Questions

It is evening. It's past E's bedtime but we are chatting and chatting because he's in the mood to do so. I am under no illusion that this is likely no more than a sleep stalling strategy but I don't care- it's nice to still be included in his world (albeit on the fringes).

When he talks about school I find it hard to relate. Not because I've been in his high school on only five occasions EVER, or because my old high school is 421 miles away from his current one. But because I was able to determine that his high school is 421 miles away from my old high school in 5 seconds and 2 clicks. 

When I was at school this same calculation would have taken the best part of half an hour, produced as many different result as there were small groups, and would have involved over-sized maps, rulers, pieces of string and endless bits of scrap paper. 

Ah the pre internet era... We had blackboards back then. And typewriters. And 'Social Education' which grew up to be PSE.  

Please Save Electricity
Planet Saturn Explodes
Poor Slaves to Education

I wonder if PSE lessons now are as useless as Social Education was then?

I found it to be full of vague guidelines about behaviour and rules and opinions which just seemed to raise more questions than it ever answered. Then no one wanted to appear ignorant and ask them.

After chatting for 10 minutes about school and Dragonvale and how Jackson can now eat an entire chicken legend burger on his own, we move onto the subject of questions and how it's OK to ask them. 

E rarely has any questions - for me, anyway. He gave up believing I have all the answers a LONG time ago, which is fine because obviously I don't. But now it's gone so far the other way that he's suspicious of any information he hears first hand from me and will usually validate it from another source before adopting it as correct. It's exhausting. But good I suppose- he's becoming an abstract thinker.

Me: So do you have ANY question at all that you think I'd be able to help with?

E: No, not really.

Me: Are you sure there's NOTHING you can think of to ask me? 

E: I can ask you ANYthing?

Me: Course you can mate.

E: What's the square root of 356?

Me: I have no idea.

E: What's the square root of 490?

Me: Don't know that either. Maybe you need to think of questions you have that are NOT maths related...?

E: OK- What would happen if you added liquid nitrogen to de-ionised water?

Me: I don't know. I was expecting different types of queries really...

E: Oh about feelings and stuff?

Me: Yeah. Try one of those. 

E: You know... I AM a bit scared actually... that I won't get to sleep tonight...

Me: Really mate- why's that do you think?

E: Because you might not leave.