Throughout the centuries, too much focus has been trying to find answers, and then forget about it once the answers have been found. Well yes that is important when it comes to certain challenges like finding cures for diseases, – but each community should begin with ongoing questions as they will lead to more relevance, connectedness and true understanding, and since places like the homes, schools and churches ( although we can still change this ) are not fulfilling that need, this must be more mobile and create it in every interaction. Since the latest tragedy occurred during a police altercation, I will focus today on that police officer we need during this time.
I want everyone to live in a community where that police officer, while performing his/her duty safely and responsibly during an altercation with everyone, especially young, African-American males, ponders thoughts and questions such as these:
-I remember being that age.
-What his life will be like in 20 years?
-Maybe he is going home to cook for his father who is a surgeon getting ready to perform surgery on my wife or any of my loved ones.
-Will his father be mentally prepared after he gets angry and tries to hold it inside and has to once again console his son about the threats of racism?
-Is he worried about something else?
-I wonder what his thoughts and preconceptions are about law enforcement and I wonder what I can do to help change it a little.
We are so quick to act and find answers and attack others either physically or verbally, and one way to help change this is to place more focus and value on students asking questions with more questions and listening to everyone. Once we find the “answers,” we stop everything- thinking, feeling, dreaming, questioning and wondering. What if that police officer had this foundation of questioning and listening and wondering while he was in school?
As a teacher, before I send a student to the dean’s office, I could ask myself these questions and entertain these thoughts:
-If I send this student out, he might give up on school and him/herself.
-How could I have handled this differently?
-Maybe something is happening in the home.
-What is his perception about teachers? How could I improve it a little?
We have to start acting as if we are ALL connected because we are, and since we are ALL connected, maybe, just maybe, it will change our attitudes. Focusing on questions make us humble because we do not know the solutions but we are in the creative process. It makes us realize the importance of others because someone else might be holding the last piece of that puzzle. Questions make us grow, learn and listen; answers help shut us down inside and out. If you do not know what shutting down inside and out looks like, take another glance at that police officer who lit the match to this inferno.
