Asking questions in class is one of the best ways to learn, but many kids feel nervous about doing it. Some worry about what their classmates might think, while others fear they might sound silly or ask something wrong.
Were you too scared of raising your hand in class ever as a student? Great! That means all of us have been chips of the same block.
But listen, acknowledgement is not all what we are here for. Because I’m quite sure we all felt that inner guilt alarming us each time we could raise our hands and face our fear but we let it win. But no more!
Because once you read this, you will definitely know why you couldn’t ever raise your hand, how losing these chances everyday affected you, what happens when you set yourself free from those self-knotted shackles and how to NOT let it happen to your child, your younger sibling, your student or even yourself.
The Causes and Effects of NOT Asking Questions
A lot of times in our lives, we missed out on opportunities because we were too afraid to ask or because we thought elbowing our friends to ask our questions would be better than being termed a ‘loser’.
Well, here’s the truth. This happens because of a few very common reasons:
a. Either we are extremely underconfident
b. Or we think ‘what will people think about us’ more than they actually think
c. Or we don’t usually carry a positive view regarding ourselves
d. Or we think we are weak since the other students get the same point right while it takes us longer
e. Or we think the teacher or students will mock our questions and us.
I know this is absolutely relatable because for a long time I have been the same. And guess how being a coward helps us all (to be worse):
a. We lose a lot of opportunities to be better.
b. We grow and feel weaker.
c. We miss out on so much fun and learning.
d. We learn that the people who we thought think about us never actually thought about us. It was always how we thought about ourselves.
e. We see our peers achieving so much in life because they asked questions no matter how silly they seemed.
Here’s What Happens When We Start Asking Questions
Instead, when we start asking questions and stop thinking about what it may invite, we bloom and here’s how you witness it:
a. You start feeling stronger each time you overcome your fear by asking a question.
b. You start realizing that you too can learn like others.
c. You feel good when you learn an answer you can keep for the rest of your life.
d. Your actions become more reinforced and you like accepting challenges.
e. You like being included in discussions because now you have knowledge to offer.
f. Above all, you understand that life is a journey of continuous learning.
g. You accept that we are all constantly learning and unlearning things each day.
h. You start feeling confident and good about yourself.
But this is about what happens when we start asking questions. How we take the first step still remains a mystery! I got you. You might be expecting a long list of points telling you ways to start but no.
There is only one thing you’ve got to do and that is:
Never let your own self be the biggest hurdle in becoming a better YOU!
I promise our journey here is full of tests and trials and therefore, you don’t have to make yourself your biggest enemy because you’ll get many of them once you start working on yourself.
If you go through the causes of not being able to ask questions I mentioned above, you’ll find that in each cause; it is more about what and how we think. Therefore, it’s important to be cautious of how we see ourselves because that decides who we end up as!
I hope this helps you take the step we all should have taken long ago but better late than never as Confucius says:
The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”
As you begin your journey, know that our personalized, expert and bespoke tutors at Tutifyme are here to answer the questions you could never ask in class. Take your first of many brilliant steps by booking a tutor with us today! We promise the change.