Ask a Question Day

March 14 was National Ask a Question Day. We decided to ask three teachers two

random questions in honor of this day. The teachers we chose to ask were Mrs. Stacy, the Team C science teacher, Mrs. Mooney, a guidance counselor, and Mr. Montagna, an APE teacher.

The first question was, “If someone could walk on water, do you think they could swim on land? If so, how?” Mrs. Mooney had a very optimistic approach. She said, “So, even though, I can’t picture what it would look like or tell you how it would happen, I think anything is possible.” Mr. Montagna and Mrs. Stacy, however, both had more logical standpoints. Mr. Montagna, the APE teacher, thought that we could all, technically, swim on land. He admits it would be awkward, and no one would get very far, but it would be possible. Mrs. Stacy, the Team C science teacher, thought that it would be a futile attempt, but not for one who had created the universe, or planet. If they had that kind of power, she wondered, why wouldn’t they be able to swim through matter that one isn’t usually able to?

The second question was “If someone was blind since birth, what kind of dreams do they have?” Mrs. Stacy provided us with a very philosophical answer. She believes that when we dream “our subconscious is trying to get our attention.” Mrs. Stacy explained that a person who is blind would use other senses, such a hearing or touch, to dream of a moment. In her own dreams, Mrs. Stacy is able to know she is dreaming about someone even if she doesn’t actually see them. Very interesting insight, indeed. Mrs. Mooney’s take was similar to Mrs. Stacy’s. She thinks that the brain is limited to its experiences and what it perceives. A blind person doesn’t experience anything visual. She went on to explain that a blind person would likely experience classical dreams, such as “someone is chasing them, or that they are falling, or they forgot to wear clothes to their middle school dance.” However, their dreams would still be limited to their other senses. From what Mrs. Mooney understands, a blind person’s other senses are likely more acute due to the lack of sight. Mrs. Mooney said that maybe they are able to use something similar to echolocation, by building up their surroundings through sound. She also explained that maybe they have the concept of their surroundings by other means, but due to the fact that she has not been blind since birth, it is difficult to fully comprehend what some of these things mean.

Asking questions is extremely important towards satisfying curiosity. Even if you believe your question seems random or trivial, it may have an extremely meaningful answer. Remember the date March 14th to celebrate next year!