The seed pod comes from one of many Magnolia Trees that line Riverside Road outside of my school. Its discovery brought on a series of inquiries that came out of my students’ questioning, observing and reflecting. Since the seed pod experience, I have kept the pod in a glass jar on a shelf with other treasures we have acquired. It is there to remind me of the lessons I have learned; lessons about inquiry and the pedagogy that supports it.
The beautiful, reddish seeds that burst out of the pod represent the diversity of the students who I teach. In each child, there are life experiences, attitudes and opinions that need to be heard and articulated. These personalities are brought to the table when posing questions and wonderings. We work in
collaboration and listen to each other as our ideas shape the way we think and feel about a topic. The “seeds” together, have value and a voice in determining the direction and meaning of the inquiry.
As we communicate, it becomes my job to model a framework for inquiry where the spiral of learning takes place; we ask, we do, we reflect and then ask again. The key, it seems, to moving forward and upward is providing a safe place for my students to practice their questioning skills and for me to 
explicitly model and scaffold questions that lead to more critical thinking. The intentionality of this in my teaching is vital. I have learned that consistent practice and patience are virtues to be followed. I have also seen that in the span of a few months, my students have begun to articulate their own questions with words like: “what would happen if?” or “my guess is….because…”. This is the direction I hope to continue to pursue not only for the students in my class, but also in the way I reflect on and question my own pedagogical practices.