“What’s funny about this?” The greatest hits of a generative classroom.
The questions we consistently ask ourselves direct our focus.
If we know that to be true – do we really have an excuse to not consciously direct the atmosphere of the environments we lead?
When I’m feeling the least creative, the least generous and the least accommodating of others, the questions in my head all rhyme with each other:
Why is this so hard?
How much longer?
Will they ever get this?
Why am I so bad at this?
You can pretty much guess the limited types of answers these get.
A new question is: “What is the environment I want to create and what are the recurring questions I can ask of myself that will create it?”
Here’s the greatest hits:
“How many smiles can I give? … Or get?!”
“What’s funny or surprising about this?”
“How many ‘a ha’ moments will I create?”
“What will I learn?”
“What breakthroughs will we create together?”
These all presuppose the presence of newness, of joy and learning. They open the door to possibility.
How many generative questions will you create today?
