What do you ask your child after school? ‘What did you learn today?’ Or quite simply ‘How was your day?’
Isidor Rabi, Nobel laureate in Physics, offers us a compelling alternative. He recalled: ‘My mother made me a scientist without ever knowing it. Every other child would come back from school and be asked, “What did you learn today?” But my mother used to say, “Izzy, did you ask a good question today?” That made the difference. Asking good questions made me into a scientist.’
At ELC, we follow an inquiry-based learning approach that encourages children to question. The practice of thoughtful and considered questioning is a critical learning skill and enables children to explore their ideas, their underlying assumptions or beliefs, and serves as an inspiration to develop dialogue and debate with one another. Questions bring us together. We invite parents to deepen their child’s learning journey at home by looking for the questions your child may have, not only their answers!
As part of their identity panel, our Y5-6 children have been spending time in our Theatre of Imagination atelier, experimenting with the languages of light, shadow, and photography to explore identity.