a tough ask?

How many questions should you ask? I was just reading an article that questions the number of questions that are being asked today by students in school. Read on: Asking questions is essential to learning. That was an essential lesson from one of history's first great teachers, Socrates. Or, as the wise Rabbi Steven Greenberg puts it: "we train children at the Passover seder to ask why, because tyrants are undone and liberty is won with a good question." And yet, children are not asking questions nearly enough. In fact, data from the U.S. school systems tells us that the average high school student asks one question of substance per month in a classroom. Yikes!

This is particularly alarming if we consider the skill set that is required for success in the coming decades. Hal Gregersen, the co-author along with Clayton Christensen of the recent book The Innovator’s DNA, tells Big Think that the world we’re entering over "the next five, ten, fifteen, twenty years – I can’t imagine it being easier, simpler, less uncertain than what we’re living in today."So what is the best way to "unlock the solutions to that wild terrain," as Gregersen puts it? "We need to build this capacity in ourselves and the people around us to ask the right question." Source: http://bigthink.com/big-think-tv/the-future-is-uncertain-its-time-to-start-asking-the-right-questions

Yes you need to ask questions. Tons of questions. I always had questions on my mind and in classrooms I was known to be the irritating one. Actually – few teachers loved me and a few them possibly didn’t. some thought I was asking questions just to prove I was smart or I was disturbing the class. I remember one question that was completely dismissed by my science teacher. She was taking I think about chlorine or flourine (nice periodic table link http://www.ptable.com/)which is so reactive that it reacts with anything and that she said it is used on rockets as fuel. I may be wrong in recollecting the gas but my question was that if it’s so reactive and reacts with everything then how do you store it? Oops. That one was dismissed. In another science class the idiotic teacher called me to the desk twice or more since I was participating ‘too much’ in class. She called me in and tried to tell me that if I know too much I should take the lecture myself. What a Bitch. I want to meet her and show her this video.

Ask questions ask many questions. Ask them all the time. Keep asking. I think I am losing the art of asking those questions which I used to as a child. In my meetings I ask, and I don’t really mind admitting that I don’t know too much; but higher level meetings work without asking questions. People don’t want to show any of their insufficiencies I guess. I don’t know. I keep telling people – ask – ask more questions. Think a bit. But idiots just don’t. My own team just doesn’t want to ask any questions. Is it because they don’t think enough or they can understand enough or is it because they feel shy or what? Are you too dumb to ask or you are too smart? Why is it that I am the one asking most of the questions.

I think the author on top is right. In school with the grades etc – you are taught to simply learn the portion by rote. That is what gets rewarded, not asking questions. That is irrelevant for grades or for anything. In my class when I teach I try and encourage people to think or ask questions; but its so bloody tough. Years of training can’t be simply undone by one stupid professor.

The other day Jispa was really upset and there was something bothering her. She was having a fight with us. I have a different style of fighting with her. I talk to her and then I continue to keep channels of communication open. I am firm on the issue but soft on everything else. So I asked her what was bothering her. She refused to say. Then I told her that whatever it is, she has the freedom to tell me anytime. I am there for her. And then offhand I asked her – “take a guess – how many time in Jasmine’s life has she had a conversation with her dad. A nice conversation”. She looked at Jasmine. The answer is never. Jasmine has never ever had a ‘conversation’ with her dad. They speak but there is no conversation. I told her that I remember a few conversations with my dad and those I cherish. “So how many have you had with your dad” I asked her. “Hundreds”, she replied. “So then” I said “you have something your both parents didn’t. You can always talk to us”.

Well at the end of it all. She still dint tell us what was bothering her. Well… Ten years olds are also equally complicated. But I respect that and she sorted the issue in her brain, or at least I hope so.

so how does it happen?

Yesterday at home Jispa happily showed me her brand new geometry compass box. In Jispa’s school, the fees cover these basic things. I guess they do that so that all the kids have uniform tools. This helps eliminate kids who could possibly be tempted to get Ferrari geometry boxes (wouldn’t that be a cool product). While she showed me the same, I recollected that as a kid I rarely ever got a brand new geometry compass box. Being the third in line I would invariably get hand-me-downs. So I picked every piece from the box one by one. The divider, the compass, the protractor, the two angles and ofcourse the free pencil. The pencil has improved form my days. Now they give a pen-pencil. Yes the lovely Camlin compass box.

