I often confuse symptoms and causes, typically because I don’t ask the right question.
Right now, my freshmen are writing a report that asks them to talk about the viability of a student forum on a topic of their choice. In the hypothetical situation I’ve designed, they are writing a report about the proposed forum for the head of our university’s Student Life program. It requires that they define their chosen problem, predict possible solutions, take into account SWU-related context, and make a decision on whether or not the forum is a good idea.
I love the project because it helps them analyze and summarize sources without feeling like they need to come up with the solutions themselves. They are simply figuring out whether or not the forum would be worth having.
Many of them complain that they have had difficulty finding sources to support their proposed topics. When I ask what forum topic they’re researching, they respond with things like:
- Commuter or Theater Clubs
- Technology in the Classroom
- Better food at the caf
- Free laundry
- Lower tuition
These topics run the gamut from the promising to the banal, the broad to the painfully specific. One thing that marks them all, however, is that they are SOLUTIONS to problems rather than the problem itself.
I realized that I too often framed the debate in oppositional rather than complementary terms. Instead of asking “should” these forums should be asking “how.”
- Not SHOULD campus have a curfew but HOW can campus provide for student safety
- Not SHOULD campus add more dining options but HOW can SWU encourage its student body’s health
- Not SHOULD SWU lower tuition but HOW can SWU encourage its students to be good stewards of their money
- Not SHOULD SWU do something about homeless students but HOW can SWU best address its struggling and potentially homeless students
When I ask better questions, and I get better answers.
When I get better answers, and I start asking better–and bigger–questions.
God, how can this circumstance bring me closer to you?
God, how can I best serve others today?
And one that I’ll be asking a lot in the coming days, weeks, months, and years: God, what can I learn today in this class I’m teaching?