“Silly” visitor questions often mask polite appreciation, not ignorance

Evidence

I have myself heard visitors to parks and historic monuments and museums ask some ludicrous questions. It is easy to put the visitor down as a moron. Often, however, I have been certain that these silly questions arose from a genial desire on the part of a visitor to say something so as to assure the interpreter that he was appreciative of the discourse. There not being time to consider, a stupidity resulted. Let the talk turn to something the visitor already knows: he will say nothing foolish. — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 330

Categorization

• SEED: A generously read reframe of ‘stupid questions’ in classrooms and tours as bids to affirm appreciation—useful anywhere you teach.
• XREF: connects to: Expert interpreters must cultivate humility toward non-expert visitors — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 329; Loving visitors means understanding the reasons behind their ignorance, not judging the ignorance itself. — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 535

Broader Connections

• Loving visitors means understanding the reasons behind their ignorance, not judging the ignorance itself. #expands (0.85) — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 535