Engage the Trivium Mind

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Questioning

Part I.

A classical education will cause you to question processes and entrenched ideas that are going no where. We live a very info-glutton society. The info. you collect is only as good as the questions you ask.  If we are to equip our Homeschool children with foundational questions that will allow them to think, then this will be to their advantage. Move away from empty questions, idle questions, sweet nothings, wind, hot air, verbiage and blah-blah-blah, and ranting.

In the Grammar stage, you will ask many Questions. I have listed below a few categories of questions.

In order to learn a new subject using the Trivium you will need to ask yourself many questions. Here are a few question categories that will guide you into seeking the information you want. Part II. Will cover the rest of these categories.

q     Essential Questions-  These questions define the “What”? What do you want to know? These questions will “cast light upon or illuminate” something you may have over looked.

q     Organizing Questions-  These questions will help you structure your questions. Without organizing your questions you might collect a heap of trash that is useless to you.

q     Elaborating Questions- These Extend and stretch your questions. They will help you plum down deep, below the surface (unstated) meanings. Ex: What does this REALLY mean?

q     Divergent Questions- These questions allow you to move forward from the existing questions you have already assembled. Ex: Why would I care to know where minerals are? Because if you buy land with mineral rights, you can explore your land and keep the Emerald Vein you strike, process it, then sell it to the jeweler.

q     Subsidiary Questions- These questions are followed from smaller questions. These in turn lead you to subsequent questions. Ex: Blue Topaz is a mineral naturally occurring in some states. Where are these Blue Topaz found in? One state is Texas.

q     Probing Questions- These questions are like digging deep and striking a vein of Emerald. You need to brush away the other layers and debris first.  Probing questions allow us to push beyond what everybody already knows about a particular subject.

q     Unanswerable Questions- These are the hardest to answer, but shouldn’t be backed away from. If you pursue these questions you will reduce the intensity of darkness that surrounds them.

q     Territorial  Questions- These are also known as ‘irreverent questions” because you could actually disturb the delicate internal balance of “________ by asking question “X”. Ex: The manufacture of the musical instrument “Cymbals” have a highly regarded trade secret. A manufacture will not think kindly of you if you ask him for a list of materials and how the cymbal is made. These types of questions will band you from the Fortune 500 Company’s yahoo group. If you really need to ask a question, it’s best to ask a book instead. 

q     Hypothetical Questions- These questions are good for exploring possibilities of a theory. What if____? In a worst case scenario I’ll____?

God willing next Friday we will define these, In Part II.

q     Sorting & Sifting Questions

q     Inventive Questions

q     Telling Questions

q     Clarification Questions

q     Provocative Questions

q     Planning Questions

q     Strategic Questions

q     Irrelevant Questions