Summary Of Children Ask Questions By Paul Harris
I found Paul Harris’ article about how children learn from questioning to be extremely informative and interesting. The article introduced many new concepts about questioning that I had not previously considered. I felt that Harris introduced many excellent points about how to handle a child’s inquisitiveness. I found myself agreeing with almost all of the points in the article as I read. Overall, the article is about how children ask questions, and the difference between how they ask questions in a comfortable environment versus in the classroom. It also discusses the effect of the answers that we provide to children’s questions. The first point that Harris addresses is the language study that was conducted by “Harvard psycholinguist Roger
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The study was eventually expanded and the idea of children’s questions began to draw greater focus. One point Harris made is that there has been “a long tradition of skepticism about the value of children’s questions as a learning tool” (Harris 24). I was surprised when I read this, as I have always considered asking questions to be a great method for learning. However, I have also been surrounded by teachers who encouraged questioning my whole life, and this has deeply influenced my view on the value of questions in the classroom. Nonetheless, Harris states that this debate has been going on since the eighteenth century. Opponents of questioning believe that “supplying answers to children’s questions would make them too trusting” (Harris 24). I personally disagree with this statement, as I feel that answering a child’s questions leads them to want to know more about the subject in question, which ultimately leads to a more thorough education. Another argument against questioning is that it makes children “assume that everything has a purpose” (Harris 25). Piaget thought that a child’s frequent questions led them to be more interested in the “benefit the phenomenon in question produces rather than trying to understand cause and effect (Harris 25). Although I see Piaget’s point,
The study was eventually expanded and the idea of children’s questions began to draw greater focus. One point Harris made is that there has been “a long tradition of skepticism about the value of children’s questions as a learning tool” (Harris 24). I was surprised when I read this, as I have always considered asking questions to be a great method for learning. However, I have also been surrounded by teachers who encouraged questioning my whole life, and this has deeply influenced my view on the value of questions in the classroom. Nonetheless, Harris states that this debate has been going on since the eighteenth century. Opponents of questioning believe that “supplying answers to children’s questions would make them too trusting” (Harris 24). I personally disagree with this statement, as I feel that answering a child’s questions leads them to want to know more about the subject in question, which ultimately leads to a more thorough education. Another argument against questioning is that it makes children “assume that everything has a purpose” (Harris 25). Piaget thought that a child’s frequent questions led them to be more interested in the “benefit the phenomenon in question produces rather than trying to understand cause and effect (Harris 25). Although I see Piaget’s point,