But What If I’m Wrong?
It’s our job as parents and teachers to provide answers, right? Sometimes we think we have them ready-made, and sometimes we’re comfortable letting our kids arrive at them on their own. Either way, we hope that we’ll have some idea of what we’ll end up with, that we’ll know when the right answer has been found. For a grown up puzzling through something challenging with a little thinker, the possibility that we might be wrong is a little scary. Besides the obvious ding to our big person pride, there’s the realization that we’re going to be wrong with our kid watching. Gulp.
Well, if thousands of years of philosophy have taught us anything, it’s that we don’t always know the right answer. Sometimes there isn’t a right answer to be had, at least not a singular one. Perhaps it’s time we started seeing being “wrong” as an opportunity to explore, to expand our point of view, and to welcome in new perspectives. It can actually be thrilling (and to be honest, a bit of a relief) to admit that we don’t know everything, and doing philosophy with your child can create a safe and playful space for that. At the end of the day, your kids will probably know that you know you’re wrong anyway.
In situations like this, it’s often comforting to turn to a role model, a great thinker, someone famous, to see how they’ve handled being wrong. As luck would have it, in philosophy, there are a number of well-known minds who pulled a 180 in the middle of their career. What’s more, being wrong, figuring out that they were wrong, and then going in a different direction actually made them better thinkers.
If some of the most famous brains in the history of critical thought can deal with being in the weeds, well, so can the rest of us. Taking risks, being critical of ideas (even your own), and being willing to back up and try again, are all part of learning, for thinkers big and small. Don’t let the thought of getting it wrong keep you from taking on big questions with your kid!
Why not turn being wrong into a great conversation with your little thinker? Here are some points to ponder with them:
Do all questions have to have just one answer? Can a good and useful question have many answers?
What’s the biggest question you’ve ever wanted to ask?
How do you know if your answer to a question is right or wrong? How do you check?
Can a person say the don’t know or they aren’t sure, and still be a wise person?
Pretty fun, right?
Keep visiting our blog this summer. We’re working on something special that is sure to make thinkers of all ages a little happier about being unsure.
