Questions unlock opportunities for learning

Encourage your child to ask lots of questions. Asking questions unlocks opportunities for learning and is a skill students should be practicing from the earliest grades. Understandably, many students are reticent to ask questions for fear of appearing vulnerable, especially in a classroom setting. So remind your child that asking questions is a sign of confidence and intelligence, not weakness. And to start, she can ask questions in a manner that’s comfortable to her: perhaps one-on-one with a teacher before or after class, after school, or even by email. That she asks is more important than how she asks, especially at the beginning. The key is that she begins to feel the empowerment this simple self-advocacy tool reveals.