Guest Author, Keith Hadden- 
Having grown up in the city, I fondly look back on summers as a young kid. It was a time to get out of the city and visit one of my uncle’s farms. It was a pretty foreign environment for a city slicker kid. I remember engaging in action research, a type of ‘inquiry by ordeal’, when I drove the tractor by the rectangular beehives suffering the consequences; or when I discovered the unimaginable depth that cow manure can reach at the barn entrance, me exiting sans gumboots.
I peppered wonderings to anyone who would listen. Why do the cows go to the same barn stall every time? Why do chickens still bounce around after their heads are chopped off? How come? How come? How come? Looking back, I realize how much patience my extended families exercised in the presence of some surely naïve questions.
Have you thought of how you are engaging your children in inquiry? Are you asking them good questions? Are they asking you good questions? A couple of weeks ago, the grade three teachers at my school held a highly engaging and informative session for about 50 parents helping them to understand the main tenets of our school’s inquiry programme. It was a simple strategy to involve parents in the understanding of understanding. Parents would go home realizing that their kids are on a journey that is much more complex than memorizing facts and regurgitating chunks of matter.
Prairie Waters’ parents have recently been asked to help students understand their heritage and family trees; to explore their home use of electricity; and to distinguish between wants and needs. Such inquiries facilitate the opportunity for parents to develop inquisitiveness in their children. Talking to your children about their and your wonderings; encouraging them to ask good questions in and out of school; and debating with them about the world’s workings will ultimately deepen their ability to be curious and critical thinkers.
About the Author: I am currently serving as principal of Prairie Waters Elementary School in Chestermere, Alberta. Prairie Waters’ staff are engaging in their own cycle of inquiry as they embark on the journey to candidacy for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. I’m also on Twitter.
