What did you ASK in school today?

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Another Verse by Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL Feb. 23, 2013

Verse — Learning
(With thanks to Ellis Cowling)

What did you learn in school today?
…is not the best question.
Ask your kids instead:
Did you ASK any good questions
in school today?
What puzzled you?
What did you explore today?
Did you solve any mysteries?
Was there something that made you
laugh today?
Did you say or write something that
helped others laugh?
What did you do today that was kind?
Today, did you help another learn?
What can you teach me right now?

6 thoughts on “What did you ASK in school today?”

  1. Gordon, thanks for this from Steve S. This reminds me of a few things I’ve thought about lately. The images evoked when a parent says the above is that it is an example of how we nurture the young by helping them understand how to connect to their world in deeper ways than by just asking “what did you learn today”.

    The large Palm tree that stands wilted in front of the TREE HOUSE youth shelter on the highway 41 curve here in Chaska is a reminder that when we attend to our youth with the ideas in this poem we have a “live tree” vs. a dead tree”. In like manner when no attention is given to the affective behaviors the poem describes we have a “wilted” group of young people. The TREEHOUSE facility leaves the tree in place all winter after the Fall freeze to help our community remember it takes a village to raise our children. They will plant a live Palm again this Spring to help us see the results of their endeavors over the long winter to bring back to health the youth in their program.
    The other thought that I was reminded of by Steve’s poem is about a National Geographic documentary last week that described the rebellion of young Elephants worldwide. Yes, strange as that sounds Elephants are killing trainers, strangers et al in epidemic numbers. Why? The program went in depth to explain that because we have destroyed so much Elephant habitat and in the process also destroyed the adult males by culling the herds to ostensibly prevent the destruction of crops. The result is there are no older males to raise the young males resulting in the lack of control of violent behaviors among the young males. When young males are placed in herds with older males the murderous behaviors disappear as the seniors exert that influence. We’ve known for a long time how smart Elephants are but this goes way beyond that. There can be no doubt our children are at least as sensitive to our attention.

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