In my Speech and Drama training with little children, I have often been asked the question of the universe. 'WHY?' Sometimes I am caught off guard because I have not seriously given thought to their questions. The questions will always come for the simple reason that children are inquisitive. But what I am thankful for is that these little ones are comfortable with me to ask any questions with no inhibitions.
One day in either January or February this year, an eight-year-old boy in class asked me a question that startled me, he asked "Ms Jee Fong. Why are you angry?" My reply to him came after some reflections. The reason he thought I was angry was because my face was apparently rosy. You see, the classroom was not air-conditioned, the few fans in the classroom provided some ventilation and I was conducting this training from one to two o'clock in the afternoon. I must have looked rather flustered. I then told the boy that I was not angry, my face was merely rosy.
As I reflected on the matter, I am thankful that the little boy asked me that question because if you did not, he would have gone away with this wrong idea, which may affect him negatively. I reckon, there is so much to learn from children; they ask questions freely, whereas we adults are often held back by inhibitions or have unfounded fears that we might reveal our lack of knowledge of ignorance when we ask questions.
