God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.”
(2 Chronicles 1:11–12 ESV)
In my years of teaching I have grown weary of the grade-conscientious student who, smiling in the front row, enthusiastically raises her hand only to provide the rote answer when called upon. She inevitably expects praise for her regurgitation skills, and she inevitably becomes indignant when the boy in the back row mumbles something like, “Duh. Who cares?” As an educator, I get much more excited about his question than I do about her answer.
The textbook answer might help you ace the test, but it won’t get you very far down the road of wisdom unless you ask yourself (and others) how both the textbook and the test correspond to life; what are the implications of the bits of data you’ve acquired? How will this material cultivate within you a moral imagination? How will it help you to live and give life to others?
The quality of your life depends upon the quality of the questions you ask.
In other words, The quality of your life depends upon the quality of the questions you ask. I first heard this aphorism spoken by Andrew Kern of the CiRCE Institute at teaching conference, and it quickly became a staple tenet in my classroom. Over the years I have sought to compile a list of questions that serve to cultivate wisdom, virtue, and human flourishing.
In the next several blogposts, I will suggest that you consider a few of those questions with me…
