Stupid questions

There is no such thing as a stupid question. I know that now, although I did not know this when I was younger. The adults in my life always told me that a stupid question didn’t exist. Questions are asked when something is of the unknown. “A sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit information.” is the exact definition. People do say if you don’t ask questions you won’t ever know the answer which will result in not being able to learn! I struggle in math and I had a question because I didn’t understand how to do the work that was assigned. I hate asking questions because I feel like I will look uneducated or be the only one not understanding.

In my math class my seat was in the center front row. This is due to my known struggle in the subject. I tried to listen to the teacher teach on the white board and follow what she was saying. My mind would just space on it all. Math does not make sense to me and that’s why I sit in front. I would be present but not really even there. I would find myself staring at the board but drawing blank to everything in front of me. I went class after class, not asking any questions. I dreaded the countless nights where I would get frustrated when I wasn’t able to complete my homework. Due to this it never got done, I put it back in my folder uncompleted. It was not worth the stress. I started to fall behind in the class and the work was piling up tremendously.

One day after being up all night trying to do my homework, I was tired of it and I raised my hand. I remember that I started to sweat a little bit and my hands shook. I was extremely nervous to ask in front of my whole class. I was scared to look like the uneducated kid. No one else asked any questions so I figured that everyone just understood it. When I was called on I asked what she was doing. Surprisingly she didn’t seem to mind that I asked, and explained in a different way how to solve the problem. I won’t ever know if I was the only one not understanding or the only one not asking questions. I understood it and all it took was raising my hand. The feeling of relief was like an overflown dam. I felt so good to know how to do the work. I remember going home that night and doing the whole packet without a problem. 

After lots of catching up on work that I let pile up and escaping the negative mindset I was in, I was able to relax. I had to stay after with my teacher two to three days a week and spent mostly every study hall in her room. Along with this I also had study halls which were specifically aimed towards math. After getting all caught up I had nothing to do in the study halls I had. All because I was too scared to ask a question. If I didn’t raised my hand, I don’t think I would have passed the class. Then would have probably resulted in going to summer school and maybe redo the class again the following year. This would have put me behind the majority of my classmates as well.

I strongly believe that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Questions are the key to learning and fear or anxiety of asking whatever it is that needs to be asked shouldn’t get in the way, I strongly encourage asking questions! I am so glad that I built up the courage to ask because I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t. I almost had to redo my whole math class because of my fear of getting laughed at. Honestly, if any peer laughs when you are seeking help then they aren’t worth the time. Most teachers are more than willing to help with whatever it is. There is the right time to seek help and you will have to make it a priority. Teachers are there to teach, without asking them questions and without learning they are doing there job to the fullest. Therefore, make sure to ask questions because asking is the way to get answers and teachers are great people to ask!