year-old Socratic Method, teaching through questions, is still
embraced by educators from the heights of Harvard Law School to the
local kindergarten class. Questions engage our critical thinking.
Research shows that asking questions improves learning and
performance by as much as 150 percent. In the end, it’s hard to argue
with author Nancy Willard, who wrote, “Sometimes questions are
more important than answers.”
I first became aware of the power of questions as a young man. I
read a poem that affected me profoundly and I’ve carried it with me
ever since.
MY WAGE
By J. B. Rittenhouse
I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menials hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.
The last two lines deserve repeating: “... any wage I had asked of
Life, Life would have willingly paid.” One of the most empowering
moments of my life came when I realized that life is a question and