Why My 3rd Hour Students Will Find Success

I actually felt like a teacher today. Or at least part of today.

There a lot of days, like many teachers, I walk away feeling defeated after spending more time baby-sitting than making students better, watching students try harder to avoid their education than in taking advantage of it. Today during 3rd period, however, I dealt with students who were interested in success.

What was the difference 3rd period today (and really, most days)? What do they do differently? The answer, quite simply, is ask questions.

It's amazing what a difference in positioning oneself for success the simple act of asking questions can make. That class is working on a term paper right now, and the due date is approaching. Many of the students I deal with in other classes might come in panicked five minutes before the due date of a paper, begging for last minute help. More still would simply throw something together, whether they're sure of it or not. Then there's the students whose only question comes two weeks after the due date: "So, can I turn that it late?"

Not 3rd hour. In this final stretch run of the semester, they're asking about semicolon placement, in-text citation, theme comparisons, and whether their ideas will be successful. They brave the fear-inducing ten feet between my desk and theirs, crossing the scary ground of comfortable silence and risk of ridicule to chase term paper immortality (or perhaps a solid "B").

The more I thought about it today, the more it strikes me that this is what successful people do. They ask questions in their life.

They ask questions of people smarter than they are. They seek out people who are more experienced, more thoughtful, or just plain better, and they ask they how and why they do what they do. The best of the best (or even just skilled peers) don't intimidate them; they're viewed as a resource.

They ask questions to prepare. They don't wait until the last minute, wait until a crisis attacks, wait until they are merely reacting to life. Successful people anticipate what they'll need to know at a later date and attempt to prepare themselves for that. They put in the work ahead of time to be as ready as possible when challenges arise.

They ask questions to love. They ask their co-workers about their weekend, their spouse about their day, their kids about their recess, and the person they don't know their name. They ask before they tell, discover before they inform, inquire before they complain.

Asking questions shows that you care. Whether it's about your job, parenting, a paper, God, or your co-worker's favorite dessert, if you care enough to ask, it's clear you place a value on the topic of the question.

There is such a thing as a dumb question - 11 years as a teacher has taught me that. But dumber still might be to ask no questions at all.