Help Me Seek Knowledge

I had a computer science teacher that was not afraid to say, "I don't know." He was also good at challenging us while also providing quality support so we could succeed. - George

It is hard for us to let students behind the curtain, to put a little doubt that we might not know everything. I remember the first time my son stopped believing I was all-powerful and all-knowing. It dawned on me how short that period was. Although I could not have kept my pedestal up forever, I did hope it would have lasted a few more years.  

Like Fathers and Sons or Dorothy and the Wizard, eventually we are found out to be mere mortals. We are flawed just like everyone else. It doesn’t mean that we lose all authority or "aura," as the kids say, but it feels like we step down a bit.  

That feeling is valid, but it is for us to decide to give it merit. It is natural for kids to want to question things and even more natural for a human to not have every answer.  

That is where the real opportunity comes in. Showing students that it is ok to not know something, to question and to hypothesize the answer, and to then know how to find the answer is such a valuable tool.  This is where we can show what poise and self-confidence are. It is also where we can talk about if the info we get from all sources, even AI, is worth being critical of.  

We need to show them how to navigate this world of knowledge and to not be discouraged by a lack of knowledge about anything but to challenge ourselves and each other to seek out the wisdom.  

The best part of it all is that we can learn something new together. Learn something new with your students today. Inspire a little bit of wonder.