Question Assumptions

Question assumptions – open minded.  When you develop these skills you will have the ability to look at things that the rest of us take for granted and ask “why do we do that?”  Quite often there are lots of ideas you just accepted as a child and have never thought about since.  Most of us accept things which are very wrong simply because we trust the person who told us even though they may be genuinely mistaken as well.  People with this skill don’t just accept ideas without thinking about them first.  They question their own and others’ assumptions.
1	I can ask ‘why’ questions.
2	I know my family does some things the same as other families but not everything.
3	I can ask ‘why’ questions about choices that people have made.  How could they have done it differently now and in the past.
4	I ask myself why I think something even if others think the same.  As evidence of this I could tape or video a conversation where I ask lots of questions to make someone consider a new way of looking at something.
5	I understand, with guidance the difference between facts, beliefs and opinions.  I can produce something which shows what happens when these are confused.  It could be a play or artwork or dance, writing or anything I can think of.
6	I know that what is presented as fact is often partly opinion and can explain an example of this from a current day newspaper/magazine or online source.
7	I can question individuals, websites etc to reveal if they have thought deeply enough about their views and beliefs.  Without making people feel untrusted or foolish I can seek out assumptions and find them even if they are hidden in text or films.  If these are not belief based I can provide evidence that assumptions require more questioning.  If they are belief based I can look for consequences, contradictions or contrasts with other beliefs.
8	I can review my own beliefs and opinions in the light of new information or when they are challenged or questioned by others. I have changed my view and can explain how and why. I expect my views to change over time and have evidence that they have.
9	I have created a genuinely new way of thinking about something or an idea that seems to be opposite to what most people currently think.  I have ideas that cause people to think ‘why didn’t anyone come up with that before?’  Your evidence would be having your work published as a new idea in a scientific journal or a respected magazine.

Question assumptions

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