Wild questions asked here

The question all teachers hate.

Student: Are we doing anything today?

Me: I thought we’d sit in a circle, hold hands, and sing “Kumbaya.”

Student: Singing what? For real, we are singing?

Me: Oh geez.

No hello. No, “How are you today?” No, instead teachers hear, “What are we doing today?” For the life of me, I cannot figure out why students ask this question. The last week of school, it is understandable because lessons are done, and we are trying to survive until the final bell that begins a long-awaited summer break. But honestly, when aren’t we doing something my lovelies?

According to one article, teachers are asked an average of 400 questions a day. Is it any wonder we experience decision fatigue or become unhinged when our families ask, “What’s for dinner?” By the end of the day, we are done. D-O-N-E.

It’s not just the number of questions that are asked, but the types of questions. Because when I have explained an assignment three times and given step by step instructions on what students are to do while the assignment is also posted on a well-crafted Canva slide on the large screen in front of them, the last question I want to hear is, “What are we supposed to do?” We (I) become unhinged. Listen! Read the board! Phone a friend! Make any choice but to ask what has been explained 4851581 times already. Bless it all.

There are days I respond with humor. Okay, let me be honest. By “there are days,” I mean, most days, and by “humor,” I mean sarcasm. For me, in my classroom, I want students to have some self-sufficiency, and that begins with them paying attention to the slides displayed in the front of the room, or the board that lists their assignments each week. I want them to learn to listen before asking questions. I want them to learn to trust themselves and to stop expecting to be spoon fed information. I want students to learn how to find information for themselves, to develop critical thinking skills, and to learn that yes, there are actually stupid questions.

And there will be moments that a student asks a question, and my only response is to throw my pen into the air, shake my head, laugh and proclaim, “I quit. Someone else is in charge. I’m done.”