Can you remember the last time you had a chance to simply sit and allow your wind to wander? If you can’t remember, now’s the time to try it.  Have a look at our video about wondering and open the doors to your thoughts.

The next time you schedule a professional conversation with colleagues, take some time to celebrate wondering.

You might want to begin with, “Why are most pencils yellow?” (no Google searches, just wonder about possible reasons)

Begin the conversation with a shared reading of Chris Bodenner’s “There Is a Creative Purpose to Daydreaming, Even Boredom”.  Bodenner’s thoughts remind us of Wittgenstein’s words, “the key to thinking is the three B’s: bed, bath, and bus. In other words, we can actually think when we’re unfocused, unconcentrated, or even semi-conscious.” A wandering mind allows us to wonder; wondering can have a powerful impact on thinking; and thinking has a powerful impact on learning.

Wondering is about considering possibilities and what’s possible about impossibilities. Wondering creates a web of the known that provides various pathways to the new. So, why not explore one of those new pathways? Take some time to work with your colleagues to create a group illustration Albert Einstein’s quote:  “The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the power of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead.”

We don’t often picture the Wall Street or Bay Street gang taking time to wonder, but Jeff Hoffman knows the truth about wondering –  spend some time viewing Hoffman’s TEDxWall Street video, The Power of Wonder with your colleagues.

To finish up, here’s some research on the power of wondering:

The Wonder Approach to Learning by Catherine L’Ecuver. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 06 October 2014 |

For more conversations about education, please visit: Beyond the Apple . . . Reframing Conversations in Education or contact us at Beyondtheapplecontact@gmail.com