Curiosity as a Compass
Katie McDougall Lower School Director
The questions that shape a learner most are about more than memorizing answers. They are about wondering why things are the way they are, and how we are called to contribute to the world around us. As in any excellent academic program, students at Episcopal Day School are regularly presented with questions like “What is the square root of 49” or “what happened in the War of 1812?” These are good and valid questions to ask, and students become adept at answering them. These are questions that we ask for the sake of knowing. Facts are important. Through exposure to in-depth learning on a wide range of topics, we are equipping our students with knowledge that will support further learning and skillbuilding throughout their academic journeys and their lives. As educators, we know the importance of asking “what questions.” But at Episcopal Day School, our students are also provided myriad opportunities to ask and answer questions that start with “why” and “how.” These are questions like “How did you solve that math problem?” or “Why do you think the character reacted that way?” These are the kinds of questions that go beyond facts. These are questions that we ask for the sake of understanding.
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These questions engage students in deep and complex thinking that requires metacognition, inferential thinking, and perspective taking. Inquiry is at the heart of academic work at Episcopal Day School, and, simply put, it is the focus on “why” and “how” that expands students’ minds and perspectives. Even “why” and “how” questions, however, are not the most important questions that we ask young people. Over the course of a student’s ten-year journey at Episcopal Day School, some of the most important questions they will wrestle with are the ones with no clear answers: questions that start with words like “should” or “could.” In pre-K or kindergarten, students may be asked questions like “What could we build with these materials?” or “Should you apologize, even if your feelings were hurt, too?” By the time students make their way into middle school, they may be grappling with questions like “Should people follow laws that they believe are unjust?” or “Could we both be right?” By the time they graduate, students are equipped to think critically about questions like “What could we do to solve food insecurity in our community?” or “How should we engage with people with whom we disagree?” These are the kinds of questions to which we cannot provide answers. These are questions that cause students to reconsider their assumptions. These are questions that drive action. These kinds of questions become a compass. In an increasingly complex and ambiguous world, the value of human reason is starkly clear. Now more than ever, our Episcopal values mandate that we educate children not just on the “what,” or even the “how” or “why.” Our shared humanity, so central to our Episcopal identity, requires that we go beyond teaching children that which is knowable.
We are charged with raising young people who aren’t afraid of questions without answers, who don’t wait to see which way the wind is blowing, but who consider “should” for themselves. By engaging with these kinds of questions, moment by moment, day by day, Episcopal Day School students practice the moral courage that is so central to our mission. Their curiosity–the questioning that is such a hallmark of our academic program–becomes a compass, helping them find their bearings in an uncertain world. With that compass in hand, they learn to find their way in the world and walk through it with purpose, responsibility, and spirit.
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