Questions, Questions

In my son’s Personal Development classes at school they have a Question Box where the kids can anonymously submit questions about anything they like. Everyone in the class has signed an agreement not to make fun of the questions asked or to try and guess who asked the question. Nor are the questions allowed to be about another person or malicious in nature.

According to Nick it is a very popular segment of the class and results in much serious discussion.

The questions are many and varied and include things like –

How bad is period pain meant to be?

Boys keep asking me out but I think they’re all gross. Is there something wrong with me?

My friends say they’re going to smoke but I think it is bad for your health. Why do people think it’s cool?

At what age do you need to start shaving?

At what age can you get pregnant?

Then there are the silly questions, most of which I suspect were written by my son –

If you are abducted by aliens and subjected to an anal probe will you get pregnant?

Is is true that Darth Vader and Ayla Secura had a love child?

Why do some people love to sniff other people’s shoes?

Does my bum look big in this?

Then there are the heartbreaking questions that apparently had some kids crying in class –

Sometimes I feel so alone. I know no one really likes me or knows me. Would anyone miss me if I was gone?

Every time I eat I feel myself getting fatter and fatter. How long does it take to starve to death?

I don’t understand the work in class. Is it possible for someone to be too stupid to learn anything?

I think programs like this are invaluable. I know that the kids in Nick’s class look forward to their session with the Question Box every week and that it has already cleared up some common misconceptions for them.

I think it is something that should be adopted in workplaces everywhere. Maybe even at home. Imagine being able to ask anything you wanted without fear of censure or ridicule. It would be extremely liberating, wouldn’t it?