It's good when kids ask questions, right?

Every morning my students and I sit by the French window.The salty ocean breeze pours in and energizes us all. After a short bout of meditation and breathing exercises, we are ready to start the day. Every one wants to share. I enjoy these moments but have to keep an eye of the watch. The kids love talking and as educators we need to appreciate, understand and incorporate this into our classrooms. Sometimes I do find myself swallowing my impatience when I realise all my 25 want to share. At the back of my head looms the all encompassing curriculum I need to cover! So I lay down rules... Only 10 share today and the rest groan and sulk. Sometimes i wonder if any one hears them at home! They have so much to say and so many questions to ask ...

" Miss why do you think adults still litter even after having been through school?" And it goes on and on...

In our school, which is an established PYP school, we use the 8 concepts of Form, Function, Connection, Causation, Perspective, Change ,Responsibility and Reflection to guide students' learning. These concepts allow us to formulate the right questions.The PYP concepts are a “key” to unlocking student understanding of the body
of knowledge represented in each subject area.
In order for them to understand a big idea in the best way possible, educators have many tools laid out for them, thanks to all the thinkers- Bloom's Taxonomy(revised, ofcourse), Thinking Hats, Muliple intelligence, etc

I am still grappling with how best to incorporate all the knowledge out there to enable kids to be independent thinkers and problem solvers of the future.

I came across this very amusing video which will show you how persevering kids can be, if encouraged to ask "the right" questions!

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