The Power of a Question: A Reflection by the 2019 College Captain

Our Mount St Benedict College Captains in 2018/2019 have provided exceptional leadership to the student body. At College Assemblies, the College Captain, Antonia Saul has spoken with great passion and authenticity about a range of topics.

Her insightful message from one of her final assemblies is shared below:

“I have to colour inside the lines!”

These were the words of one of my older sister’s kindergarten Greek school students as he completed a colouring in activity.

Every Friday night at the dinner table Katerina tells us stories about her little kindy class; how they fight over who gets to rub off the whiteboard and who gets the gold pencil.

Yet in light of Year 12 completing their HSC trials and this little boy’s comment, I began to think about the questions that we have all heard or said in at least one class before.

How will this be assessed?  How is this going to help us in the future?

From a very young age we are conditioned to colour inside the lines. Even though this may seem like an innocent action, in our 21st-century society, where we are fed phones before we learn to draw, we are being conditioned to close our minds, not think outside the box or use our imagination.

When did repetition replace education?

When did insecurity replace curiosity?

When did memorising replace imagining?

Going to school is beyond achieving a letter, a number, a grade and even a career. Our education is an OPPORTUNITY to think, to question, to expand our mind and draw connections with the people and world around us.

A machine can memorise and retain information, yet what makes each and every one of us so special is that through asking questions, our unique experiences and imagination stimulate us to see beyond the lines, beyond the facts and enable us to formulate ideas and thoughts- which have the capacity to change the world.

Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”.

In approaching Term Four, with the end of year exams and the HSC, I challenge each one of us to ask at least one question in every class.

As empowered women in 2019, as we learn something new, let’s not just accept it as fact. Question it, critique it, break it apart and explore it- only then will we come to appreciate the true value and power that lies in asking a question.