Approaching Uncertainty: Getting Comfortable With Saying "I Don't Know"

Middle School Director Gil Gallagher shares his thoughts on middle school students approaching uncertainty with authentic questions and answers. He wants students to be comfortable saying, “I don’t know” while navigating a new school, a new class, or a new situation. 

“I don’t know.”

This week I was reflecting on my own experience in middle school. I recall being fearful that I wouldn’t know how to get from one class to the next, I wouldn’t remember my teachers’ names, or I would randomly be asked a question in class that I had no idea how to answer. We’ve all been at this crossroads of not knowing and being too embarrassed to say, “I don’t know” or “I am not sure.” As adults, we often have this same response but don’t always let our vulnerabilities be known. This anxious feeling never goes away. As an educator, I want students to understand that it is ok not to know. That takes time, humility, and bravery.

At the beginning of our new student orientation in August, I asked the students to chant these three powerful words “I don’t know” together to help them understand that we don’t expect them to know everything. Not knowing is ok. My goal was to normalize the many questions our new students might not know the answers to coming into the school year and to validate the excitement and anxiety that come with joining a new community. A few days later, on the first day of school assembly, I asked our entire middle school community including faculty to chant this powerful phrase together. This connective exercise allowed students to adopt a stance of humility and curiosity—the mindset of a learner.

This work doesn’t end with the first few weeks of school. We are conditioned throughout our lives to believe that having an answer is important. Our default reaction is to sometimes attempt to answer, instead of thinking through all the ways we could find the answer acknowledging that we just don’t know. This is where Field’s values of “Inclusive and inquisitive” come into play. Whether at lunch, in the classroom, or on the field, their thoughts and questions matter and we are eager to push them academically to stretch their knowledge. Students have an innate curiosity about the world around them and we will help them gain the confidence to ask good questions to help them find the answers. Not knowing is ok. In saying “I don’t know” they open themselves up to a journey of discovery.  

I have seen the value and power of embracing this phrase. Over time, they will have answers to questions they once could not answer. Their knowledge will grow through curiosity and exploration. New knowledge will lead to the next question, and that is how lifelong learning unfolds.

I’m excited to be underway.

- Gil