Walking through the hall between classes, I don’t know how many times I hear these questions, or questions like these—people asking about me. However, are they really asking about me? I can’t think of the last time I have responded with anything but “Good, and how about you?” and that is if the person asking even bothers to stay long enough to hear the answer. Do people even want to hear answers to the questions they ask?

Ms. Patrick, MHS Psychology teacher, says, “It’s all situational.” Like all other language, she says questions boil down to “whether you are building a relationship, or just having a verbal exchange.” Just walking through the hall, it looks like people aren’t actually offering invitations; rather, people are just acknowledging the presence of the person they are addressing.

However, it seems deeper than just acknowledgement—there seems to be a distinct lack of thought in the asking of questions. People aren’t really asking how you are; people don’t really want to know what you have been up to. If they did they would stay and actually talk to you. For example, there is the favorite question to teachers: “Did I miss anything?” Do students asking this question realize what they are actually asking? No, no student actually wants to know what they missed, because that means they have to make work up, and what student wants to do that? Don’t just make asking questions a courtesy: if you don’t want to know, don’t ask.

The question is a tool to uncover knowledge and potentially learn something. We should commit to using it not as an empty, polite greeting, but as a way to gather information we want to know. Maybe in Science class you missed learning how to skydive, maybe the person you just blew past after asking “What’s up?” actually has a story to tell. Unless you question correctly, you’ll never know.