Question

English Inquiry Question!!

Answer 1

@Hero

Answer 2

Much of ours days is spent in dialogue. It might be online or face-to-face, but we produce - and consume - information during many of our waking hours. Yet, that dialogue can sometimes be one-sided, heated, or counter-productive. In fact, it might not be dialogue at all.

According to Better Conversations by Jim Knight, “Dialogic conversations almost always lead to better outcomes and promote greater learning because dialogue begins with strength and dignity and an intentional focus on others. It does away with top-down, passive power struggles where conversations are merely endured and then forgotten. Participants in a dialogue all practice listening with empathy and respect for the other person’s views. A dialogical conversation is led by voices determined to keep the conversation open rather than closed. Far from being impossible or a rare occurrence, dialogic conversations can become of one of our personal, conversational norms.”

But that description of and call for dialogue almost seems Pollyanna. Empathy for others? Respect when I completely and fundamentally disagree with you? What’s the point?

There are two main reasons to foster dialogue:
Practical reasons: it leads to better outcomes, and top-down communication fails to produce results.
Moral reasons: top-down communication is dehumanizing, and assumptions prevent us from seeing others as who they really are.

Even if you believe that actually talking with (not at or to) others is important, it’s still difficult. According to Jim Knight (who was inspired by Paulo Freire, a famous educator), here’s why:

We fall prey to the habit of top-down communication in large part because it appears to be easier. The only problem is that it is also usually unsuccessful. With some effort we can adopt the habit of dialogue, but to do this, we have to understand what we are up against.

One reason why dialogue is difficult is that we are entrapped by our taken-for-granted assumptions and opinions about reality. Our assumptions make a mess of communication for at least two reasons. First, we interpret what others communicate through our assumptions, and that interferes with our ability to listen. Real dialogue is only possible when people surface and critically analyze their own assumptions.

Second, people, often unconsciously, hold on to their assumptions very tightly. Our assumptions can provide us with a worldview, a sense of right and wrong, and a way of making sense of our professional and personal lives. Often our assumptions are tightly tied to our life’s work, our loyalty to other people, and our spiritual or etymological beliefs. For that reason, when our assumptions are challenged, our beliefs about friends, work, right and wrong, God, our very existence seem threatened. No wonder people bristle when they are asked to rethink their assumptions.

During our inquiry unit, we won’t ask you to change your assumptions. Only you can decide that. We will ask you to surface and suspend your assumptions. We are going to QUESTION OUR ANSWERS. What are the beliefs that are at the core of your existence? And why are those your beliefs? What are some commonly-held assumptions about yourself, society, education, sports, people…. that you simply believe because you’ve never thought much about it? And how does questioning those answers help you become a more informed citizen?

If we can enter into true inquiry about our lives, we have a better chance of actually having a dialogue with people. It will be within our power to talk with those who fundamentally disagree with us, to work in teams of difficult people, to understand people better, and - most importantly - to contribute to an evolving democracy.

Answer 3

Yadda yadda in conclusion that's saying that we need to find a question to question our society or whatever and understand what society works and yadda yadda

Answer 4

We have to learn about ourself or society and this is so stupid

Answer 5

But I've narrowed down the questions to four questions

Answer 6

Where does self esteem originate from
why do we push ourselves down so much
why can't certain people feel good about themselves
What gives us a voice that says we're not worthy enough
what does the death penalty show about what society feels about the value of life? (taken from my friend)

Answer 7

Which out of those five is your favorite, shows smartness in an AP class, and would be most likely to get myself an A