Then I saw her geometry book. I remember my first class in geometry very well. The same things were taught. A point, a segment, a line and a ray. The same bloody things. The definitions were also the same, the drawings were also the same. It brought back nice memories. A point – it is something that does not have any length breadth and height. It’s just that – a point. A line is nothing but a series of points. I was good at geometry always. I loved it and I just couldn’t understand how anyone would get anything wrong in geometry. Possibly because I was good at visuals so I enjoyed geometry. I remember getting all the sums right in my final tenth standard exam. They cut 2 marks for no bloody reason and I ended up at 73 out of 75. The theory was that if they give you full marks then they have to give you a medal or something, which the board reserved for students from Marathi medium schools. Well who cares. Add that to the 74 I scored on Algebra, I finished at 147 from 150 in Math at school.

In morning while dropping Jispa off to swimming class, I told her that I loved Geometry and I would always get great marks in that. She then decided to test my skills. “So tell me – which is longer – a ray or a line?”. Aha… “Nice one Jispa, both are same – they both go on till infinity”. Hehe. Nice try kid. Then something just struck me. “Jispa – a point has no length breadth or height, correct?” “Yes” she replied. “And a line is nothing but a series of points, like a thousand points together?” “Yes” she said again. So then I asked “how come that a point which is like zero length, multiplied a thousand times has a length when zero into thousand is zero. So if nothing is put together a thousand times, how do you get something?”. I felt her bulb light up in her head “Fascinating” she said. ‘Fascinating’… that’s a nice term to use, I thought. I got her thinking. The truth is that I thought of this conundrum for the first time myself. How come this shit works? I can understand that a point can be infinitesimally small. That can help denote a starting point for math. Hence it will be zero otherwise you would need to consider the size of the point as well when you calculate the distance between two points to get the length of the segment. All this I assume… I know nothing of this. But how can nothing add up to something? Jispa was right. It’s fascinating. So I asked her – “so you are going to ask your teacher about this?” “Nah, she will just reply that” “it’s too advanced” I interjected. “no, she will just say that you will learn it in higher class”. Ok same thing.

I love having these conversations with Jispa. I keep telling her. When you grow up, do something nice. Become a geologist and then I can come with you to different places. Or study History – then we can do to all the palaces together and you can teach me. Or do zoological studies and I can come to various forests with you. I love learning from anyone. My nephew is a whacko. He is a lizard and snake super freak. So every time I meet him, I ask him stuff about snakes or other creepy crawlies. He studies in Doon school and he comes down for his vacations. This time around on a friend’s BBM he learnt that there was a snake found along with the stuff that was being shifted. He caught a friend and went there to catch the snake. He was coolly telling us later that it was a rat snake and hence not poisonous. Ya sure. He did catch it. What a complete mad man. What I wonder is that the adults around let me do it. He would have shown some attitude there for the others to trust him. I don’t know if I would have let him do it I was around.

Whatever, it’s fun to learn from him and it’s fun to learn from Jispa. I guess its sweeter when someone younger is teaching stuff to you. I actively try and learn from them. Of course some stuff you don’t want to learn from them, your ego gets in the place. But for the most, I guess, I like to learn from them. There is something that the youth has that you can never ever replicate. Teaching has put in touch with them and I really do learn a lot from them.

what does angel know

While the house work is on we are staying at our brother’s place. The highlight of the stay is obviously his dog Angel. Its great fun to come home and get greeted by Angel. She is so loving and adorable. I do need to thank Angel for helping overcome some mind block. Getting kissed by a dog is one. Especially if you consider that a dog kiss is actually a dog lick. I take my lips in and put my face close to her when I come home. Awesome. In the morning its also fun to get greeted by Angel as she comes out from my brother’s room. Jispa and I await her.
Quetsion of the day was posed to me today morning by Jispa as she was playing with Angel. “Does a dog know it is a dog?” Err….. “Ask her”. “PAPA!”… “ok… ok.. I don’t know” I answer. Then she goes “does a dog know she is running, sitting, rolling over. does she know?”.
Actually I haven’t a clue. It is a good question Jispa, is all I can think of. I have no clue if a dog knows she is a dog. I guess the domesticated ones kind of live human lives but I sure know that many humans don’t know they live a dog’s life.