Questioning is essential to innovation, change, progress. This became clear to me throughout this past semester as the Leadership 102 course at Agnes Scott College presented how “beautiful questions” are an essential part to thinking critically about the world around you. Warren Berger states, “When we want to shake things up and instigate change, it’s necessary to break free of familiar thought patterns and easy assumptions. We have to veer off the beaten neural path. And we do this, in large part, by questioning,”(Berger 6). Currently, the inability to communicate across global lines is the product of a homogenous environment in which the pressure to assimilate suffocates the beauty of cultural diversity. Learning a new language is beneficial in the way that it helps further educate society by allowing thought to stray from familiar patterns, and inspires reflection on the power that language has over every day life.
In Warren Berger’s A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas he says, “A beautiful question is an ambitious yet actionable question that can begin to shift the way we perceive or think about something,“ (Berger 8). “If communication is the key to understanding, why do we expect each other to communicate in English?” is a beautiful question because it calls to attention the general expectation English speakers set when interacting with those who do not communicate in the same way, and simultaneously puts to action the need to communicate outside of English to build cross-cultural understanding. This question is likewise ambitious because the need for more people to learn a language separate from their primary one is daunting due to lack of resources or lack of social support.
As Berger argues there are many ways in which beautiful questions are posed across various disciplines that have helped me craft this question. From a philosophical standpoint, Dr. Thorsrud of Agnes Scott College argues that beautiful questions are not only ambitious and actionable, but also beneficial and inspiring to society. As the world continues to build its interconnectedness through globalization, we would benefit from learning new languages, as it would help strengthen our understanding of a multicultural world. Additionally, in order to salvage culture and better advocate for those with less of a voice in our community, we need a familiar voice channeled through various languages to strengthen social equity.
As presented by Dr. Laird of the Agnes Scott College music department, we strengthen social equity by practicing four characteristics of leadership and crafting beautiful questions that reflect these characteristics: presence of mind, listening, communication, and action. Dr. Laird discussed that people undertaking musical roles are refining these characteristics by creating spaces that are transformational. Although this question may not relate directly to music, Laird’s presentation inspired me to reflect on the importance of communication as a way to transform into a more understanding and open society. Musicians are able to showcase well-composed music as they communicate verbally/nonverbally and listen, just as we can create strong and well-developed relationships by strengthening our verbal communication skills.
I chose to pose this question because for the past five years I have studied Spanish in an academic setting. Being of Spanish decent, learning to speak the language has allowed me to become more familiar with Spanish culture, and has given me insight into some of the challenges faced in these communities. One specific memory I have using my language skill is from when I was shopping for school supplies the summer before arriving at Agnes Scott. A Hispanic woman approached me and asked for help understanding certain words on an elementary school supply list. The list was completely in English. When I finished helping the woman find the items, I began to think about what this meant for the rest of her life in a place where majority of the information she was given was in unfamiliar text. What did this mean for her children who would be going to the school that distributed said list? Would they be able to understand their assignments? How rare is it to find someone who is able to translate?
When posing a beautiful question, you will find yourself asking more-as all beautiful questions should prompt you to do. This question leads me to ask: how as a nation do we plan to improve our relations abroad with an education system that lacks support for communicating in languages outside of English? How do we fully implement humanitarian aid in places where there is a language barrier between the receivers and the givers? And in our diverse country, how can we live in a society that values cultural differences when the main part of someone’s culture, their language, is replaced with English? If communication is the key to understanding, why do we expect each other to communicate in English?
Berger, Warren. A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas. New York: Bloomsbury, 2014
Laird, Tracey. “Essay on Music and Leadership,” LDR 102 Moodle.
Thorsrud, Harald. “A Philosophical Reframing of Berger’s Beautiful Questions” LDR 102 Moodle.
