Fearless questioning: the real skill that will matter in an age of information abundance
“Don’t listen to the person who has the answers. Listen to the person who has the questions”
Our education systems have not changed.
It’s been twenty years since I graduated from high school. I went back recently to deliver a talk on entrepreneurship to a group of hundred class ten kids. It was a ninety minute session with thirty mins of Q&A.
At the end, only five kids asked questions, all centred on one theme: which subjects to choose in class eleven so as to get good grades in class twelve! No one cared or seemed interested about why the topic mattered, how the world was changing, or the various career opportunities kids could turn to in the near future. No one dared to step out of their comfort zone to ask an extraneous question. While I was disappointed, I reflected only to realise that when in school, I too did not care or have much of a point of view on anything. While waiting for the elevator, I got a chance to glance through the time table that was posted on the notice board. Seven classes a day. Forty five mins each. Five days a week. Eight subjects covered. Clearly not much had changed in the last 20 years, or the last 100 for that matter. While in class, kids sit quietly and daydream in neatly defined rows, as teachers drone on plowing through the dense curriculum. As the world has undergone tremendous change, our educational systems have not.
The old industrial age where answers mattered.
These systems were designed in the industrial age to produce workers. And to create good workers, these systems put a premium on being compliant and the memorisation of basic knowledge - excellent qualities in an industrial worker. The goal of education was to enable kids to have more ‘right answers’ and get penalised for wrong answers - giving rise to the ‘test prep’ universe. There was no space or design to encourage the spirit of questioning and inquiry, where being wrong in class was less threatening. Further, in a world where technology was not much of an aid, ‘knowing more’ than others was clearly valuable.
The new entrepreneurial age where questions will matter.
Today’s world however, is not the industrial age. It’s an entrepreneurial one in which we need more creative and independent thinking citizens. Right now knowledge is a commodity. Known answers are everywhere and easily accessible with the click of a button. The value of explicit information is dropping. The real value is what you can do with that knowledge, in pursuit of a query. Teaching kids to memorise facts and filling their heads with answers is obsolete. We need to be able to teach them to sift, sort, decode and make sense of all the information using rigorous inquiry. Further, in a world with increasing complexity and accelerating change, kids will have to be trained to get comfortable in veering off the beaten path and breaking free of familiar thought patterns and easy assumptions - by learning how to ask penetrating questions!
Questions as a compass to steer us in the right direction.
A question is like a flashlight that can be used to navigate knowledge and change. It also acts like a filtering device to make sense of the sheer volume of information rushing at us from all directions and sources. Asking questions can give kids the ability to triangulate, to look at something from multiple sources, and construct their own warrants for what they choose to believe. Questions also fuel curiosity - one of the most critical traits for furthering progress in today’s world. Truly curious people will be increasingly in demand. Employers are looking for people who can do more than follow procedures competently or respond to requests; who have a strong intrinsic desire to learn and are fearless while solving problems.
The case for a 12 year kindergarten.
Research shows that a child asks about forty thousand questions between the ages of two and five. At this age, kids are perfect explorers. They are like young scientists as they turn over rocks and mash things together. Most preschool environments are relatively unstructured and allow for more free-form play and exploration.
IMAGINE > CREATE > PLAY > SHARE > REFLECT > IMAGINE >. . ., etc. These are the components of a creative process we can infer from watching a group of kindergartners playing with building blocks or other basic materials. This learning cycle is repeated with new variations and inputs, until the group determines, upon reflection, that what it has built is satisfying or they decide to move on to another set of materials and challenges. Kids use questions as triggers to transition between the stages of reflection and imagination - this acts as the fuel for their creative process.
The case for a 12 year kindergarten is one in which the preschool pedagogy can be applied across all grades and levels of education. A model in which the teacher becomes a questioning coach to help grown up kids / adults ask questions to explore and navigate the curriculum. In this model, kids get graded on the quality of questions they ask as opposed to the number of right answers they memorise.
Questions as lightbulbs in my life
While I graduated as a clueless kid, I have found ways to use questions to guide my own life and career through change. These have helped me get more curious, become comfortable with my own ignorance, find meaningful problems to solve and eventually build an identity. I would be lost without having the ability to keep going back to them!
‘Why can’t education keep up with the changing world of work?’ - my purpose behind going to work every morning.
‘What if I could combine entrepreneurship with the stability of a job?’ - the thrills I seek in taking on new projects.
‘How can I make a mark in people’s lives by helping them grow and reach their potential?’ - the commitment to be a better manager.
Kids who can fearlessly question, will thrive in a world of exponential change. If they can’t question, they are going to fear change. But if they’re comfortable questioning, experimenting, connecting things - then change becomes an adventure. Our schools owe this to our children and our future.
