Question of the Day

The following questions are for students to answer to stimulate an intellectual discussion. Students would first write their answers on their own and then would have the opportunity to share with the class for a discussion.

  1. Do you believe in the death penalty?  What if someone murdered your mother in cold blood?  What if someone murdered a stranger’s mother, but saved your life the month before?

  2. Would you rather be rich and paralyzed from the waist down or poor and able bodied?

  3. Stealing is immoral, right?  But what if stealing was the only way to feed a starving child?

  4. If someone could tell you the exact day and time that you are going to die, would you want them to tell you?

  5. Do the words ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty’ mean not being persecuted or discriminated against, or do they mean doing whatever you please?

  6. Is it crazier to choose to be poor or to spend 40 years of your life hating 40 hours a week?

  7. What’s the difference between ‘living’ and ‘existing?’

  8. Are you willing to sacrifice the life of your child or lover to support a war?

  9. Are humans better at creation or destruction?

  10. How Should Parents Handle a Bad Report Card?

  11. When Do You Remember Learning a New Word?

  12. How Do You Use Wikipedia?

  13. Should All Students Get Equal Space in a Yearbook?

  14. Should Stores Sell Violent Video Games to Minors?

  15. Would You Vote This Year If You Could?

  16. To What Business Would You Like to Give Advice?

  17. Would You Trade Your Paper Books for Digital Versions?

  18. Do You Want to Live to 100?

  19. Do You Support or Oppose the Death Penalty?

  20. How Do Your Parents Teach You to Behave?

  21. Can Money Buy You Happiness?

  22. How Would You Do in a ‘Free School’?

  23. What Should the Punishment Be for Acts of Cyberbullying?

  24. What Advice Would You Give Younger Kids About Middle or High School?

  25. Are There Books That Should Be Banned From Your School Library?

  26. Can Cellphones Be Educational Tools?

  27. What’s Special About Your Hometown?

  28. How Concerned Are You About Where Your Food Comes From?

  29. Is America a Great Country?

  30. How Will You Decide Where to Apply to College?

  31. What Do You Remember About September 11, 2001?

  32. What Are You Looking Forward to (or Dreading) This School Year?

  33. Do Your Test Scores Reflect How Good Your Teachers Are?

  34. How Would You Spend Grant Money for Schools?

  35. How Important Do You Think It Is to ‘Build Character’?

  36. Are You Putting Off Adulthood?

  37. What Artists Do You Consider ‘Sellouts’? Why?

38. What Is a Hero?

39.  Should Restaurants Do Away With Tipping?

40.  Should Schools Give Students ‘Body’ Report Cards?

41.  What Does it Mean to Be ‘a Real Man’?

42. Are High School Students Being Worked Too Hard?

43.  Should Schools Teach Children How to Cook?

44. Are Paper Books Better Than E-Books?

45. Should High Schools Drop Football Because Too Many Players Are Getting Injured?

46. What Are Some Answers to America’s Gun Violence?

47. Should Prostitution Be Legal?

48. Should Voting Be Mandatory?

49. What Do We Owe Our Veterans?

50. When Is Animal Testing Justified?

51.  What Current Slang Words and Expressions Do You Think Will Endure?

52. What Responsibility Do We Have to Take In Refugees From Global Humanitarian Crises?

53. What New Tech Ideas Does the World Need?

54. Is America Headed in the Right Direction?

55.  Do We Need More Diverse Superheroes?

56. Is It Possible to Separate Art From the Artist Who Created It?

57.  Should Students Expect College to Be Like Home?

58. Are School Dress Codes a Good Idea?

59. Is Apple Right in Refusing to Unlock the iPhone of One of the San Bernardino Killers?

60. Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?

61.  Should Prisoners Be Given the Opportunity to Get an Education?

62. Should the Legal Age to Purchase Tobacco Be Raised From 18 to 21?

63. Should Everyone Learn at Least One Other Language?

64. If Teenagers Are Such Bad Drivers, Should They Be Allowed to Drive?

65. Should All High School Students Be Able to Get a Summer Job if They Want One?

66. Should High Schools Do More to Prepare You for Careers?

67. Should Distracted Driving Be Punished Like Drinking and Driving?

68. Do We Need a Higher Minimum Wage?

69. What Are the Five Greatest Inventions of All Time?

70. Is ‘Redskins’ an Offensive Name for a Team?

71.  Should Students Be Present at Parent-Teacher Conferences?

72. Is ‘Be Yourself’ Bad Advice?

73. Should Schools Cancel Summer Vacation?

74. Do Gorillas Belong in Zoos?

75.  What Heroic Acts Have You Performed or Witnessed?

76. What Ideas Do You Have for Enhancing Your Community?

77.  What Do You Wish You Could See, Hear, Read or Experience for the First Time All Over Again?

78. Which 2016 Presidential Candidates Interest You Most?

79. What Current Trends Annoy You?

80. Do You Recognize Yourself in Descriptions of ‘Generation Z’?

81.  What Food or Flavor Do You Remember Tasting for the First Time?

82. Have Your Teachers or Textbooks Ever Gotten It Wrong?

83. Does What You Wear Say Anything About You as a Person?

84. What Advice Do You Have for Younger Kids About Navigating Social Media?

85. What Issues in the 2016 Presidential Race Are Most Important to You?

86. What’s So Great About YouTube?

87. How Excited Are You About the Possibilities of Virtual Reality?

88. Would You Share an Embarrassing Story Online?

89. What Are the Best Things in Life and Are They Free?

90. What National or International Events That You Lived Through Do You Remember Best?

91.  Have Your Parents and Teachers Given You Room to Create?

92. How Much Do You Worry About Taking the SAT or ACT?

93. What Does Your Body Language Communicate?

94. What Makes You Happy?

95. What Marketing Slogan Would You Use for Your Town or City?

96. What Would You Miss if You Left Your School?

97. Would You Want to Take a Gap Year After High School?

98. Do You See Great Disparities of Wealth in Your Community?

99. What Aspects of Modern Life Annoy You Most?

100. If you could become immortal on the condition you would NEVER be able to die or kill yourself, would you choose immortality?

101. If a child somehow survived and grew up in the wilderness without any human contact, how “human” would they be without the influence of society and culture?

102. If you could teach everyone in the world one concept, what concept would have the biggest positive impact on humanity?

103. What life-altering things should every human ideally get to experience at least once in their lives?

104. Is some degree of censorship necessary?