At the funeral recently of a young man who had committed suicide, the pastor unapologetically expressed his own beliefs based on God’s word while graciously acknowledging that many people who were present there that day may not share such convictions.

All he asked was that they listened carefully and patiently to what he had to share (that the Lord is indeed our loving shepherd). “After all,” he said, “If I am wrong, then you have nothing to lose but if I am right, you have everything to gain”. Is there any reason why we would not listen to what is being shared?

Many who attended that fateful occasion will no doubt have wanted to ask the question “Why?” with reference to why God would have allowed this to happen. There are no obvious or perhaps easy answers. Indeed, the young man in question perhaps often asked himself (maybe even others) the question “Why?” with reference to what he experienced, felt, considered in his life.

However, it is not our intention (nor the place) in this article to enter into a debate about a God who allows such situations to arise but rather to reflect on what questions we ask. We often ask the question “Why?”.

Indeed, we are encouraging our children in education to do that, to ask the question “why?”, with relation to critical thinking; that is at the heart of what we consider to be one of the five Cs of twenty-first century learning.

They need to have that way of thinking (though not a critical spirit, which is slightly different), to ask questions themselves. In truth, we were all born with such critical thinking; if in doubt, just ask yourself (there we go, ask again!) “What is the favourite question of a four-year-old?” and the answer is “Why?”

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Sadly, we squash such questioning by our answers, which, as we have noted in previous articles, follow the lines of “Because I say so” or “Because” or “That’s the way God made it” – in other words, be quiet! Why…?

Watch a toddler with this new-found ability to totter on two legs, wandering around in a new place, seeing what is there, what happens if they touch things. Listen to a teenager who wants to explore boundaries (and thinking) by questioning why they must do certain things; such questioning is not the sign of a rebellious spirit but actually an enquiring mind. They want answers; they want reasons.

It is good to ask “Why?” It is in fact, necessary and important to ask “Why?” However, it is equally important and no doubt very revealing to ask the opposite question: “Why not?” Such a question is more a matter of creativity (the second of the five Cs of twenty-first century learning) than that of critical thinking. It is a matter of considering and being open to possibilities. Instead of trying to work through all the reasons why we should apply for a certain job or move to another country, maybe we should simply ask ourselves “Why not?” What is stopping us from doing something that could have wonderful implications for us? Why do we need to know why? What indeed may be holding me back? Is it just tradition? Is it fear? Is it laziness?

Kevin E. Beasley, in his written piece ‘What If...Why Not? Through the Doors of Adventure’, argues that “Adventure is about what we do; not what we plan, strategize or dream about. Adventure begins with ‘what ifs’ and ‘why nots’. What if I were to step out to chase that dream? Why not take the first steps and see what happens? When we step through the doorway of adventure our life is suddenly worth the living. And we experience life as it was meant to be.” Surely that must be at the heart of education? And if not, why not? Education is about asking “why not?”

Mehmet Muratildan urges us to “Let the ‘why not’ philosophy be your life principle!” Someone else has said, “Never let your fears be the boundaries of your dreams.” In turn, we might consider George Bernard Shaw who said in his play ‘Back to Methuselah’: “You see things; you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?’” Why not, indeed?

As Reza Aslan, an Iranian-American scholar and writer, once simply asked, “Why? Why not? Why not you? Why not now?” Why do we not consider other alternatives to the education that we are offering our children (which may somewhere along the line have contributed to the suicide of a young man – or which certainly did not help the young man)? Surely we have nothing to lose but everything to gain? Why? Why not? Why not us? Why not now?
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