On National Ask a Stupid Question Day, September 28 — or, if that day falls on a weekend, the last school day of September — there really is no such thing as a dumb question. At some point during the 1980s — the researchable resources in terms of exact details are scant — American school teachers recognized that some of the questions their shyer students were holding back would make for fruitful classroom discussions, should those questions be asked out loud. On National Ask a Stupid Question Day, teachers have the perfect excuse to tap into the inquisitiveness of their students.
As indicated above, the results of research into the beginning of National Ask a Stupid Question day don’t turn up much. The closest we have to an origin story for the holiday is that at some point in the 1980s, teachers dreamed it up to encourage their students to ask questions without fear — fear of ridicule from classmates, of a dismissive response from teachers, of any number of things.
We’ve all been there. Think back. It’s one of the times when the subject matter strikes a chord in us, and there’s something we really want more information about, but we’re afraid that we’re the only ones who don’t already “get it,” so we keep the question to ourselves. It’s unfortunate that intellectual curiosity is often frowned upon by the “cool kids.” But on National Ask a Stupid Question Day, pupils can feel at ease to set those fears aside.
“How come a semi-permeable membrane only lets molecules through one way, and not equally on both sides?” “If a black hole can suck in light, why isn’t our whole solar system being drawn into one right now?” “When Johnny Tremain spilled that molten silver on his arm, why didn’t he pass out from the pain?” On the last school day of the month, is the day to set aside shyness and social fears, and go ahead and ask questions like these.We do know that some three decades after the holiday’s inaugural celebration, a book called “Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions” was published, and it included a “Question Formulation Technique,” a semi-scientific method of coming up with queries that were appropriate for the classroom. It appears that the first celebrations of Ask a Stupid Question Day in India coincided with this book’s dissemination. And logically enough, the holiday had seen recognition in the U.K. even before that.
Students are reminded on National Ask A Stupid Question Day to let no question go unanswered. It’s no mistake that every so often in the U.S there’s an outcry for educators to receive pay commensurate with the true amount of work they do and level of professionalism at which they do it. So, kids, ask away!
