Stepping Stones Week 2

Hey, friends!

When my kiddos were young, we learned science together from a wise and profound teacher...Miss Frizzle. I can still hear her voice echo...

• "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!"
• "If you keep asking questions, you'll keep getting answers."

Her science and her wardrobe may be open for discussion, but her wisdom regarding discovery is undeniable.

Good questions are the keys that unlock the doors to knowledge, and great questions lead us further up and further in toward wisdom. Jesus, the greatest teacher of all times, asked far more questions than he answered.

So what would happen if we shifted our thinking from "finding the right answers" to "finding the right questions?" This week, let's start with the basics: who, what, where, when, why, and how? Then dive into the deep end with questions from Aristotle's five common topics:

• Definition: Who or what is X? What kind of thing is X? What are the parts of X?
• Comparison: How is X similar to Y? How is X different from Y?
• Relation: What caused X? What are the effects of X?
• Circumstance: What else is happening? How does it affect the possibility/probability of X?
• Testimony: What do experts and eyewitnesses say about X?

If you discover a great question in your learning adventure this week, we'd love to hear about it:

• Add your question in the comments of our Facebook Week 2 Stepping Stones post
• Tag us in your Instagram Stories (@NCFCAspeechdebate)
• Email SteppingStones@NCFCA.org

From Miss Frizzle to Aristotle, the message is clear: Asking questions is the best way to learn. So what questions will you ask this week?

In His Grace,
Amy Joy Tofte
NCFCA Director of Education

A note to parents and coaches:

We have the privilege of spurring on our students to discover truth. In his essay, "On Education," Jean-Jacques Rousseau encourages,

"Teach your scholar to observe the phenomena of nature; you will soon rouse his curiosity, but if you would have it grow, do not be in too great a hurry to satisfy this curiosity. Put the problems before him and let him solve them himself. Let him know nothing because you told him, but because he has learnt it for himself...If ever you substitute authority for reason he will cease to reason; he will be a mere plaything of other people's thoughts."

As parents and coaches, our job is not to spoon-feed the facts but rather to fan the flame!

ACCESS STEPPING STONES WEEK 2